By PAULA HERBART/President – Michigan Education Association The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us how connected we are to the world around us. Nowhere has this been more evident than in our reliance on essential, frontline workers who staff our hospitals, keep our communities running and, yes, educate our students. This public health crisis has also […]
By PAULA HERBART/President – Michigan Education Association In this election, our democracy is on the ballot. Our nation has a strong history of conducting free and fair elections, even in the most difficult times. During the Civil War, the fate of our nation — whether we would remain the “United” States — was in doubt, […]
September 16, 2020 By PAULA HERBART/President – Michigan Education Association For decades, we’ve all heard the refrain: “This is the most important election in our lifetime.” More than ever, this statement is ringing true for voters with more than 190,000 American lives — and counting — lost to the pandemic, a crumbling economy that has devastated […]
By PAULA HERBART/President – Michigan Education Association As we approach the start of a school year like no other, teachers and education support professionals are feeling scared and angry. Scared because of unknown consequences of returning to classrooms without clear answers about COVID-19 health and safety — because, frankly, the experts don’t have those answers […]
July 15, 2020 By PAULA HERBART/President – Michigan Education Association A lawsuit filed last week against U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos created a case name that captures a long-standing feeling among educators and friends of public education. Michigan v. DeVos. After years of Betsy DeVos and her family pushing an extreme, anti-public education agenda across our state […]
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 […]
