Aspiring & Early Career Educators
MEA has two groups dedicated to supporting educators as they enter the profession: Aspiring Educators of Michigan (AEM) and Michigan New Educators (MiNE).
About AEM
The Aspiring Educators of Michigan (AEM) is a preprofessional organization for people preparing for the teaching profession in any of the higher education institutions in Michigan and who are not regularly employed as educators by an educational institution or agency. Local chapters at Michigan campuses improve networking amongst aspiring educators and expose members to professional learning opportunities and service projects that help prepare college students for fulfilling careers in education. Learn more at www.mea.org/aem.
About MiNE
Early career educators need connection and support to thrive in the job—which is the basis of a new MEA initiative starting a three-year rollout. The Michigan New Educators program, known as MiNE, aims to build community around new educators across the state to reduce attrition and empower the next generation of union leaders. The group facilitates networking among early career educators, including a podcast, a series of “2 Minute Teacher Tips, and more. Learn more at www.mea.org/mine.
Aspiring & Early Career Educators News
Aspiring Educators Find Community in Service
In an annual tradition made difficult by the pandemic, aspiring educators from Michigan State University have again completed a service project at an area school to show appreciation to educators and see firsthand the power of community in education. The group of about 20 future educators spruced up a staff lounge at Waverly Middle School in Lansing, cleaned up the…
Apply Now: Virtual Instructional Coaches Wanted
MEA is looking for exemplary educators interested in mentoring beginning teachers as part of an innovative new program launching this fall. We are one of seven Midwest education associations partnering in an educator-led professional support program to help new teachers succeed in their work and stay in the profession. The program, known as Educators Leading the Profession (ELP), will pilot…
Expanded Conference Draws Aspiring and Early Career Educators
MEA member Owen Bondono may have been the keynote speaker at MEA’s Aspiring and Early Career Educator conference in March, but Michigan’s reigning top teacher began his speech by acknowledging he just as easily could have been an attendee. “I have now had the honor and privilege and terrifying responsibility of being Michigan Teacher of the Year for 246 days,…
Education students seek changes in teacher prep program
EAST LANSING — Members of MEA’s aspiring educators program, Aspiring Educators of Michigan (AEM), have begun an effort to enact changes in the Teacher Preparation Program in the College of Education at Michigan State University. AEM members who are education students at MSU have created the group “Empowering Spartan Educators,” and are working to create a teacher preparation program that…
Conference Appeals to Aspiring and Early Career Educators
MEA member educators in the first 10 years of their careers are invited to join university student members for a newly expanded MEA conference in March that will deliver professional development, networking opportunities, and training sessions. Participants at the free virtual event on Saturday, March 20, will discover classroom tips to put to use the following Monday. But they also…
Member Spotlight: Kat Sibalwa
Last March Kat Sibalwa, Byron Center High School teacher and BCEA co-president, was set to talk about MEA with soon‑to‑graduate aspiring educators at Grand Valley State University. Then the pandemic hit, and suddenly she was teaching from home with two small children and a husband working in health care. Kat Sibalwa Had you presented to aspiring educators before? No. I’ve been…
Above and Beyond: Aspiring Educators Complete Adapted Service Project
Every spring, Aspiring Educators of Michigan State (AEMS) complete a service project at an area elementary school, but this year – like everything – the experience had to be adapted to mesh with new COVID-19 realities. “When the pandemic closed our (MSU) campus in March, we knew we had to change plans quickly,” said Brittany Perreault, AEMS president. The group…
Aspiring Educators host “Educators for Racial Justice”
MEA’s leadership is committed to exploring and addressing systemic racism, including how it has existed in unionism and public schools, said MEA President Paula Herbart, who participated in a recent MEA webinar on the subject organized by Aspiring Educators of Michigan (AEM). “We are committed to working hard and to asking people of color what they need from us and…
MDE Issues Remote Teaching Guidance
New distance learning guidelines have been issued by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE), taking into account that 500,000 of the state’s 1.5 million students – one-third of the K-12 school population – do not have home internet access. Mostly teacher written, the document is designed to help district administrators and local union leaders who are required to negotiate and…
This is MiNE!
Early career educators band together to strengthen colleagues and the union By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor For fourth-year educator Danielle Werner, the stress of phoning parents about their child’s misbehavior or lackluster effort is one of the hardest parts of being a new teacher. (Left to right) Skye Kapinus, Danielle Werner, Brittney Maczala, Amanda Henderson “In general, I still…