by Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor (Part 4 of our five-part series on how anti-LGBTQ political attacks are harming educators and students) When veteran educator and local MEA leader Cathy Murray married her wife in December 2015, six months after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, she was surprised to learn several others from […]
by Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor (Part 3 of our five-part series on how anti-LGBTQ political attacks are harming educators and students) MEA member Owen Bondono remembers well-meaning advice he got from a professor when he came out as transgender in college: either don’t transition or don’t become an educator. He would go on to […]
by Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor (Part 2 of our five-part series on how anti-LGBTQ political attacks are harming educators and students) In the summer of 1995 life was good for Gerry Crane, a young music teacher in west Michigan who had turned around a struggling high school program, earning awards and a glowing evaluation […]
by Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor (Part 1 of our five-part series on how anti-LGBTQ political attacks are harming educators and students) Michael Woods has been a teacher in Florida for 30 years, but a new state law left him uncertain of what he could and could not say to students when he returned this […]
By Corban Van Dam High school is a time when young people explore different interests and begin to work out what they want to do with their lives. This crucial developmental exercise requires a diverse array of learning experiences and educators to guide that journey. Unfortunately, the crushing teacher shortage is weighing on every aspect […]
We all know it takes a village to raise a child, and as educators we value everyone within the school community who plays a role in it. School children start every day greeted by a bus driver as they climb aboard. They arrive at school to a building full of folks ready to care for […]
A diverse group of 37 high school students spent two weeks of their summer break at Wayne State University’s Next Gen Teachers program, a partnership with MEA that introduced the young people to a potential career in education. Chosen from more than 200 applications, the students from 29 high schools in Michigan and Illinois stayed […]
In 2018, Michigan voters approved a constitutional amendment to empower an independent commission of citizens to draw legislative and congressional district lines for the 2022 election and beyond with the goal of eliminating gerrymandering and creating more equitable representation. The independent citizens’ commission is comprised of thirteen private citizens of differing political ideologies, selected by […]
State Senate: Erika Geiss (District 1) Darrin Camilleri (District 4) Dayna Polehanki (District 5) Bert Van Dyke (District 25) Kim Nagy (District 31) State House: Regina Weiss (District 6) Lori Stone (District 13) Matt Koleszar (District 22) Jason Morgan (District 23) Dylan Wegela (District 26) Jaime Churches (District 27) Nate Shannon (District 58) Anthony Feig […]
By Zach Crim, MEA Public Affairs Theresann Pyrett has taught at West Ottawa Middle School for 11 years. She has seen educators demonized, public schools attacked, and the values that led her to become an educator dismissed by elected officials who have never taught a class. They have never driven a bus. They have never […]
