An educator and advocate who is always by your side
By Kathryn Coulibaly
Nancy Cogland, a paraprofessional at Old Bridge High School and the 2022 NJEA Educational Support Professional (ESP) of the Year, shivers in a brisk December wind as she waits for buses to pull up outside the massive high school. She greets each student with a smile, walking them from the bus or a parent’s car to the front entrance of the building. Some students need more coaxing than others, and Cogland’s bright smile is a big motivator.
Alongside her other paraprofessional colleagues, Cogland is one of the first members of the school community to greet students each day, gently but efficiently ensuring they get the day started off on the right foot.
It’s a role Cogland knows well and excels at. For the past 17 years, Cogland has been a paraprofessional in the Old Bridge School District, building relationships and shaping good days for the many students she has encountered along the way.
“I love being with the high school kids,” Cogland said. “The teenage years are difficult to navigate. My students know they can count on my support, both inside and outside of the classroom. Because they trust me, they are willing to allow me to push them out of their comfort zone to achieve what I know they are capable of.
“So many times, it’s as simple as walking by and giving them a piece of gum and saying, ‘I’m glad you did your homework last night. I’m proud of you.’ It validates their efforts and encourages them to keep trying, ultimately building their confidence.”
Cogland still hears from previous students, long after they have graduated, which is a testament to the trust she establishes in the classroom.
“They know I am a cheerleader for them and they are always excited to share their latest accomplishments,” Cogland said. “I enjoy hearing about their college experience or their new job and hearing how much they have grown.”
For many years, Cogland was partnered with the same student and she built a strong bond with him and his family.
“I knew him as well as I know my own children,” Cogland said. “I still get texts from his mother filling me in on their family. She writes, ‘our boy just turned 18.’ She feels that I’m part of her family and I always will be. I provided structure and boundaries while ensuring he had a well-rounded high school experience.”
A respected paraprofessional and leader
Cogland loves that every day is different, and every school year is different. She may be working with a teacher in a classroom full of students or working with one student at a time to ensure they remain on task and feel confident in their ability to complete the work.
Cogland is a welcome and appreciated member of the classrooms she enters, making sure that the student she is partnered with is comfortable and secure. She has a strong rapport with the teachers with whom she works, particularly the husband and wife team of Andrew and Erin Borriello.
Cogland collaborates with her colleagues and helps develop new projects in the woodshop.
Andrew, a woodshop teacher, frequently collaborates with Cogland, not just to ensure that the students she is partnered with participate in the class, but also to develop projects that all the students can tackle.
Cogland’s interest in woodworking is infectious and her enthusiasm in discussing and sharing the projects students have completed is abundantly clear.
Erin, a social studies teacher, has an equally strong bond with Cogland. They often confer to discuss students’ needs and plan activities.
“So many of these kids are defeated before they even start because they think they can’t do the work,” Cogland said. “But the teachers and I are fully aware of what the students can achieve. Sometimes, it’s a stretch activity to get them to see what they can do. We know their strengths and weaknesses and want what’s best for them. I make sure students know that we are all on the same team, working in their best interests.”
Cogland’s ESP colleagues wholeheartedly join in praising her.
“We have confidence in Nancy,” said Lisa Tonnisen, also a paraprofessional in Old Bridge. “As our union vice president and paraprofessional representative, Nancy has shown leadership, strength, and dedication to all 160 of us. We have the security of knowing that Nancy will protect us and will ensure that our district sees how valuable paraprofessionals are to our students, and all that we do to support their needs throughout the school year.”
The value of the union
Growing up in a strong union family on Staten Island, Cogland knew that she wanted to join NJEA when she began her career in education.
“I’ve always been part of the union,” Cogland said. “But I may not have understood exactly what that meant and the value of it until the district sought to privatize paraprofessionals for the first time in 2011 to close a budget shortfall.”
“The union was involved immediately,” Cogland recalled. “They tried to protect our jobs. Ultimately, the paraprofessionals had to vote at an emergency meeting: would we keep our jobs and lose our family health benefits or run the risk of losing our jobs and benefits. We voted and sadly gave up our family benefits.”
This was a huge hit for many of Cogland’s colleagues.
