Teachers & K-12 Certified Educators

By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor NEA President Becky Pringle and MEA President Chandra Madafferi serve free breakfast to students at Dublin Elementary in Walled Lake, the first stop of a two-day, four-district tour. NEA President Becky Pringle visited four school districts in Michigan last week to see what change looks like when a governor and state Legislature prioritize public…

MEA member J. Blake Johnson received MEA’s Distinguished Servant of Public Education Award for the Cardinal Solutions program he founded at Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) in 2013, which allows students to do design and other work for local nonprofits and businesses before graduation. ____________________________________________________________________ J. Blake Johnson What art and design work did you do before becoming a professor?…

By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor As Chandra Madafferi begins her tenure as president of MEA, anyone wondering what she will prioritize in the new role can look to her stewardship of the Local Presidents’ Academy (LPA) to understand what she values most in leadership. Systems thinking. Empathic listening. Transformative change. Chandra Madafferi A longtime teacher and union leader in…

MEA member Ronald Smith could have been a science professor at a big, prestigious four-year university, but he chose to spend his 50-year career teaching students at Kellogg Community College in Battle Creek – and that has made all the difference, he says. Ronald Smith, photo by Simon A. Thalmann/Kellogg Community College Smith retired from his post teaching physical sciences…

More than 30 high school students from across Michigan and Illinois who are interested in pursuing a career in education participated these past two weeks in the Next Gen Teacher program.  This great collaboration between MEA and Wayne State University – made possible through an NEA grant – introduces young people to a potential career in education. Video provided by…

UTICA — MEA member and Utica Community Schools teacher Jonathan Marceau has won first place in the Michigan Virtual EdTech Contest for his first-of-its-kind digital learning platform intended to boost student literacy and reduce prep work for educators. Jonathan Marceau The Utica teacher’s winning pitch, Spelling Safari, reinvents the spelling curriculum with a software solution customized to students’ individual learning…

By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor When MEA member Sarah Ellis learned she had several months to create five works of art on a theme of “inspiration,” she chose to honor her school district’s media specialist – Christine Beachler – who has faced ongoing harassment while staunchly defending students’ access to books over three years. The question was how to…

Last November, Grosse Ile fifth grader Ava felt conflicted emotions when her teacher – MEA member Jaime Churches – won election to the state House of Students visit their former teacher, State Representative Jaime Churches, outside the Michigan Capitol. Representatives. She wanted Churches to win, but she didn’t want her to leave the classroom. On Thursday, with the school year…

MEA member Keith Beale, who’s in his first year teaching art in Livonia, took the “Best in Show” prize at the 59th Annual MEA/MAEA Art Exhibition. Beale, who previously taught in Virginia for 19 years, won for his watercolor painting of a street behind Detroit’s Eastern Market. Beale says he is drawn to the mystery of industrial landscapes, having grown…

Amy Rever-Oberle When MEA member Amy Rever-Oberle experienced a mishap on a field trip with 150 sixth-grade band students and 30 adult chaperones from Rochester Community Schools, she handled it, got everyone back to school early, and let administration know what happened. Over the next few days, the principal responded to a few parent questions, and life moved on. But…