By Chandra Madafferi I feel optimistic when meeting first-year educators, who tell me they are excited and ready to face the future. Many say they still chose to go into the profession despite others trying to talk them out of it. These are educators we desperately need to keep – for the sake of our […]
By Chandra Madafferi One of the most important things we can do during the holidays is take time to practice gratitude and remind ourselves of all that we are grateful for. This holiday season, Michigan educators, parents and supporters of public education have a lot to celebrate. Thanks to the hard work of Michigan Education […]
By Chandra Madafferi Michigan educators and communities are doing amazing things with the billions of dollars our state has received in federal school rescue funds. While there’s still plenty of great work to be done, time is running out for school districts to put this one-time funding to good use. Our state received $5.6 billion […]
By Chandra Madafferi and Terrence Martin From small farm towns to the inner city and the suburbs, every student in Michigan deserves an opportunity to succeed, and that’s why education leaders are excited about Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s new initiative designed to keep kids and their parents from falling through the cracks. This summer, Whitmer announced […]
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, […]
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 […]
Last Wednesday was the second-greatest day of my career in public education — which after 31 years, is coming to a close on July 15. That evening on June 28, the Michigan Legislature passed a landmark package of bills to restore workplace rights stripped from school employees a dozen years ago. When the bills take […]
When most people think of summer, they think of sunshine and relaxation. But for many Michigan children struggling with mental health issues, summer can be anything but tranquil. Our kids are dealing with unprecedented mental health challenges, including anxiety, depression and other behavioral issues. The prevalence of such challenges among our children was already on […]
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 […]
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 […]
