EAST LANSING – At-risk students may be hardest hit by the disruption of schooling in the COVID-19 era, so an MEA unit of Kalamazoo behavior specialists has taken action to help them cope from a distance. The 14 members of the Kalamazoo Behavior Specialists Association (KBSA) came up with the idea to create Wellness Toolboxes for their students to […]
MEA president’s safety message comes as COVID-19 cases rise across Michigan and nationwide EAST LANSING – Michigan Education Association President Paula Herbart today joined education, medical and corporate officials from across Michigan who are calling for a stronger commitment to steps that will prevent the spread of COVID-19 as case numbers and hospitalizations are on […]
Educators across the state and nation are coming together to find innovative solutions for e-learning, despite a lack of support from Betsy DeVos and the Trump Administration, wrote MEA member Chris Thomas, a teacher in Ann Arbor Public Schools, in a recent column for Bridge Magazine. “Through the platforms and networks of MEA and NEA,” […]
U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos continues to duck responsibility for keeping students and school employees safe from coronavirus, telling an audience gathered Tuesday for a right-wing conference that it’s not her job to track school districts’ COVID-19 cases or reopening plans. DeVos, known by experts as “the worst” education secretary in U.S. history, told attendees […]
The stress of this unprecedented moment is like nothing we’ve ever experienced. MEA President Paula Herbart has been hearing that truth and other consistent messages from members all over the state, and MEA continues to use every tool and resource to lift up those voices so educators’ concerns are heard and addressed, she says in […]
MEA is monitoring developments related to Friday’s Michigan Supreme Court ruling against Gov. Whitmer’s ability to use executive order to help protect the public during this pandemic – particularly as it relates to schools, community colleges and universities. We appreciate Gov. Whitmer’s efforts to keep the public, our students and our members safe, and we […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor MEA member Eric Curtiss thought he had a high number of students in his English classes last year when his numbers topped out at 144. This year he has 168, although the number fluctuates. Last year he had five preps, the most in his 22-year career. Now he has […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Michigan last March, MEA member Chris Thomas found himself in a unique position to help other educators in the district where he worked – Ann Arbor – get up to speed in figuring out how to deliver remote learning. Now he’s doing the same […]
Under a new state budget adopted by the Legislature on Wednesday, education funding avoided major cuts that had been expected due to the national economic downturn related to the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement Wednesday night, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she would sign the budget, which passed with bipartisan majorities in both chambers. “When we […]
When MEA member Richard Mui was growing up in Ferndale, not many Asian Americans lived in the community, which he believes accounted for the discrimination he encountered – teasing and racist comments about his perceived culture and language. “I learned to have a tougher skin, but it created an awareness of some injustices that are […]
