Category: Uncategorized
MEA President statement on request for 2021 federal testing waiver
EAST LANSING — The following can be attributed to MEA President Paula Herbart about the Michigan Department of Education’s request for a federal standardized testing waiver for 2021 that was filed today with the U.S. Department of Education: “MEA applauds Superintendent Rice and the Michigan Department of Education for continuing efforts to obtain a federal […]
Loving Head Cook, ‘Miss Dawn,’ Wins ESP of the Year: ‘This is home to me’
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor At Parma Elementary School in Jackson County’s Western School District, students coming through Miss Dawn’s cafeteria line enjoy a generous serving of love along with their chicken nuggets, buttered corn and apple slices. “The kids absolutely love her because they know she cares,” said Principal Sue Haney. “She jokes with […]
MEA Book Studies Tackle Timely Yet Difficult Topics: Racism, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
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 […]
This Week in Review (and it’s only Wednesday)
This week, MEA members gave and they received. They gave feedback to policymakers and the public in the form of survey answers sounding their alarm. And they received clarification from the state on information their school administrators must supply to make educators show up to an empty classroom for “remote” teaching. The week started with […]
Labor Voices: Student Health, Safety MEA Educators’ Top Priority
By Paula Herbart When it comes to decisions on how to educate students, we must heed the voices of Michigan’s front-line educators. That’s been a steady refrain in my monthly columns – but it’s never been more critical than right now with lives on the line. This week, the Michigan Education Association released the results […]
Majority of 4,700 MEA Members Surveyed Concerned About Safe Return to In-Person Learning
Educators want to be part of the decision-making process, solution EAST LANSING – The Michigan Education Association today released a statewide online survey of more than 4,700 educators with findings related to COVID-19’s continued impact on public education. The survey found a vast majority of educators are concerned about a full return to in-person learning as cases […]