On Monday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel led a coalition of 23 attorneys general from across the country urging the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice to reinstate and expand 2014 guidance designed to help public schools meet their obligations under federal law to administer student discipline equitably. In a letter to U.S. Secretary of […]
Educators on our Legislation Commission and Board of Directors work every two years to ensure our Legislative Priorities reflect MEA’s values. Among the values embraced in this guiding document, amended and adopted this spring, is language advocating for the rights of ALL students and educators – and opposing bills like SB 218 that attack transgender […]
For MEA member Henry Stallings, systemic racism and bias is nothing new in the U.S. “As a Black man, I live this every day,” he says. But one thing is changing, he believes: public awareness of issues surrounding marginalized communities in America. With the approaching one-year anniversary of the brutal police killing of George Floyd, […]
A new round of SCECH-eligible virtual book studies is now open for member signups! Brought to you by MEA’s Center for Leadership & Learning, these five-week online group discussions center on two important books to help educators improve their skills as advocates for social and racial justice for our students and our society: “White Fragility” […]
It’s not a surprise that registrations for this year’s virtual MEA Winter Conference were down by about one-third from normal times when our union’s biggest event of the year is held over three February days in Detroit. That makes it even more impressive that requests for State Continuing Education Clock Hours – SCECHs needed to […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor When Dawn Weaver facilitates trainings or discussions around race, she talks with educators about the importance of creating “windows and mirrors” in their classroom practice. “I’ve always tried to have representation—not just for African-American students but any marginalized individuals—and make sure that everybody in my class is seeing themselves and seeing […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor During college, MEA member Anthony Pennock worried about whether he could ever be accepted as a gay man in the classroom. Now the sixth-year special education teacher is co-chair of MEA’s new LGBTQ Caucus. Pennock believes in “the power of one.” One teacher. One counselor. One bus driver. One […]
By Robyne Muray As an historian, I never thought I would witness the life-altering experience of a pandemic. I believed our medical advances made us far more sophisticated than those living through the 1918 flu pandemic. However, persevering through COVID-19 has changed my perspective about who I am and what my professional future holds. Teaching […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor MEA member Owen Bondono quickly got down to work as the new Michigan Teacher of the Year (MTOY). Just a few weeks into the role as advocate and voice for the state’s educators, the Oak Park language arts teacher began surveying school employees on their thoughts about returning to […]
MEA’s leadership is committed to exploring and addressing systemic racism, including how it has existed in unionism and public schools, said MEA President Paula Herbart, who participated in a recent MEA webinar on the subject organized by Aspiring Educators of Michigan (AEM). “We are committed to working hard and to asking people of color what […]
