It’s our turn, MEA President Paula Herbart told delegates to the annual Representative Assembly in East Lansing late last week. Michigan educators need to speak up – and show up – for two Capitol rallies in June, plus join local activism efforts in the meantime, Herbart told the MEA governing body. The state budget debate…
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday announced 15 appointees to a new Educator Advisory Council (EOC) charged with making recommendations on education-related policy matters. Eight MEA members were named to the new panel. They include: Angela J. Pérez of Muskegon, an elementary Spanish two-way immersion teacher with Muskegon Public Schools. Anthony M. Greenburg of Lansing, a…
Every Michigan Teacher of the Year brings personal passions to the role as spokesperson for the state’s educators. The latest top teacher, crowned this week, sums up her mission in two words: professional revitalization. MEA member Cara Lougheed, an English teacher at Stoney Creek High School in Rochester Community Schools, said after learning of her…
Even though they haven’t yet started their teaching careers, the Aspiring Educators of MEA understand the importance of a nice staff lounge in bringing school employees together and combatting classroom isolation. Future educators from AEM chapters at Ferris and Michigan State Universities spruced up dreary spaces to create comfortable and functional break rooms for employees…
Have you signed up yet for MEA’s new discount program with Staples? Don’t wait—MEA member educators who sign up by June 30 will be automatically entered into a drawing for a classroom makeover. The “Classroom Refresh” winners will receive approximately $250 in 3M products for their classrooms. There is no purchase necessary; just sign up…
April 17, 2019 By PAULA HERBART/President – Michigan Education Association For some time, Michigan educators have been ringing the alarm bell about our broken evaluation system. It’s time for policymakers to listen. A recent survey of nearly 17,000 educators by Launch Michigan — a coalition of education, labor, business and philanthropic organizations — found only…
The House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday amended legislation providing additional snow days for schools due to this year’s extreme weather, sending the bill to the House floor for consideration. HB 4206, which would permanently waive days that schools are closed during a state of emergency declared by the governor, passed out of the…
In more than a dozen stops around the state throughout March, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer visited classrooms to read with young people. At every point along the way, she also spoke with adults – educators, administrators, parents – to sell her proposal for reinvesting in the state. She had to make difficult choices in writing a…
Only 25 percent of all Michigan educators – and just 20 percent of teachers – would recommend a career in education to a young person they know, according to results released Wednesday from a statewide educator survey conducted last month. Factors that most negatively affect Michigan educators’ professional satisfaction include lack of support from policymakers…
MEA member Marti Alvarez makes a distinction between her job at Traverse City Area Public Schools and her reason for being. She is employed as a bus driver, but she is driven by a goal to help students be successful human beings – a message she spreads to colleagues doing every type of work in…
