My Turn: Baltimore County CARE Liaison Cortly Witherspoon

2024-10-10 02:25:05

Cortly Witherspoon is the community schools liaison at Winfield Elementary School in Baltimore County.

Meet Cortly Witherspoon, a community school liaison at Baltimore County’s Winfield Elementary School. He’s a longtime social and political activist and now, as a member of the Education Support Professionals of Baltimore County (ESPBC), a union activist. This year, he’s part of MSEA’s 2024-2025 Minority Leadership Training cohort, one of MSEA’s signature leadership development programs.

At Winfield Elementary, I apply the principles of humanity that have guided me my entire life to my position as CARE (Caregiver, Assistance, Resource, and Engagement) liaison. We are a community school, and I work closely with our community school coordinator as I support and encourage families and caregivers to become engaged and involved. We want to build their capacity as caregivers, encourage shared decision making about their student’s success, and find ways to help them support their student’s learning.

I’m based out of our Community Resource Cottage where we stock food, school supplies and uniforms, and household items. It’s also where we help our families find other community-based services to promote their wholeness and strengthen their quality of life.

When I started this job two years ago, I researched the union and found my building rep within the week. Even though I hadn’t been a union member before, I had worked with unions and respected the mission and core values of unionism and was ready to find my place in our local.

Social and political activism isn’t new to me. My student activism and community service dates back to middle school days, where I worked with the NAACP to advocate for programs and initiatives to uplift the African American experience. More recently, I served as president of the Baltimore City Southern Christian Leadership Conference and fought for a $15 minimum wage.

This summer, I worked with the ESP Summer Organizers to share the ESP Bill of Rights and connect one-on-one with potential members. This powerful work allowed me to meet fellow CARE liaisons, paraprofessionals, school office professionals, and others, all fighting for respect and decency on the job. Next, I attended the 2024 MSEA Summer Leadership Conference where I was blown away by the workshops and presentations of passionate and experienced union members. There I met new union brothers and sisters and built relationships with other educators starting their journey with MSEA or their local.

Most recently, I joined ESPBC’s effort to work on racial, social, and economic justice (RSEJ) issues, and am among several members of the 2024-2025 MSEA Minority Leadership Training cohort where I’ll build on my knowledge of RSEJ issues and the intersection of public education and the union movement. In my private life, I am a foster parent.

I believe that service is the rent we pay to live on the earth, and I am dedicated and committed to community service, fighting for justice, supporting the union, and helping to prepare the next generation to make their mark.