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 […]
Her unit was on the verge of decertification from MEA a little over one year ago when Nikki Clear took over as president of her local union representing transportation employees, food service workers, paraeducators, and secretaries. Now she’s won MEA’s Leon A. Brunner Award. A bus driver for four years in Stockbridge Community Schools, Clear […]
In just over three years since she became co-president of her local support staff union in Kalkaska, Jessica Davenport has worked hard to rebuild membership numbers that had dropped low enough to put her unit on the cusp of being disbanded. She faced bigger-than-normal challenges not long after getting started when the global pandemic made […]
A few years ago MEA member Sarah Garrett set her hopes on nominating longtime Battle Creek Public Schools secretary Bernadette Gordier for an NEA award — believing her friend deserved national recognition for tremendous service to the school district and community. However, Gordier would soon pass away at the age of 74, in January 2021, […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor As a sign language interpreter, MEA member Heather Dew was taught to think of herself as the unseen part of a communication triangle: A speaks to B and B speaks to A, while she serves as “the invisible C” facilitating the exchange. Dew brought that same sensibility to her […]
EAST LANSING – On Jan. 4, 2004, lifelong school bus driver Bob Hanchek made a stop on his afternoon route along U.S. 41 in the North Central Area Schools district in Michigan’s western Upper Peninsula. With red lights flashing and two of his 15 riders coming up the aisle to exit, Hanchek recognized a big […]
Over his 50 years of driving a school bus in North Central Area Schools in the western Upper Peninsula, MEA member Bob Hanchek says one day clearly stands out from all the rest. On Jan. 4, 2004, Hanchek made a stop on his afternoon route along U.S. 41. With red lights flashing and two of […]
In February, MEA released a statewide survey of nearly 2,600 educators, with the vast majority of those surveyed saying the state’s acute educator shortage and its impact on students is the most pressing issue facing Michigan schools. Ninety-one percent of respondents said they were extremely or very concerned about the educator shortage, followed by concerns […]
Morale among educators in South Redford is the worst Bill Dyer has seen in 28 years as a math teacher in the district, the local union president said. He also has never before seen 10 teaching positions open mid-year—which was the number unfilled last month. “It’s been an uphill battle for us to attract new teachers, […]
Education support professionals in Lapeer held an informational picket along Main Street last week to call attention to the fact they are working under an expired contract despite negotiating on a new agreement since last January. The 125 members of Lapeer Education Support Personnel believe their previous sacrifices during challenging financial times for the district should […]
