Yvonne Williams wants MEA’s Education Support Professionals to banish a word from their vocabulary: “Justa.” “It would not be unusual to hear one of our colleagues say I am justa bus driver, I’m justa secretary or I’m justa custodian,” the recently retired MEA Northern Zone Director told attendees at the ESP Statewide Conference in Port […]
This year’s winner of “Best in Show” at the 55th Annual MEA/MAEA Art Acquisitions Purchase Exhibition is an artist and teacher who exemplifies the circle of life in education. Josh Gove, a first-year elementary art teacher in St. Johns, says he credits skilled and encouraging educators from his youth for his love of art and […]
March 20, 2019 By PAULA HERBART/President – Michigan Education Association With reading month every March, educators see a flood of policymakers wanting to spend time in classrooms reading to children and touting the importance of literacy. This year, however, there is a genuine effort to put money behind efforts to help all students read and learn, […]
In this last week before state lawmakers head into a two-week spring break, bills that would impact teacher evaluation and snow day waivers could be discussed in committees this week. Make your voice heard with your state representative and senator on HB 4221 which would return the percentage of an educator’s annual evaluation that is tied to […]
Michigan’s K-12 public schools would receive a $120-180 per-pupil boost in funding, plus additional aid to support the costlier needs of at-risk, special education, and career/technical students, under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s first state budget proposal released today. The governor’s spending blueprint follows the recommendations of several recent studies which examined Michigan’s school funding system and […]
HB 4206 to permanently waive days that schools are closed during a state of emergency declared by the governor got a hearing today in the House Education Committee. The bill could get voted on by the committee next week. Read more about the legislation. HB 4221 to return the percentage of an educator’s annual evaluation […]
EAST LANSING – The following can be attributed to MEA President Paula Herbart regarding reports of Gov. Whitmer’s proposal to increase education funding in tomorrow’s budget presentation: “Research is clear – from the School Finance Research Collaborative to MSU’s recent study – that we can’t keep shortchanging our students and expect better results. Gov. Whitmer’s […]
Editor’s Note: MEA member Rick Joseph, Michigan’s 2015-16 Teacher of the Year, recently joined with dozens of educators from across the country to call attention to the U.S. government’s prolonged confinement of immigrant children in crowded detention facilities. MEA helped to sponsor Joseph’s participation in the event. Here he reflects on the event’s meaning and importance. […]
A bill to reduce the weight of student test scores in teacher evaluations has been reintroduced in the Michigan Legislature, along with a few other evaluation-related measures that failed to pass in the last legislative session. HB 4221, introduced by Rep. Julie Alexander (R-Hanover), would return the percentage of an educator’s annual evaluation that is […]
