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 […]
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 […]
By Shana Saddler When my third-hour class behaved badly with a substitute teacher, I was extremely disappointed in my student leaders. The next day, I approached “Maya” (a spirited, driven, yet funny student) and said, “Maya, why did you not step up as a leader and try to positively influence student misbehavior?” Maya replied, “Mrs. Saddler, […]
Member Voices By Jaime Churches, Grosse Ile EA member My name is Jaime Churches, and I’m a fifth-grade teacher on Gross Ile. I’m running for a state House seat representing Downriver Wayne County and hopeful for the privilege to continue serving my students and their families every day – but now from the Capitol instead […]
MEA member William Renner has always relied on community support to help equip his technology classroom at Hastings Middle School, but even he was surprised by the generosity of donations from area business and civic leaders to support a summer trades camp he operated this year. “It was money, it was time, it was talent,” […]
Michigan kids deserve the best and brightest educators. That seems like an uncontroversial statement, yet in the face of an educator shortage, some lawmakers have proposed significantly lowering our state’s teacher certification standards and making it easier for unqualified people to lead a classroom of young students. The last thing our state’s leaders should be […]
For MEA member Sandy Safford-Groff, the last two years have been especially hard – both as an 18-year English teacher in Cheboygan and a human being. Early in the pandemic Safford-Groff lost her mother, Dale Safford – a retired school librarian in Iron River, the small Upper Peninsula town where she grew up loving books […]
Although MEA member Nanette Hanson has achieved rarefied status as the newly crowned 2022-23 Michigan Teacher of the Year (MTOY), the first grade teacher in Escanaba embodies the story of so many educators. Troubled by low self-esteem growing up in the small Upper Peninsula town of Gladstone, Hanson said in an interview it was caring […]
School districts are taking advantage of state grants, creating new high school courses, and developing partnerships with colleges and universities to address the educator shortage by exposing students to career opportunities in the profession before they reach college. The growth of courses and programs for high schoolers reflects heightened concerns around far fewer young people […]
By Shana Saddler Michigan summers have a special place in my heart as a time for many educators to recharge their spirit and spend quality time with family and friends. Last summer I experienced one of the most frightening yet joyful times in my life – one that reminded me what it means to be […]
