MEA is partnering with the new Michigan Department of Education (MDE) program, Welcome Back Proud Michigan Educators, encouraging educators with expired credentials to return to the teaching workforce by reducing or eliminating professional learning recertification requirements. For more information, visit MDE’s site about the program, which allows local school districts to apply for waivers to help […]
Human trafficking has victimized more than 8,000 people in Michigan over the last decade alone. In our effort to continue to provide valuable professional development for MEA members, we will be screening “Ring of Silence,” a dramatic film about an epidemic that many may not know impacts students throughout all of our school districts. This […]
MEA member Leah Porter, a 15-year kindergarten teacher from Wilcox Elementary School in Holt, was named the 2021 Michigan Teacher of the Year (MTOY) on Thursday for her commitment to giving all children both the freedom and security of a trusted learning space within her classroom. “I want to instill a love of learning in […]
Watching the videos of educators talking about the educator shortage on www.MichiganEducatorProject.org, it’s readily apparent that solutions to this crisis won’t come quickly, simply or cheaply. For proof, look no further than the recently introduced Senate Bill 418, which would grant two years of school employee retirement service credit for each year worked during this pandemic. This […]
Tuesday marked the beginning of key legislative movement in the State Legislature on both distribution of much-needed federal COVID relief funding and the annual education budgets for the 2021-22 school year. Relief Funding The House passed HB 4421, which appropriated the remaining ESSER 2 ($841 million from December) and all the ESSER 3 ($3.3 billion from […]
Amid our life-and-death fight against COVID-19, we must prepare to wage another high-stakes battle against a dire crisis that is worsening in its wake: the educator shortage. Ask school administrators and they’ll share their struggles to find enough teachers for every classroom. Similarly, there are fewer applicants for counselors, bus drivers, paraprofessionals and other education staff. A complete return […]
