With the new school year comes new hope and continued challenges
By Chanda Madafferi, President and CEO, Michigan Education Association
In neighborhood schools across our state, educators and students are starting another school year full of excitement, optimism and possibilities.
Teachers and school support staff have been hard at work for weeks, finalizing lesson plans, setting up classrooms, stocking supplies, shelving library books, and putting little sticky labels on just about everything.
I remember how exhilarating this time of year was as a classroom teacher; even with all the work ahead, educators are feeling hopeful and enthusiastic. For teachers, school support staff and students alike, there are new names to memorize, new friends to meet and, as always, plenty to learn and do.
Even amid these feelings of renewal and optimism, it’s important that we don’t lose sight of the immense task ahead, because our state leaders still have a lot of work to do when it comes to better supporting our local educators, students and families and transforming our neighborhood schools into world-class centers for learning.
After all, our public schools form the backbone of our communities and help drive property values, public and private investments, jobs, public safety and all the other things that make for livable towns and cities. We’re all in this together.
I believe we should always start with the positives and identify what’s working. Over the past few years, we’ve made some progress and laid the groundwork for future success.
For example, the Michigan Education Association has worked closely with policymakers on the bipartisan literacy push currently underway in our state. The state’s new school budget includes over $500 million to support new literacy curriculum, cutting-edge training for K-5 teachers, before- and after-school programs, literacy coaches, tutoring and more. While the state literacy initiative will take continued resources, time and bipartisan commitment to deliver tangible results, we are confident Michigan is finally on the path to improving student literacy for this generation and beyond.
Speaking of reading, we are also seeing a newfound appreciation for some of the “old” things that many of us grew up with. Many educators are pulling laptops off classroom shelves a little less often in favor of paper, pencils and physical books.
This rediscovery of physical media and other things until recently seen as antiquated comes as a new law takes effect that bans cell phone use among students during instructional time. This is another huge positive — smartphones and addictive social media apps have become a massive distraction for students, and educators have spent far too much time policing cell phones instead of focusing on instruction.
Some of the groundwork has been laid, but we can’t take our foot off the gas. We can make all the positive reforms in the world, but it won’t matter much if we can’t solve the educator shortage.
Communities across Michigan continue to struggle with a shortage of trained, qualified educators to fill critical roles, particularly in science, math, technology and special education. That’s because many of our schools — especially in rural and urban areas — don’t have the financial resources they need to attract and retain talented teachers and school support staff.
Especially during times of political division, we must unite as neighbors to support our local schools and build a brighter future for our children. It’s up to us as adults to set an example for students on all the amazing things that can happen when people set aside their differences and work together.
Our kids need to see that now.
So let’s come together to build on the progress we’ve made while addressing the significant challenges that remain. With the proper support, focus and collaboration, we can strengthen our local public schools and create a better tomorrow, where every student — no matter their ZIP code or family income — has the opportunity to succeed.
Labor Voices
Labor Voices columns are written on a rotating basis by United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain, Michigan Education Association President Chandra Madafferi, Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights Executive Secretary-Treasurer Tom Lutz and selected Service Employees International Union members.
