Who needs “latte funds” anyway? By Kay Walker-Telma MEA-Retired president Welcome to 2020. Have a cup of coffee and relax for a moment. Then, get to work. With the November election a mere eight months away, we’ll be looking at the Election Day date on the calendar much more quickly than we can imagine. Members…
MEA member Stefanie Sedlar was drawn to become an educator in two ways. She felt a strong desire to help at-risk kids find their way to success, and she believed a federal loan forgiveness program for teachers would help her “afford” to make less income than other college-educated professionals. This week Sedlar shared her story…
The Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC) at Michigan State University is launching their first ever statewide Read by Grade Three survey for current K-8 teachers and principals – which is now live. Because educators’ time is valuable, EPIC has worked with the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) to offer 5 hours of State Continuing Education…
By Jennifer Dooley M.Ed., MAED. Sixth-grade teacher Pontiac City School District In the December-January issue of MEA Voice magazine, I was one of several educators quoted in a piece about educator recruitment and retention. However, I found when the issue came out, my quote did not make sense out of context. Without explanation, it was…
This election year Michigan will be a battleground state in a fight that will determine the future direction of public education, U.S. Sen. Gary Peters told attendees at last week’s MEA Winter Conference. It’s time to replace U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who has zero experience with public schools as a parent, teacher or administrator,…
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer launched the process for developing next year’s state budget with a proposed spending plan that includes increases for education and weighted funding for students who are costlier to educate. Whitmer is proposing a $415 million increase in K-12 funding and additional money for universities and community colleges. Under the Whitmer plan, base…
At the MEA Winter Conference last week, Sarah Conklin – vice president of the Bridgman Education Association – signed up for a session on a topic she needed to learn more about but dreaded at the same time: Understanding School Finance. “I was most intimidated by this session, and it’s the one where I learned…
EAST LANSING – The Michigan Education Association is pleased to announce the following recommendations of candidates for the U.S. Senate and for eight Michigan Congressional districts: – U.S. Senate – Gary Peters – 5th District – Dan Kildee – 6th District – Jon Hoadley – 8th District – Elissa Slotkin – 9th District – Andy…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, February 6, 2020 Contact: Doug Pratt, MEA Director of Public Affairs MEA President statement on Whitmer education budget proposal EAST LANSING —The following can be attributed to MEA President Paula Herbart regarding today’s education budget recommendations from Gov. Whitmer: “While we have a long way to go to fully fund Michigan’s…
MEA President Paula Herbart on Wednesday praised Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s plan to help Michigan parents and children learn how they can avoid the punitive retention piece of the state’s new third grade reading law. “Gov. Whitmer should be commended for addressing how to truly help all Michigan children be better readers, without leaving behind our…
