By Chandra Madafferi From planning a holiday feast or sharing Instagram-worthy photos of an amazing meal, food invokes powerful feelings. But for some families that struggle with food insecurity, those strong feelings aren’t necessarily positive. A student once asked me, “Mrs. M., can you just go to a grocery store and get whatever you want, […]
EAST LANSING – Veteran educator Arminda Westra has been hired by the Michigan Education Association to be the new Executive Director of the Center for Leadership & Learning, the union’s division devoted to driving education innovation and ensuring every Michigan student gets the quality public education they deserve. “As a product of Michigan’s public schools, […]
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 […]
UTICA — MEA member and Utica Community Schools teacher Jonathan Marceau has won first place in the Michigan Virtual EdTech Contest for his first-of-its-kind digital learning platform intended to boost student literacy and reduce prep work for educators. The Utica teacher’s winning pitch, Spelling Safari, reinvents the spelling curriculum with a software solution customized to […]
EAST LANSING — The Michigan Education Association is hailing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s creation of a new state department to better coordinate resources for preschoolers through higher-education students and help ensure every Michigan student has a clear path to reach their full potential. The Whitmer Administration on Wednesday issued an executive order creating the Michigan Department […]
EAST LANSING — The following statement can be attributed to MEA President Paula Herbart regarding today’s passage in the State House of bills restoring a variety of critical educator rights, including House Bills 4354, 4356, 4044, and 4233: “Today’s action by State Representatives passing bills that restore respect for our profession will make a difference […]
EAST LANSING — The Michigan Education Association announced Friday the recipients of the 2023 MEA Scholarships, honoring exemplary public school students from across the state who will be attending a Michigan public university this fall. Among the 422 applications submitted for scholarship awards this year, the MEA Scholarship Fund Trustees chose 23 new award recipients […]
CHARLEVOIX, Mich. — What started as a pilot program to engage families and communities in reading has created new bonds among students, parents and educators in rural communities across Northern Michigan. Through the Family Literacy Projects, MEA members identified families in rural areas with higher rates of poverty to encourage students to read, and parents […]
EAST LANSING — Today, a federal seal was lifted and a settlement announced regarding a frivolous, politically-motivated lawsuit brought against MEA by a right-wing “think tank” with a decades-long record of attacking public school educators and their unions. In April 2020, at the outset of the pandemic, MEA applied for and received a Paycheck Protection […]
Hana St. Juliana. Tate Myre. Madisyn Baldwin. Justin Shilling. Arielle Anderson. Brian Fraser. Alexandria Verner. I could spend the 600 words of this column just printing the names of young people killed by gun violence in our schools, starting with these seven murdered at Oxford High School and Michigan State University. Because, frankly, I’m running […]
