June 17, 2020 By PAULA HERBART/President – Michigan Education Association One of the most important decisions our state will make in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic is when and how to safely reopen our public schools. MEA recently completed a landmark survey on COVID-19’s impact on public education, with more than 15,000 responses from […]
The global pandemic has wreaked havoc on state budgets, and Michigan is no exception; we face an estimated $6.2 billion shortfall through next year. To avoid catastrophic cuts, educators across the country are asking for help from Congress, like what has already been provided to such large corporations as airlines, cruise companies and banks. Specifically, […]
Michigan Education Association member Sarah VanderMeer says her heart aches from missing her developmental kindergartners from Brown Elementary School in Byron Center, so she checks in via FaceTime to see how they’re doing, setting up appointments through parents. VanderMeer taps every tool at her disposal to keep kids connected and engaged during online chats and virtual […]
February 19, 2020 By PAULA HERBART/President – Michigan Education Association There is a crisis in our public schools that threatens a generation of students. According to the U.S. Department of Education, Michigan has experienced a 70.7% decline in enrollment in teacher-education programs in the last decade. The only state with a worse decline in students studying to […]
January 15, 2020 By PAULA HERBART/President – Michigan Education Association Stefanie Sedlar was forced to put her plans to start a family on hold to pay off nearly $100,000 in student loan debt. A special education teacher for Mount Pleasant Public Schools, Sedlar is one of countless dedicated teachers and other public school employees who start […]
December 18, 2019 By PAULA HERBART/President – Michigan Education Association Some of us remember the old “Reading is Fundamental” ad campaign, which encouraged parents to read to their children. Today, that fundamental is even more critical, especially in light of how poverty and lagging literacy levels intersect. Too often, lawmakers look for “silver bullet” solutions […]
November 20, 2019 By PAULA HERBART/President – Michigan Education Association How would you like your child’s teacher to be evaluated? By the number of correct “bubbles” filled in on a standardized test? Or by creative lesson plans that develop critical thinking skills under that teacher’s tutelage? If you chose the latter, you are in good company. […]
October 16, 2019 By PAULA HERBART/President – Michigan Education Association “It’s not just about the mother, it’s about the health and well-being of her child.” That is how Amy Urbanowski-Nowak, president of MEA’s Birch Run local association, explained her fight for one of her teacher members to get the time needed to express breast milk […]
September 18, 2019 By PAULA HERBART/President – Michigan Education Association We often hear politicians say, “It’s about the kids,” and, “The students of today are the leaders of tomorrow.” If they truly believe that, they need to craft a state education budget that recognizes a simple fact: Not all students are the same. Unfortunately, the Republican education […]
A pension is a promise of a secure retirement. But too often in Lansing, they’re viewed as piggy banks to be broken into for political purposes. As a young educator, I remember then-Gov. John Engler diverting state payments from the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System to fund other priorities — which accelerated us down a […]
