By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor In June of 2021, MEA member Justin Harper and two co-founders formally launched a free program for youth in the Ypsilanti-Ann Arbor area, focusing on sports as a tool for teaching kids about health and nutrition along with problem-solving and leadership. Back then Harper was working as a 15-year […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor When high schooler Rebecca Cox realized she wanted to be an art teacher, she wondered if she had what it takes, so she signed up for the Education Careers program at the Lenawee Intermediate School District (LISD) Tech Center. “I knew I really liked the art part — I […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor MEA member Aric Foster got bitten by the teaching bug as a teenager working as a Taekwondo instructor. Specifically he recalls showing a skinny kid named Tyler a new kick, then watching him deploy it at a tournament to win an award. Foster remembers the confidence on Tyler’s face, […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor MEA member Sarah Le Febre realized last spring she didn’t know how many years she’d accumulated in her teaching career or what time counted toward retirement from her early experience as a long-term substitute or years of coaching soccer and cheerleading. “I had to call the 1-800 number to […]
By Chandra Madafferi, MEA President & CEO It’s back-to-school season, and in towns and cities across Michigan, parents and educators are gearing up for a new school year. Whether it’s the buzz of a Friday night football game, the excitement of a school play, or the familiar faces in the school pick-up line, our hometown […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor The nation’s first federal school voucher scheme was tucked inside the tax cuts and spending plan that Republicans in Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4. Last-minute changes require states to opt-in to participation — which adds even more significance to 2026 mid-term elections […]
From the federal level down to local districts, schools, and classrooms, more issues than ever are competing for educators’ attention and advocacy. The specific concerns facing early-career educators do not always make it to the top of the priorities list. This should change — and is changing — as veteran educators and union leaders leave […]
UPDATE – July 25: Nearly a month late, the Trump administration abruptly unfroze billions in education funding withheld from states by the U.S. Department of Education. Pushes for the funding, due to school districts by July 1, came from constituent calls to Congress and a lawsuit filed by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and 21 […]
The following statement can be attributed to MEA President & CEO Chandra Madafferi and AFT Michigan President Terrence Martin regarding ongoing education budget discussions in Lansing: Michigan students and the educators who serve them every day deserve a budget that invests in their success. Lawmakers shouldn’t settle for an education budget that doesn’t invest every […]
This week, the U.S. Senate narrowly passed (thanks to Vice President Vance’s tie-breaking vote) a dangerous budget reconciliation bill that provides tax breaks for billionaires at the expense of health care, food assistance and education programs for working families. The bill now returns to the U.S. House, where your representative’s vote will help determine the […]
