Annie Howard’s story is not unique – and that’s exactly why she wanted to tell it. Across Michigan every school year, MEA members help others cope with debilitating illnesses and accidents by donating sick days to those in need. In Howard’s case, Adrian Education Association members helped the 14-year veteran art teacher tend to a…
What Paula Herbart lacks in physical stature, she makes up for in gusto. The 5-foot music teacher can command a stage, a classroom, and a union hall. Think Norma Rae with a touch of Mr. Holland’s Opus, sprinkled with Glee. Her personality formed early on all of those fronts. Both of her parents were educators—her…
Chandra Madafferi is one of those people who seem blessed with extra energy the rest of us dream of having—a self-described “worker bee” who sees something that needs doing and dives in to get it done. And there’s a lot that needs doing. First and foremost on the incoming vice president’s agenda is to build…
Brett Smith says he was the “unknown” on the ballot this spring, but he didn’t come out of nowhere. He emerged from the battlefield. Constant attacks on educators by out-of-touch politicians did not fit the reality he saw every day working as a teacher: school employees caring for kids, providing a safe place to learn,…
Jessyca Matthews, a Flint high school teacher, is among seven finalists to become NEA’s 2017 Social Justice Activist of the Year – and you can help her win by voting!
Bus aides in Grand Rapids concerned about working conditions and a lack of job training have secured union representation for the first time with a unanimous vote to join the transportation unit of the Grand Rapids Education Support Professionals Association.
Public education advocates need to speak up and share their stories wherever they can – with friends, family, and acquaintances; in public forums and political arenas – and they need to start now, according to business executive Jamie Vollmer, a public schools critic-turned-champion. The former business executive keynoted an NEA-sponsored “Listening and Engagement Tour” run…
A national campaign to rally supporters of public education kicked off in Dearborn this week, a location chosen by organizers to draw attention to the damage caused in Michigan by the destructive policies of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
The highlight of Tuesday’s event at Edsel Ford High School were plans to coordinate a nationwide day of action on May 1, expected to attract more than 100,000 people at more than 2,000 schools in 200 cities across the U.S.
The national campaign calling for investment in public education – “Build Schools, Not Walls” – is being jointly coordinated by the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools, a coalition that includes NEA and AFT in addition to other parent and education groups.
MEA member Joe Dombrowski is such a huge Ellen DeGeneres fan that he says he blacked out mentally while appearing on her show last week and couldn’t remember exactly what he said during the interview. But when he watched a tape of his segment on last Friday’s The Ellen Show, he was amazed to see her…
