Teachers

Teachers & K-12 Certified Educators

From improving professional practice to protecting employment rights, MEA is proud to serve Michigan’s teachers and other K-12 education staff such as counselors, social workers, therapists and librarians.

Teacher News

Private: Small district, big battle: Educators and community push back against extreme school board

By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor Things weren’t going according to plan at a recent meeting of the board of Brandywine Community Schools in Niles, where community opposition is growing as a new board majority has begun to enact an extreme political agenda targeting library books and teaching materials. Missing two of its seven members, the school board was unable…

Private: THE FUTURE IS NOW – The Sometimes Forgotten Benefit

Many people think of collective bargaining for salary, benefits and working conditions as the most essential benefit of union membership, but the solidarity created by belonging to a union family is at least as important. Aspiring educators from chapters at other universities, including Ferris, sent messages to colleagues at MSU. That solidarity was demonstrated recently through the work of both…

Innovative program addresses mental health alongside career-tech ed

By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor MEA member Michele Morgan (above) has created a multi-faceted occupational therapy program to both develop job skills and strengthen mental health in students. Several years into her career as an occupational therapist in Warren Woods Public Schools, MEA member Michele Morgan realized why her high school students didn’t always make an easy or successful…

From Classrooms to Committee Chairs: Educators in Position to Shape Education Agenda

Just over four years ago, Dayna Polehanki and Matt Koleszar were working as classroom teachers — facing firsthand the challenges that decades of under-funding and misguided policy presented for public education. Matt Koleszar and Dayna Polehanki, new chairs of the Senate and House Education Committees Today, they not only serve in the Michigan Legislature, but have been named the new…

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Retired teacher from Flint has pushed for multicultural learning over 50 years

Cleorah Scruggs-DeBose, award-winning lifetime MEA member, saw the curriculum reflected little diversity when she began teaching in Flint in 1970, so she infused multicultural learning into lessons; led NEA to adopt National Multicultural Diversity Day; and still runs a non-profit that hosts an annual event to celebrate diverse cultures. Cleorah Scruggs Where did you grow up, and how did you…

MY VIEW: Self-empowerment as an Antidote to Burnout

By Shana Saddler When my third-hour class behaved badly with a substitute teacher, I was extremely disappointed in my student leaders. The next day, I approached “Maya” (a spirited, driven, yet funny student) and said, “Maya, why did you not step up as a leader and try to positively influence student misbehavior?” Shana Saddler Maya replied, “Mrs. Saddler, when a boat…

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