Newsroom

The following statement can be attributed to Michigan Education Association President and CEO Chandra Madafferi, a teacher from Oakland County, in response to the Michigan Senate’s passage of House Bill 6058: “The Michigan Education Association applauds the Senate for passing House Bill 6058, which will help keep the best and brightest educators working in our students’ classrooms and helping them…

The following statement can be attributed to Michigan Education Association President and CEO Chandra Madafferi, a teacher from Oakland County, in response to the state House’s passage of House Bill 6058 and the Senate’s approval of Senate Bills 1129 and 1130: “By taking swift action on this critical issue, the legislators have taken a critical step in reigning in skyrocketing…

By Kandy Slack MSU-APA Membership Chair MEA Scholarship recipient Ren Short (left) and mom Kandy Slack remind members to check if college‑age dependents are eligible to apply at mea.org/mea‑scholarship. Slack is membership chair of the Administrative Professionals Association at Michigan State University (MSU-APA). As membership chair of my local MEA unit at Michigan State University, I love talking with new…

Ron Furgeson enjoys a lunchtime chat with third‑grader Emma. Working as a custodian in Petoskey schools has been a rewarding career for 28 years — thanks to union pay and benefits, he says. When Ron Furgeson first joined Petoskey Schools as a custodian nearly 30 years ago, he subbed on nights for nearly a year before a longtime employee retired…

 Ed-tech entrepreneur is veteran Utica elementary teacher  This year MEA member Jonathan Marceau is watching the dream he shepherded to reality take on a life of its own out in the world. A veteran elementary teacher in Utica Community Schools, Marceau launched his award-winning app—Spelling Safari—in mid-August from an idea that has stayed with him ever since his student teaching…

Any successful basketball team is made up of players motivated to come to practice every day, set new goals, and achieve personal bests. Getting students excited about coming to school and learning is no different, the staff at Hughes Elementary School in Marshall has found. In 2012 the state flagged Hughes as a Focus School for the gap between its…

By Deborah Robertson and Kiarra Whitelow Harper Woods School District Deborah Robertson is president of the Harper Woods Education Association and Kiarra Whitelow is president of AFSCME Local 1228. They are the first mother-daughter duo to graduate together from Wayne State University’s Labor School, completing both beginning and advanced certificates. If the opposite of divided is unified, then labor unions…

By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Jennifer Sepetys designed and won approval for a Positive Psychology class at West Bloomfield High School in 2021. As a young person right out of college, MEA member Jennifer Sepetys had all she’d imagined for herself, living in Chicago with a friend and working successfully in advertising sales. But something was missing. She decided…

After many years under a punitive teacher evaluation system, Michigan educators got back the right to bargain the subject in 2024. MEA staff and union bargaining teams have worked tirelessly to negotiate local improvements and ensure districts are following the new law. Read your collective bargaining agreement for specifics of your district’s evaluation system, but here are general aspects of…

While the Nov. 5 national election was decided by a slim margin, it’s important to note Michigan voters followed educator recommendations on 75% of K-12 races. One case in point is the successful effort to elect a slate of four candidates to the Grosse Pointe Public Schools Board of Education. The four candidates backed by the local union’s Screening &…