By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor When MEA member Megan Ake changed school districts from Farmington to Fenton five years ago, the first teaching tasks she felt pressured to master involved massive classroom-practice checklists and student-growth data mandates in the state’s evolving educator evaluation system. Instead of learning her students’ names, delving into a new […]
The Lunch Bags help keep students ready to learn (uppermichiganssource.com) Traverse City Schools’ New Student Health Center – A Lifeline for Students (bnnbreaking.com) Remaining COVID-19 relief funds being eyed for new Jackson schools curriculum – mlive.com The Multiplier: Connecting to Community to Connect to Networks | Benton Institute for Broadband & Society VIDEO: MCC debuts […]
In March of 2018, the rural community of Paw Paw west of Kalamazoo was shaken by terrifying news of tragedy narrowly averted: a 15-year-old student had been arrested just hours before he planned to commit a mass shooting at the local high school the next day. The teen was found to have a hit list […]
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor As a third-year school psychologist in the Eastern Upper Peninsula Intermediate School District (EUPISD), MEA member Cinthia Mendoza-Medina most certainly has not seen it all. But so far one thing has surprised the early-career educator in her role leading multi-disciplinary teams conducting risk assessments for students feared to be […]
The first time MEA member Fred McFadden attended Crisis Prevention Intervention (CPI) training 27 years ago, he was newly employed as a technician at an inpatient mental health facility in Auburn Hills, Havenwyck Hospital, and he didn’t believe the techniques would work. Nearly three decades later McFadden still works nights at Havenwyck, plus he’s a […]
Save the Date for our first annual Educators Rising Competition and Conference to be held on March 13, 2024 from 9 a.m.–2 p.m. at Wayne State University. MEA is newly affiliated with Educators Rising, a program for middle and high school students interested in education careers to learn about building content knowledge, responsive planning, implementing […]
Just two years ago, the MEA unit representing 11 office clerical workers in Grosse Ile Township Schools consisted of one member. The group was working without a contract, and the unit faced decertification for low membership numbers. In the winter of 2021, that one member recruited two others and the trio did their best to […]
By Debbie Carew In my wildest imagination I never expected to be harassed and defamed for being an educator, especially one who defends literature and intellectual freedom. But that is what I’m facing for standing up to protect students’ access to a variety of reading and educational materials. In Brandywine Community Schools where I teach […]
Watch for action this fall on some key education priorities in the Michigan Legislature, including: Senate Bill 395 to amend Michigan’s teacher evaluation system to remove student growth from educator scores, eliminate punitive aspects of the system to focus on teacher development, and get rid of mandates to test kindergarten students in the first 30 […]
Nominations are being accepted for several positions on the MEA ESP Caucus Executive Board. Open positions are as follows beginning Sept. 1, 2024: PRESIDENT: 1 Position — Sept. 1, 2024 to Aug. 31, 2027 VICE-PRESIDENT: 1 Position — Sept. 1, 2024 to Aug. 31, 2027 SECRETARY: 1 Position — Sept. 1, 2024 to Aug. 31, […]
