By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor For MEA member Brian Dalton, everything he’s learned about life — and teaching middle school kids — can be summed up in a project that he’s worked on since January and will culminate in a sold-out public performance on June 2 at The Roxy Rochester. Preparations inside his classroom [...]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor MEA member Erik Meerschaert, a special education teacher at Lake Orion High School known for his positivity and leadership in providing inclusive opportunities for all students, was named the 2026-27 Michigan Teacher of the Year on Wednesday. “I’m without words… Being a part of this community and watching the […]
From the Lansing State Journal: https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/education/2026/04/06/as-artemis-ii-heads-to-moon-a-small-town-michigan-teacher-is-headed-to-nasa/89401671007/ In a few months, Dee Smith will make her way from Ashley – a small village of about 500 people located north of Lansing, traveling some 1,300 miles south to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas. Smith will be part of NASA’s LiftOff Summer institute, which provides teachers with […]
A longtime advocate for the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ staff and students, Frank Burger became the first recipient of MEA’s new Gerry Crane Human and Civil Rights Award, named after a west Michigan teacher whose tragic story inspired others to action. A 28-year educator in the Flint-area Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools, Burger advises the high […]
As a union leader in Grand Rapids, when she discovered male and female teachers with identical resumes being paid differently, Wendy Winston worked to resolve the disparity. She cites the example for why the intersectional fight for gender equity and human rights must go on. In accepting MEA’s 2026 Maurine Wyatt Feminist and Gender Equity […]
Initially Kathy Kosobud set out toward a career in theater design, but she shifted to education after college and applied her manual arts skills to pre-vocational settings for children with disabilities, spending many years as a special education teacher in Ann Arbor. Following a long career advocating for fairness and creating access to opportunities for […]
Daniel Clason drew inspiration from a Mississippi blues museum for the centerpiece of his project-based approach in Clarkston: traveling trunks filled with American Revolution artifacts created by eighth graders as hands-on learning tools for fifth graders. Clason is the recipient of the 2026 MEA Educational Excellence Award for his instructional leadership and creativity as an […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor It wasn’t until her last year of high school that MEA member Stephanie Johnson figured out what career to pursue. She found her path in senior English class. Johnson always loved school, and that ye ar she especially enjoyed breaking down phrasing and vocabulary from Shakespeare and Chaucer to […]
From NEA: https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/chemistry-teacher-day-olympic-hockey-referee-night When Jake Davis stepped onto Olympic ice in Milan, he was not just a chemistry teacher from Michigan anymore. Davis was now one of the few officials in the world who would referee the 2026 Olympic men’s hockey. “Stepping on the ice was surreal,” said Davis. “Just being on the ice with the best hockey players in the world and […]
From Michigan Department of Education: https://www.michigan.gov/mde/news-and-information/press-releases/2026/02/26/mi-teacher-honored-with-milken-educator-award What started with a special visit from Michigan Chief Deputy Superintendent Dr. Sue Carnell turned into an exciting announcement Pine River Middle School teacher Stephanie Johnson will never forget: she is Michigan’s Milken Educator Award recipient for 2025-26! Johnson, a seventh grade ELA teacher at PRMS, is Michigan’s 93rd recipient since The Great […]
