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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
‘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 […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor As Chandra Madafferi begins her tenure as president of MEA, anyone wondering what she will prioritize in the new role can look to her stewardship of the Local Presidents’ Academy (LPA) to understand what she values most in leadership. Systems thinking. Empathic listening. Transformative change. A longtime teacher and […]
MEA member Ronald Smith could have been a science professor at a big, prestigious four-year university, but he chose to spend his 50-year career teaching students at Kellogg Community College in Battle Creek – and that has made all the difference, he says. Smith retired from his post teaching physical sciences last spring and in […]
By Chandra Madafferi It’s a new day for Michigan students, parents and educators. With the pandemic behind us, a record level of funding flowing into local school districts, and concerted efforts to attract and retain talented educators to our children’s schools, we’ve finally turned the corner. As the Michigan Education Association’s new president, I’m proud […]
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s team convened a conversation in July with food service professionals and MEA members from across the state to begin discussing the logistics around the universal free school meal program included in the recent state education budget. Veteran food service professionals, who nurture deep bonds with students, voiced their excitement about ensuring no […]
On Wednesday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation restoring collective bargaining rights lost by educators over a decade ago – making good on pro-educator lawmakers’ promise to respect the profession as a way to recruit and retain the best and brightest for our students. Building on the record-breaking education budget signed last week, these new […]
Celebration and interconnection. Those were the predominant themes that ran through the speakers and sessions at the MEA Summer Conference last week at Saginaw Valley State University. “All of us have experienced so much in the past few years, but when I think about the darkest, toughest times, I think of one thing: Hope,” said […]
