Last November, Grosse Ile fifth grader Ava felt conflicted emotions when her teacher – MEA member Jaime Churches – won election to the state House of Representatives. She wanted Churches to win, but she didn’t want her to leave the classroom. On Thursday, with the school year drawing to a close, the youngster’s eyes lit […]
UPDATE: The House Labor Committee passed House Bills 4354-4357 on Thursday, May 25. The legislation will now proceed to the full House for consideration, likely in June. In the early hours of Thursday morning, over a dozen MEA members from across the state made the drive to Lansing to make their voices heard in the […]
It was April 1 of this year when MEA member Stacey Daniels received an email that said $50,000 of her student loan debt had been forgiven. The Flushing teacher was among hundreds of members who utilized MEA assistance in applying for a temporary waiver last year that relaxed some qualifying rules for the federal Public […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Five years ago when Nadia Rodriguez took a teaching job in Flint Community Schools, she knew world-changing history – the Flint Sit-Down Strike of 1937 – had played out on hallowed ground across the street from her K-3 Montessori classroom at Durant Tuuri Mott Elementary. A Flint native who […]
The vast majority of people support their local schools and the essential work performed by educators to help students learn and grow, but you might not get that perception when you turn on cable news or browse social media. With Teacher Appreciation Week next week, there’s no better time for everyday citizens to voice the […]
Earlier this year, Gov. Whitmer proposed a $20.6 billion plan for the state education budget for the coming year. This week, the State House and Senate put forward their own proposals for funding Michigan schools, with the House recommending a $19.6 billion plan and the Senate at $20.76 billion. Wherever they end up, public schools […]
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic rippled out into nearly every aspect of our lives, and public education was no exception. Michigan’s students and educators have faced unprecedented challenges in the aftermath of extended periods of remote learning and emotional trauma inflicted by a worldwide pandemic. To help alleviate the impact and ensure our neighborhood […]
At the end of each day, MEA member Jessi Brewer has her students think of their favorite thing from that day and text it to a parent, family member, or supportive adult at home. One day earlier this month, everyone shared the same fun news: We ran into Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at Trader Joe’s! Brewer […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Promising to build the strength and capacity of both MEA and the education professions, Chandra Madafferi was elected president of the statewide association at the MEA Representative Assembly (RA) on Saturday. Madafferi, a longtime teacher in Novi Community Schools and MEA vice president since 2017, will begin a three-year […]
In the wake of deadly school shootings in Oxford and at Michigan State University, which sparked tremendous outrage and public activism, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday signed into law broadly popular and commonsense measures to address the epidemic of gun violence. The new laws require universal background checks for firearm purchases and mandate safe storage […]
