By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor For two decades Valerie Hopkins has faced challenges and celebrated joys of teaching early elementary school in Evart Public Schools northwest of Mt. Pleasant. Four years ago she became president of her local union to make things right for members frozen on steps. She never imagined the courage and […]
School support staff in Kalamazoo have taken to heart a familiar union saying: Don’t mourn, organize. When the district’s new superintendent offered educator bonuses to teachers and paraeducators — excluding school office personnel, bus drivers, campus security staff and other employees — the Kalamazoo Support Professionals (KSP) unit fought back. Superintendent Darrin Slade told them […]
As a housing shortage hampers Northern Michigan school districts’ ability to recruit and retain educators, a new group has emerged to tackle the issue head-on. Grand Traverse Housing for Educators, a newly formed consortium that includes Northwest Educator Services, Traverse City Area Public Schools, Grand Traverse Area Catholic Schools and Interlochen Center for the Arts, […]
MICHIGAN –– The Michigan Education Association (MEA) and American Federation of Teachers Michigan (AFT Michigan) today announced their support for several statewide education board candidates, including: Ted Jones and Adam Zemke for State Board of Education Rebecca Bahar-Cook and Thomas Stallworth for Michigan State University Board of Trustees Denise Ilitch and Shauna Ryder Diggs for […]
By Chandra Madafferi, Michigan Education Association President and CEO It’s my favorite time of year, when shopping aisles are once again packed with school supplies from notebooks and No. 2 pencils to graphing calculators and glue sticks. It’s still hard to walk by boxes of crayons, as they call to me. But not everyone feels […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor For MEA member Linda Key and many others in Rochester, local school board meetings have become “frustrating and exhausting” since 2022 when two candidates endorsed by the far-right political group Moms for Liberty were elected to the board. Now the seat occupied by one of those two trustees – […]
EAST LANSING — The Michigan Education Association, the state’s largest school employee union, is proud to announce the hiring of Erik Edoff as its new senior executive director. Following a national search, MEA selected Edoff – who currently serves as Superintendent of L’Anse Creuse Public Schools – for its top staff position, providing executive leadership […]
By Chandra Madafferi, MEA President and CEO With last week’s passage of the state’s new education budget, Michigan families and educators have cause to celebrate — and legislators have some work yet to do when they return to the Capitol. First, the good news. To help address the shortage of qualified teachers and school support […]
Michigan schools face a critical deadline with only three months remaining to use $650 million in remaining ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds to address the evolving educational challenges brought on by the pandemic. The deadline for spending these funds is September 30, 2024. A total of $5.63 billion was received by Michigan […]
EAST LANSING — The following is a statement from MEA President and CEO Chandra Madafferi regarding the Michigan Legislature’s passage of the 2024-25 School Aid budget: “More than 100,000 school employees across Michigan will get a much-needed 3% of their salaries back in their pockets, and school districts will receive an average $250 per-pupil increase […]
