Public Schools Work

An annual project run by the Copper Country Education Association has been a holiday tradition for more than 30 years, featuring student artwork on notecards sold at the Poor Artists Art Fair and the MEA office in Hancock. An annual project run by the Copper Country Education Association has become a holiday tradition, giving student artists from all grade levels…

Livonia: A box truck is loaded with canned goods from Livonia’s Churchill High School food drive. Gleaners reported that the loaded truck of 50 boxes was the largest fulfillment they’ve seen from a school. Michigan educators’ dedication to students and families often goes beyond the school walls, as shown by actions of MEA members this holiday season. Livonia At Churchill…

The Detroit Lions won an overtime thriller against the New York Giants on Sunday, thanks in part to nine catches for 149 yards and a touchdown by star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. Clearly, it must have been the shoes! For Sunday’s game, St. Brown wore a special pair of student-designed cleats from East Jordan’s Shoe Club for the “My…

Eva Menefee (right), winner of winner of MEA’s Jim Davenport Award, nominated by friend and colleague Marcia Mackey (Left) It seemed fitting that Eva Menefee was texting a student when she was named this year’s winner of MEA’s James A. Davenport Award of Merit, which recognizes a member for significant service to higher education statewide and nationally. An academic advisor…

AEM leaders assemble toolkits tosupport students with disabilities, aproject organized by Lindsey Springer(GVSU) and Maddie Glocksine (SVSU). Attendees at the MEA Aspiring Educators Conference next month will receive a special take-away: teaching and learning toolkits to support students with disabilities made by two leaders from MEA’s Aspiring Educators of Michigan (AEM). The two leaders, Lindsey Springer of Grand Valley State…

Sarah Ellis For MEA member Sarah Ellis, making art is essential to being alive and human — like breathing. “For as long as we’ve been able to recognize that humans have existed, we’ve found art alongside them,” she says. In a time of deep societal divisions, Ellis wants art to be a source of hope and empowerment. The high school…

From WOOD-TV: A Spanish teacher at Ionia Middle School is using social media in a way that’s changing his students’ lives. Craig Gurnee, better known to his students as Señor Gurnee, has raised enough money to help 16 students travel abroad, demonstrating the power of culture and community. Read more. 

Percy Brown By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Over a 45-year career as a paraeducator in Ann Arbor Public Schools and a union leader in Michigan, MEA member Percy Brown has traveled the country teaching others in his role how to build strength and respect for school support staff and the important work they do. An early advocate of union…

By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor MEA member Corey Rosser was named the 2025‑25 Michigan Teacher of the Year at a ceremony in May attended by his students. When MEA member Corey Rosser first sought a teaching job after college 20 years ago, the landscape was competitive and his only offer came from a school that didn’t fit the dream…

Landen Robinson (far right) is pictured with other aspiring educators attending the Next Gen Teachers Program, a collaboration between MEA and Wayne State University Landen Robinson is a rising sophomore in the College of Education at Wayne State University, but he first fell in love with teaching in high school. Robinson spent two years in a Teacher Cadet program at…