It was such an awful feeling,” Cogland said. “I know the union did what they could; they wanted to save our jobs. But some of my colleagues worked two or three jobs to make ends meet; they needed the health benefits they received as paraprofessionals.”
The summer after the privatization battle, a friend of Cogland’s encouraged her to attend the NJEA Summer Leadership Conference where she met Bob Antonelli, NJEA field representative for ESP issues, and Nancy Holmes, an NJEA field representative in Camden who is now retired.
“They were phenomenal,” Cogland said. “That conference changed everything for me. It made me take myself seriously in this career.”
During the next round of bargaining, the union was able to get the benefits for paraprofessionals restored, but Cogland felt strongly that the situation should have never happened to begin with.
“You can’t change the past, but I felt strongly that I wasn’t going to let that happen again,” Cogland said.
Cogland enjoys working with students in the woodshop.
An unforgettable anti-privatization campaign
Cogland began working with the parents of general and special education students.
“I used the NJEA Pride program to collaborate with the special education parents in the district,” Cogland said. “We began to develop a bond between paraprofessionals and parents because they saw the value that we had in their children’s lives.”
As Cogland predicted, privatization reared its ugly head in the district again.
In 2017, Cogland got a call in the middle of the day from the local president, informing her that the board had put out their agenda: privatizing the paraprofessionals was once again one of the items.
Cogland knew that Old Bridge paraprofessionals brought tremendous value to the students and community that could not be easily replaced, and she was determined to show the Old Bridge Board of Education how much was at stake if they voted to privatize.
“I got off the phone with my local president and immediately called the president of the Special Education PTA,” Cogland recalled. “She said, ‘We can’t let this happen. Nancy, I’m calling my people,’ and I said, ‘I’m calling mine.’ Together we rallied our supporters and had 300 people at that board meeting. But that was just the beginning.”
What followed was an anti-privatization campaign that no one in the community will forget. The most powerful tool at their disposal was telling the stories of the paraprofessionals and how they profoundly impact students every day.
Cogland’s daughter had taken TV production classes at Old Bridge High School and Cogland’s husband, Gary, works in advertising. Together, they created testimonial videos featuring dedicated Old Bridge paraprofessionals that were then shared on social media.
“We asked video participants three questions: why did you want to be a paraprofessional, how long have you been a paraprofessional, and what is your favorite memory from your work?”
Some of the videos got more than 5,000 views. It made people question why anyone would fire these essential employees.
As Cogland recalled, “You couldn’t go anywhere in town without seeing a sign in a business, a yard sign, or a video on social media. One board member said it got to the point where they didn’t want to even enter their favorite pizzeria because they would be faced with questions about privatization.”
On April 1 that year, the superintendent informed the union that they would not be privatizing the paraprofessionals; they would find the funds elsewhere.
Cogland was relieved, but also proud.
“Old Bridge has always been a leader with their educational programs, policies and opportunities afforded to every student,” Cogland said. “I was proud that the Old Bridge Board of Education decided to buck the trend and find a different solution. They set an example for other districts to follow.”
“We came out completely unscathed,” she said. “We kept our jobs and our benefits. We showed the community the value of what we do, and we showed our colleagues the power that we have when we work together.”
Proud family
Cogland’s family, which includes husband Gary, older daughter Erica, and younger daughter, Carolyn, supports her in her career and union activism. She dedicates a lot of her time to Pride activities and working with parents and the community. They are extremely proud of her achievement as the 2022 NJEA ESP of the Year.
“Ultimately, I’m a wind-beneath-your-wings person,” Cogland said. “I love helping people be successful and that’s why this attention is so challenging for me. I like to blend in. But most of all, I want people to know the value and the impact that educational support professionals provide. We reach kids that no one else can. We’re a vital part of ensuring that every child receives what they need to succeed both emotionally and educationally.”
While the global pandemic may disrupt some of perks of being the NJEA ESP of the Year, Cogland has already been nominated for the NEA ESP of the Year award. She will attend the NEA ESP Conference and is entitled to a Disney vacation, funded by NJEA, when it is safe to travel. Cogland also will receive an ESP of the Year ring, she will be a featured speaker at the NJEA ESP Conference, and she will be honored at the 2022 NJEA Convention