March 10, 2021 By Paula Herbart/President – Michigan Education Association In sports, teamwork is valued by coaches, players and fans because we are stronger working together than alone. The same is true in education. During the pandemic, a strong team bond has formed between educators, students and families. Working together like never before, that team […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor MEA member Ryan Ridenour has never known a teacher evaluation system other than the one used in Michigan since 2015. Still the world history and psychology teacher, in his sixth year at West Bloomfield, has found key problems with the state’s method for scoring, rating, and ranking educators. “I […]
Update 3/9 – On Tuesday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed HB 4048 releasing federal COVID relief funding for schools as laid out below, but announced she was vetoing HB 4049 – the bill limiting gubernatorial epidemic powers around school closure and athletics which the Republican Legislature tied to the release of $840 million in those federal funds. The administration has asked […]
MEA members are currently receiving checks from the state for the MI Classroom Heroes grants of up to $500 for teachers or $250 for ancillary and support staff. Otherwise known as ‘hazard pay’ checks, this is the first round of payments based on legislation passed last year. MEA advocated with the Legislature for equity in […]
MEA member Julie Ingison says the pandemic means children who ride her bus can’t see her smile through the face mask, but she tries to make sure they can hear the smile in her voice when she greets them by name each day. They also can feel her love through the huggable gift she handcrafted […]
Some long-awaited proposed changes to the state’s educator evaluation system have been introduced in the Michigan Legislature. Now action is needed to push lawmakers to move the bills. One pressing issue for educators – the percentage of student growth included in teacher evaluations – has two GOP-sponsored measures awaiting action. That student growth requirement is […]
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called out GOP leaders in the state House and Senate today for withholding federal COVID relief money approved by Congress last December, which included $1.7 billion for the state’s schools to address safety concerns amid the pandemic. More than 95% of schools in the state have announced plans for some level of […]
MEA member educators in the first 10 years of their careers are invited to join university student members for a newly expanded MEA conference in March that will deliver professional development, networking opportunities, and training sessions. Participants at the free virtual event on Saturday, March 20, will discover classroom tips to put to use the […]
Lawmakers in both the State House and State Senate are delaying release of bipartisan federal education funding meant to help schools address the COVID-19 pandemic, continuing political maneuvering instead of distributing taxpayer dollars the way Congress intended. Michigan House Republicans passed a proposal that made distribution of these critical funds to schools contingent on the […]
It’s not a surprise that registrations for this year’s virtual MEA Winter Conference were down by about one-third from normal times when our union’s biggest event of the year is held over three February days in Detroit. That makes it even more impressive that requests for State Continuing Education Clock Hours – SCECHs needed to […]
