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Protect Public Education—Get Involved
President Donald Trump has revealed his top education priorities through words and actions since his January inauguration. The list is a call to commitment for all who recognize public education as a pillar of American society. The Trump administration agenda would harm public education from preschool to high school, colleges and universities, affecting students from […]
Behavior? There’s a coach for that
MEA member Lindsey Wilson holds a position in Lowell Area Schools that rarely existed in Michigan school districts just five years ago. Wilson is a behavior coach, assigned to address needs of students exhibiting the most challenging classroom behaviors. She doesn’t work directly with children most of the time. Like an instructional coach, she brings [...]
Green Team promoting sustainability, science, leadership earns national status
In her three decades as an educator, Hayes Elementary art teacher Christine Lakatos never considered herself an environmentalist. Yet Lakatos and her students at the Westland school for years created art using egg cartons, paper towel tubes and other household items that otherwise get tossed. Under Lakatos’ leadership, Hayes Elementary, part of Livonia Public Schools, [...]
Middle schoolers see future options at summer manufacturing camp
By William Renner Hastings Area Schools We all know one of the greatest joys of teaching is when a light bulb goes on for a student who grasps a new concept for the first time. That’s what I loved about hosting a summer camp for my middle school manufacturing students in Hastings last year. Not […]
An officer and a math teacher
MEA member Kossi Komlassan has led soldiers in combat and teenagers in math class. Both of those identities recently came together in one room at Beaverton Junior/Senior High School (BJSHS) when the third-year educator received a promotion in the Michigan Army National Guard in a ceremony before his family, school community, and the sophomores he […]
Norway provides lessons for reconfiguring education in Michigan
By Chandra Madafferi MEA President & CEO Collaborate, explore and participate are three words that were everywhere in a middle school that I visited in Norway last October, where I joined a group of professors from Michigan State University’s College of Education to observe Norwegian schools in action and bring home lessons for our state. […]
Creativity points to passion, purpose: ‘Art is how I dealt with grief’
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Big themes recur throughout the story of Grand Rapids art teacher Stephen Smith. Trauma. Grief. Hopelessness. Then creation, connection, community. Images and ideas return like motifs in Smith’s remarkable personal narrative. A 37-year-old San Francisco native, Smith is a multi-faceted and award-winning artist, innovative entrepreneur, emerging community leader—and a […]
MEA Voice Magazine – Feb-March 2025 Issue
Click to view online. In this issue: LETTER TO MEMBERS: Here for you in uncertain times NEWS & NOTES: Protect Public Education—Get Involved Call for submissions: 2025 MEA/MAEA Art Exhibition Michigan Senate sues House for withholding bills Nominations sought for ESP Caucus Board AEM/MiNE: Early career help: tough topics ISSUES & ADVOCACY: MEA members tell […]
Letter to Members: Here for you in uncertain times
Uncertain times can be trying for all of us. But by working together, we can and will overcome what uncertain times bring us — both through strength in numbers as a union and as a network of dedicated educators that can rely on each other in tough times. It’s times like these that are why [...]