Every child has a story to tell: Meet Monica Eggert, 2025 ESP of the Year
2025 Education Support Professional of the Year Monica Eggert is one of those people whose genuine openness immediately puts those around her at ease. “I come in every morning as my true authentic self. I have a trusting ear and a solid heart. What you see is what you get,” she says.
Like many people, Eggert doesn’t like talking about herself. She’d much rather talk about the students she works with at Rochester Alternative Learning Center, where she is a special education ESP. However, as Eggert and I set up in the hallway so that she can greet students as they arrive for the school day, she opens up about her background and the path to her current role.
Eggert’s current work as an ESP is a second career—or third, depending on your point of view. She first went to school to be a certified nursing assistant, but her CNA schedule did not work once she became a parent. Partly to help address her need for childcare, she took a job working in a daycare, which she stayed in for 25 years. Because of her work background, Eggert serves as the backup school nurse in the afternoon, in addition to her classroom duties. She views her time as a backup nurse as another opportunity to connect with RALC students. “I can still do what I do to help support and be there with them,” she says. “From what I do in the building to back there often coincides.”
As a special education ESP, Eggert provides support to students in the classroom. RALC has mixed classes, with special and general education students learning together. Eggert makes it a point to help special education students while making sure they don’t feel singled out.
On “student-centered learning” Wednesdays, where students get to pick which activity they do, Eggert offers her students the chance for one-on-one support if they need to get caught up on work. “I basically go wherever they need me,” she says. “Sometimes that looks like providing individualized instruction, sometimes that looks like sitting in the parking lot with a student for half an hour. My big goal is to make sure they feel safe here.”
Creating an environment where students feel safe is baked into the culture at RALC. The school maintains a food pantry for students who do not have food at home, and a full closet for those who find their wardrobes lacking. They provide childcare for students who are also parents, a night school for those who need to work during the day, and a “safe and sober” school for students in recovery or who come from families that have struggled with addiction.
The walls are adorned with murals painted by students, inviting students to join in the creation of a positive environment. In the middle of a group of classrooms stands a glass-walled room called the “panopticon,” which is available for students who need one-on-one instruction, separation from their peers to concentrate, or who need a quieter environment.
One of the many notable things about Eggert is that she greets every student by name each morning, a tradition she’s kept for the 10 years she’s worked at RALC. “The key to me is that each of these students has a story to tell, and I don’t yet know that story,” she says. “But I want to know each and every one of their names. I want them to know that they are somebody, that they matter, that I see them.” This simple practice reminds students of their individuality, which helps build trust between them and the educators who support them. Building this trust with students makes Eggert incredibly effective at her job.
The conversation moves from her work with students to her work with colleagues—Eggert treats her coworkers with the same individualized attention she gives the students. “Colleagues often say to me, ‘well, I’m just an ESP.’ I always remind them that they aren’t just anything. We are the eyes and the ears in these classrooms and hallways … you are a vital part of the team who supports students and colleagues every single day,” she says.
She prides herself on her mentorship, particularly in helping promote a respectful and inclusive school culture. She encourages her colleagues to embrace flexibility to connect more deeply with the students they support. “We don’t want them just to feel welcome; we want them to feel they truly belong,” she says.
“Monica genuinely loves our building and the people within it,” said colleague Kimberly Hewitt in nomination materials for the award. “Her relationships with staff are impressive … and her reputation for excellence precedes her. Teachers frequently request her in their rooms because they know she is reliable, skilled and a true team player.”
Eggert is quick to emphasize that the dedication and support of her colleagues is a big part of what makes her successful in her role. “We support each other, and that’s what makes us a good team. They deserve their recognition and I have to thank and appreciate all of them for making me who I am,” she says.
As Education Minnesota’s ESP of the Year, Eggert will receive a $1,200 honorarium and her choice of iPad or Chromebook. She will also receive an expenses-paid trip to NEA’s education support professional conference in spring 2027.
