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 […]
The following statement can be attributed to MEA President Chandra Madafferi in response to the introduction of HB 5803 and SB 911. These bills propose reducing the capped rate that schools must contribute to the state educator retirement system by 7% and eliminating the 3% contribution from school employees for retiree health care, now that […]
EAST LANSING – U.S. Navy seaman Auvergne Breault was just 20 when he was struck by a giant mortar that knocked him off his boat, leading to his drowning death, during the June 6, 1944, allied forces invasion of Normandy, France, known as D-Day. Thanks to Rochester social studies teacher and MEA member Matt Cottone […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor The self-portrait in colored-pencil that MEA member Amber Thompson entered into this year’s 60th Annual MEA-MAEA Art Purchase Exhibition had very special meaning to her, but she didn’t expect it to win Best in Show. News that her piece, “Grow Where Planted,” was selected for the exhibition’s top prize […]
As Michigan’s budget process enters the final stretch, lawmakers must maintain our state’s momentum by passing an education budget that prioritizes increasing educator compensation so we can provide every student with trained, qualified and caring school employees. Thanks to the bipartisan support from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Legislature, Michigan has passed record levels of […]
EAST LANSING — The Michigan Education Association announced the recipients of the 2024 MEA Scholarships on Tuesday, honoring exemplary public school students from across the state who will attend a Michigan public university this fall. Among the 357 applications submitted for scholarship awards this year, the MEA Scholarship Fund trustees chose 26 new awardees, who […]
When Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding became available in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Portage Public Schools educators embraced the opportunity to bolster student interest in the wonders of flight, science and technology. The Portage educators planned to apply the federal funding, made possible by President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, toward […]
Educators in West Michigan’s Northview Public Schools realized students required more than tutoring and other academic supports to reintegrate into school life following months of isolation during the pandemic. To help students reconnect with friends and re-engage with school activities, the Northview educators designated American Rescue Plan funds to launch the Belonging and After School […]
