By Chandra Madafferi Michigan educators and communities are doing amazing things with the billions of dollars our state has received in federal school rescue funds. While there’s still plenty of great work to be done, time is running out for school districts to put this one-time funding to good use. Our state received $5.6 billion […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin said she received her proudest endorsement when MEA announced its recommendation of the third-term 7th District congresswoman in her bid for the U.S. Senate in 2024. Educators are mission-oriented people, and she feels kinship, she said during a meet-and-greet event with MEA members on Saturday […]
MEA is pleased to announce the first annual conference and competition for middle and high school students interested in pursuing a career in education. If you work with students who are part of a club, elective course, or CTE program, reach out to get involved in Educators Rising: a program built just for them.
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor When MEA member Megan Ake changed school districts from Farmington to Fenton five years ago, the first teaching tasks she felt pressured to master involved massive classroom-practice checklists and student-growth data mandates in the state’s evolving educator evaluation system. Instead of learning her students’ names, delving into a new […]
The Lunch Bags help keep students ready to learn (uppermichiganssource.com) Traverse City Schools’ New Student Health Center – A Lifeline for Students (bnnbreaking.com) Remaining COVID-19 relief funds being eyed for new Jackson schools curriculum – mlive.com The Multiplier: Connecting to Community to Connect to Networks | Benton Institute for Broadband & Society VIDEO: MCC debuts […]
Gov. Whitmer has signed a bill making important changes to the post-retirement employment window and earnings limits for school retirees who choose to return to work. House Bill 4752 (now Public Act 147 of 2023), introduced by Rep. Matt Koleszar (D-Plymouth), shortens the waiting period for a retiree with a bona fide retirement to work […]
This Banned Books Week, be sure to check out MEA’s “Freedom to Read” series, which explores how educators across Michigan are fighting back against political extremists and working to protect students’ freedom to read. In the five-part series, MEA Voice Editor Brenda Ortega — a former reporter with the Los Angeles Times — examines growing […]
In March of 2018, the rural community of Paw Paw west of Kalamazoo was shaken by terrifying news of tragedy narrowly averted: a 15-year-old student had been arrested just hours before he planned to commit a mass shooting at the local high school the next day. The teen was found to have a hit list […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor As a third-year school psychologist in the Eastern Upper Peninsula Intermediate School District (EUPISD), MEA member Cinthia Mendoza-Medina most certainly has not seen it all. But so far one thing has surprised the early-career educator in her role leading multi-disciplinary teams conducting risk assessments for students feared to be […]
The first time MEA member Fred McFadden attended Crisis Prevention Intervention (CPI) training 27 years ago, he was newly employed as a technician at an inpatient mental health facility in Auburn Hills, Havenwyck Hospital, and he didn’t believe the techniques would work. Nearly three decades later McFadden still works nights at Havenwyck, plus he’s a […]
