Author: Miriam Garcia
Program pairing retirees with student teachers is expanding
In the union, we often say that we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. Student teachers are no different. Retired MEA members (MEA-R) have partnered with Aspiring Educators of Michigan (AEM) and serve as mentors to AEM members who are undergoing the rigors of student teaching. Any AEM member who is […]
Letter to Members: It’s a New Day
As your new MEA officers, we are proud to represent Michigan’s educators, as we work together to continue to advocate for the educational tools all students need and the professional support all school employees deserve. And now more than ever, we believe that our hard work and dedication over the past ten years have been […]
Members testify against board member: ‘They never backed down’
Three secretaries and a band director in Rochester found some closure in bringing complaints and publicly testifying against a school board trustee whose social media post and television news appearances sparked a deluge of vile, threatening phone calls to Hart Middle School. With the help of their union, the educators bravely shared their experiences in […]
Saginaw Valley prof talks design and preparing students for careers
MEA member J. Blake Johnson received MEA’s Distinguished Servant of Public Education Award for the Cardinal Solutions program he founded at Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) in 2013, which allows students to do design and other work for local nonprofits and businesses before graduation. ____________________________________________________________________ What art and design work did you do before becoming […]
MEA Voice Magazine – August 2023 Issue
Click to view online. In this issue: Letter to Members: It’s a New Day The Future is Now: Program pairing retirees with student teachers is expanding New MEA officers promise hopeful change: ‘We need to find joy again’ PERA bills pass. Collective bargaining rights restored. Special ed paraeducators share challenges and needs Voice’s Ortega named […]
Special ed paraeducators share challenges and needs
MEA member Darrin Watkins has been a paraeducator in Pontiac for longer than he can remember – somewhere around 30 years – and he has a few ideas about how special education could be restructured and resourced to improve services and keep people in the field. Watkins was among 30 special education paras from across […]
Strong contracts emerge in efforts to attract, retain educators
‘The pendulum is finally swinging back’ Last year Angie Pullen began her fourth term as president of a local unit of paraeducators and administrative assistants in Cadillac and saw the fruition of 10 years of effort in the form of a powerful new contract. For the first time, Pullen’s bargaining team joined forces with the […]