Meet 2024 Camden County ESP of the Year Rose Casey
Rose Casey became a proud union member when she was 17 years old. When she graduated from high school, her mother told her she had two options: hairdresser or secretary. She had a scholarship to cosmetology school but instead took a job at RCA in Camden, a union shop.
“When I took the job at RCA, I was still so young I had to have working papers,” Casey recalls. “I was marched down to the union hall during my lunch to sign up. The person who took me down to sign up was the father of one of the principals I’ve worked with over the years. I used to say, ‘You’ve got your father to thank for me being in a union!’”
Casey got the job at RCA when the hiring manager recognized a desirable trait in her. Although she was going up for the job against a woman whose father was a manager at RCA, Casey was hired over the other candidate because she played the saxophone and has played since elementary school.
“The hiring manager knew that I would stick with the job and wouldn’t leave in six months because I had stuck with the saxophone,” Casey recalls.
Casey originally wanted to learn to play the accordion, but her father steered her toward the saxophone since the family already owned the instrument.
“I still play that same saxophone today,” Casey says. “It was used when my family got it. It’s now well over 100 years old. I encourage the students to keep playing even after middle school, and to practice.”
Casey practices what she preaches. An educational assistant in the Cherry Hill School District, she starts her mornings off in the band homeroom, playing saxophone with the students. In addition, she performs with the students at their concerts, a fact that has delighted Cherry Hill students, parents and staff for the 23 years Casey has worked in the district.
Casey is not only an advocate for music education, she also serves as the president of the Educational Assistants of Cherry Hill (EACH).
“I represent 300 educational assistants in Cherry Hill, in 19 buildings,” Casey says. “I do not take a stipend. If I wanted a stipend, I’d have to increase members’ local dues. When I negotiated the last contract with my team, in the first year, we got a 38.6% increase. By the end of our five-year contract, we will be down to just eight steps.”
Casey recalls the celebration they hosted when they ratified their last contract.
“The night we celebrated ratification, we also celebrated 25 years with NJEA” Casey says. “Everyone was here: NJEA President Sean Spiller; Vice President Steve Beatty; Secretary-Treasurer Petal Robertson, Bob Antonelli, the NJEA staff person who has primary responsibility for educational support professional (ESP) issues, NJEA Field Representative Caroline Tantum; UniServ South Director Patrick Manahan and consultants from all over Camden County.”
Casey started working in Cherry Hill in January of 2002. By September, she was a building representative. In May 2003, she was elected co-president of the association. Seven years later, she became the sole president.
“I have a lot of experience being the president of other organizations,” Casey says. “I was the PTA president and the president of the soccer league in which I coached. I’ve been involved at the county, state and national levels.”
Casey has served on several NJEA committees, including Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, Affiliations, and was elected by the NJEA Delegate Assembly (D.A.) to the Hearing, Suspension and Expulsion Committee. She was a D.A. member as well as an alternate. She served on the NEA Diversity Training cadre and traveled around the country training NEA members for several years.
Despite all her activism and achievements, Casey doesn’t know why she was named the 2024 Camden County ESP of the Year.
“I celebrated in Atlantic City at the NJEA ESP Conference,” Casey says. “When my peers in my school found out, the music teacher I work with, Stephen Marr, organized a big celebration. The staff presented me with a gift card and a huge cake. All the students in the band celebrated with me.”
Casey is tireless in her advocacy for her members.
“I advocate for everybody,” she says. “I’m thinking about what everyone needs, and I’m not afraid to speak.”
While Casey is responsible for advocating for educational assistants in the district, she makes it a point to ensure that ESPs in Cherry Hill are treated fairly.
“At the end of the school year, the district held a Wellness Day for staff on June 17, but educational assistants were officially done on June 14,” Casey recalls. “If they wanted to come back for the celebration, they would have had to do it on their own time, without pay. That’s not right, so as a member of Cherry Hill’s Labor Management Collaborative, I worked with the group to hold a celebration for educational assistants on the day when we had a half day with the students.”
“I’ve been around, and I’ve done a lot,” Casey says. “I get involved and I advocate for everybody. I’m always thinking about what everyone needs and I’m not bashful about speaking up!”