When MEA member Jeff Austin started a writing center at Skyline High School in Ann Arbor six years ago, he didn’t have a mentor or a network of support to help him. Now he wants to be one and build that for others to follow in his footsteps. Austin’s innovative tutoring program provides quality writing […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor MEA member Holly Hereau teaches science in a suburban Detroit setting, but she grew up in the wild. The 15-year veteran of South Redford School District fondly recalls a childhood in the Upper Peninsula’s Escanaba area playing outside with her friends—mostly in the woods, discovering nature by following her […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Pardon the cliché, but MEA member Mallory Rivard is living her dream—and not only because she’s on her way to compete in the Miss America pageant representing Michigan in December. “My dream has always been to be Miss Rivard,” she says. “It’s always to be a first-grade teacher. It’s […]
First-year educator Stephanie Connell briefly paused and held her head in her hands to contain the overwhelm she felt while shopping in the New Teacher Store at Rochester Community Schools a few days before school started this year. The high school English teacher and new MEA member could take what she wanted from a room […]
My View is a special series taking a ground-level look at big issues My preparation for a new school year follows a similar routine: buy new classroom supplies, organize and set-up the classroom, look over and revise lesson plans, and my favorite part—get to know my newest third graders. I can’t wait to meet the […]
Early career educators band together to strengthen colleagues and the union By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor For fourth-year educator Danielle Werner, the stress of phoning parents about their child’s misbehavior or lackluster effort is one of the hardest parts of being a new teacher. “In general, I still don’t even like calling to order […]
In 22 years, the K-2 paraeducator working with students on the autism spectrum in West Bloomfield—has seen good (kids) and bad (cuts) What’s your typical day like as a paraeducator in a special education classroom? I supervise cars in the drop-off line in the morning, so I get to see all the good-byes and well […]
Three MEA members received the Paul Blewett Friend of Education Award in April for their work to help MEA and public education. The honor comes with a monetary award endowed through the trust of Blewett, a longtime educator and leader from Region 17 in the U.P. Sandy Brasil is a Novi High School administrative assistant […]
Every Michigan Teacher of the Year brings personal passions to the role as spokesperson for the state’s educators. The state’s top teacher for 2019 sums up her mission in two words: professional revitalization. MEA member Cara Lougheed, an English teacher at Stoney Creek High School in Rochester Community Schools, said as MTOY she will continue […]
How to reduce student attrition is a topic of great interest to college administrators, but Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) Communication Professor Dr. David Schneider is on a mission to make it the concern of every instructor and professor as well. A longtime member and leader of MEA’s higher education branch, Michigan Association for Higher […]
