Newsroom

EAST LANSING — With absentee ballots for November’s general election going out this week, MEA is proud to announce candidates who have earned the recommendation of MEA members through the union’s Screening & Recommendation process. The process, which looks at candidates’ positions on education and labor issues, is decided by MEA members who serve on S&R committees, based on policies…

EAST LANSING — The ongoing educator shortage and student mental health are the top challenges facing Michigan teachers and education support professionals, according to a new survey of educators released Wednesday by the Michigan Education Association. “These last few years have been extremely challenging for our students, educators and parents, and this survey makes it clear what the real issues…

Parents, education advocates and several candidates for office came together during a break in the monthly State Board of Education meeting on Tuesday to speak out against organized right-wing attacks that are attempting to divide parents and educators. The State Board’s vice president, Pamela Pugh, said ongoing disruptions and divisive rhetoric at school board meetings are meant to weaken public…

The dawn of a new school year should be a time of joy and optimism for our children. There are new things to learn, new friends to make, and new challenges to overcome. But beneath the surface, there’s a feeling of dread among many educators, students and parents. After all, it’s only a matter of time before another deadly school…

EAST LANSING – Earl Wiman, Ed.D, has been named interim executive director of the Michigan Education Association. Most recently having served as executive director of the New Mexico Education Association, Wiman has a decades-long history of service and advocacy within public education in his home state of Tennessee. He worked in Tennessee’s public schools for 35 years, serving as a…

EAST LANSING – On Jan. 4, 2004, lifelong school bus driver Bob Hanchek made a stop on his afternoon route along U.S. 41 in the North Central Area Schools district in Michigan’s western Upper Peninsula. With red lights flashing and two of his 15 riders coming up the aisle to exit, Hanchek recognized a big and fast moving railroad repair…

UPDATE 8/26: All drop-in sessions are currently at capacity -- we'll provide updates here about further opportunities. Despite the rapidly approaching Oct. 31 deadline, many MEA members are eligible for college loan forgiveness through the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness program but haven’t yet applied for a temporary waiver that could speed up debt elimination. Are you unsure if you…

MEA member William Renner has always relied on community support to help equip his technology classroom at Hastings Middle School, but even he was surprised by the generosity of donations from area business and civic leaders to support a summer trades camp he operated this year. “It was money, it was time, it was talent,” Renner said. “Everybody that came…

Michigan kids deserve the best and brightest educators. That seems like an uncontroversial statement, yet in the face of an educator shortage, some lawmakers have proposed significantly lowering our state’s teacher certification standards and making it easier for unqualified people to lead a classroom of young students. The last thing our state’s leaders should be doing is permanently weakening Michigan’s…

Gabby Price Pontiac paraeducator Gabby Price attended her first MEA conference last week, caught a front-row seat to a well-attended motivational talk by former NBA player Tim McCormick, responded with a smile to the speaker’s light-hearted banter and left with an autographed basketball. More importantly, she said in an interview after the conference session, she learned so much at the…