The following statement is from leadership of organizations representing Michigan’s PK-12 Schools: David Hecker, AFT-Michigan President; Don Wotruba, MASB Executive Director; Tina Kerr, MASA Executive Director; Ray Telman, Middle Cities Executive Director; Paula Herbart, MEA President. Since this pandemic began, it has been our most fervent wish to safely reopen our schools for in-person learning. Educators agree that face-to-face time…

EAST LANSING — The following can be attributed to MEA President Paula Herbart regarding today’s announcement that preK-12 school employees will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccination beginning next Monday: “This is great news for Michigan students and educators alike. Ensuring our frontline teachers and education support professionals can be vaccinated to protect themselves, their families, and their students is a…

Educators nationwide hungry for virtual learning strategies, find them in MEA-led webinar series during pandemic EAST LANSING – With rising COVID-19 rates causing more schools to revert to virtual learning across the country, Michigan Education Association members continue to expand a webinar series that has helped more than 20,000 educators nationwide serve students remotely during the pandemic. “This relentless pandemic…

Educators nationwide hungry for virtual learning strategies, find them in MEA-led webinar series during pandemic EAST LANSING – With rising COVID-19 rates causing more schools to revert to virtual learning across the country, Michigan Education Association members continue to expand a webinar series that has helped more than 20,000 educators nationwide serve students remotely during the pandemic. “This relentless pandemic…

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 of a member survey that…

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 spike statewide. “The health and…

EAST LANSING – At-risk students may be hardest hit by the disruption of schooling in the COVID-19 era, so an MEA unit of Kalamazoo behavior specialists has taken action to help them cope from a distance. The 14 members of the Kalamazoo Behavior Specialists Association (KBSA) came up with the idea to create Wellness Toolboxes for their students to use at home. The group…

EAST LANSING — At an emergency meeting Tuesday evening, the MEA Board of Directors adopted the following motion regarding the association’s stance on a safe return to learning for students and educators this fall amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: MEA stands with all educators, who must be a part of creating and implementing return to school plans as well as bargaining…

EAST LANSING — The following can be attributed to MEA President Paula Herbart regarding the House passage of HBs 5910-5193 this evening: “This legislation uses the cover of a pandemic to push extreme ideas that are straight from the playbook of Betsy DeVos to make a profit off the education of our students. “The most reprehensible of the provisions passed…

EAST LANSING — The following can be attributed to MEA President Paula Herbart regarding today’s approval of an agreement between Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Legislature on the current year’s state budget: “I applaud Gov. Whitmer and legislative leaders for working together to pass this budget plan, which will help minimize the negative impact the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have…