By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Several years into her career as an occupational therapist in Warren Woods Public Schools, MEA member Michele Morgan realized why her high school students didn’t always make an easy or successful transition from school to work. It wasn’t a lack of technical skills holding them back — she had […]
Just over four years ago, Dayna Polehanki and Matt Koleszar were working as classroom teachers — facing firsthand the challenges that decades of under-funding and misguided policy presented for public education. Today, they not only serve in the Michigan Legislature, but have been named the new chairs of the Senate and House Education Committees under […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Sen. Dayna Polehanki called it “our first victory for public education” resulting from the Democratic trifecta voters put in place with last November’s election — which is the first time in 40 years the party has controlled the state House, Senate and governor’s office. Shortly before the new Legislature […]
◼ Continue historic investments in early childhood through higher education — including increases to both base funding and equity needs to meet different student needs (from special education and poverty to transportation and program availability for rural schools). ◼ Encourage school districts and higher education employers to invest funding increases in employee recruitment and retention efforts. ◼ […]
◼ Allow public employers to pay a greater share of health insurance costs (beyond the current 80% or hard cap limitations) to improve school employee take home pay. ◼ Repeal the pension tax that reduces the retirement security of school employees and others seniors across Michigan. ◼ Work with employers to increase wages for all […]
◼ Repeal prohibited subjects of bargaining to provide employee voice in the workplace on job placement and security, outsourcing, evaluation, just cause requirements for dismissal, and more. ◼ Remove automatic penalties for school employees when working under an expired contract, like step freezes and pass-through of health insurance cost increases. ◼ Allow school employees […]
◼ Fix the teacher evaluation system to make it developmental rather than punitive by removing state testing data, changing “effectiveness” labels, ensuring educator voice in the process and providing due process for evaluation appeals. ◼ Streamline and minimize assessment requirements to reduce both time spent and high-stakes assigned to standardized testing. ◼ Take advantage of freedom […]
◼ Repeal third-grade reading retention, shifting focus from punishing students who under-perform on standardized tests to supporting their individual literacy needs. ◼ Invest proper resources for PreK-3 reading intervention (such as “individual reading plans”), provide educators with professional latitude for assessments, and develop consistent post-fourth-grade literacy supports to help students get the support they need. […]
By Matt Cottone Heart pounding, barely able to catch my breath, I quickly realized the infamous altitude of Peru at 14,000 feet wasn’t a joke. But I didn’t mind the struggle—with every gulp of air, I surveyed one of the Seven Wonders of the World in all its splendor. I had arrived at the zenith […]
Cleorah Scruggs-DeBose, award-winning lifetime MEA member, saw the curriculum reflected little diversity when she began teaching in Flint in 1970, so she infused multicultural learning into lessons; led NEA to adopt National Multicultural Diversity Day; and still runs a non-profit that hosts an annual event to celebrate diverse cultures. Where did you grow up, and […]
