Newsroom

By Chandra Madafferi, MEA President & CEO It’s back-to-school season, and in towns and cities across Michigan, parents and educators are gearing up for a new school year. Whether it’s the buzz of a Friday night football game, the excitement of a school play, or the familiar faces in the school pick-up line, our hometown public schools are at the…

By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Voucher schemes and the resulting cuts to public education funding have an outsized impact on rural regions where public schools are typically the center of their communities. (Adobe Stock Images) The nation’s first federal school voucher scheme was tucked inside the tax cuts and spending plan that Republicans in Congress passed and President Donald…

“When we raise up our early career educators, we lift up the education profession.” - Erinn Parker, MEA MiNE representative From the federal level down to local districts, schools, and classrooms, more issues than ever are competing for educators’ attention and advocacy. The specific concerns facing early-career educators do not always make it to the top of the priorities list.…

UPDATE - July 25: Nearly a month late, the Trump administration abruptly unfroze billions in education funding withheld from states by the U.S. Department of Education. Pushes for the funding, due to school districts by July 1, came from constituent calls to Congress and a lawsuit filed by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and 21 other states. It’s a good…

The following statement can be attributed to MEA President & CEO Chandra Madafferi and AFT Michigan President Terrence Martin regarding ongoing education budget discussions in Lansing: Michigan students and the educators who serve them every day deserve a budget that invests in their success. Lawmakers shouldn't settle for an education budget that doesn’t invest every dollar possible toward providing every…

This week, the U.S. Senate narrowly passed (thanks to Vice President Vance’s tie-breaking vote) a dangerous budget reconciliation bill that provides tax breaks for billionaires at the expense of health care, food assistance and education programs for working families. The bill now returns to the U.S. House, where your representative’s vote will help determine the ultimate outcome. Among the major…

By Erik Edoff, Senior Executive Director, Michigan Education Association Next year’s education budget has dominated recent headlines from the State Capitol, but zooming out to compare how Michigan schools are funded compared to other states is important to student success over time. Despite some progress over the past few years, Michigan still ranks in the bottom half of school funding…

A banner outlining the elements of the new Michigan ESP Bill of Rights, which aims to recognize and value the crucial role that school support staff play in ensuring a quality education for every student. A new statewide Bill of Rights campaign aimed at improving the wages, benefits and working conditions of school support staff was rolled out on Friday…

Shoe Club Nation, a nonprofit organization founded by Michigan educator Matt Hamilton, is launching a search for “Educator All-Stars” to help expand the program to middleschools across Michigan. Hamilton, who was recently named the National Education Association Foundation’s 2025 Award for Teaching Excellence, created the Shoe Club 17 years ago in East Jordan, Michigan, following two tragic student deaths that…

A first-of-its-kind artists’ reception capped off the 61st MEA/MAEA Art Acquisitions Purchase Exhibition on Monday, attracting several dozen participants to MEA Headquarters in East Lansing to honor this year’s accepted and winning entries crafted by members from across the state. The reception concluded the three-week juried exhibition, featuring nearly 70 pieces of art in a wide variety of media, including…