I hope this finds you having had a good break over the Thanksgiving holiday!
Of course, there has been no break from this ongoing pandemic, so be sure to stay connected to MEA for information related to this, as well as other topics plus lots of reminders as you’ll see below.
First, a brief update on the federal order to require all employers with 100 or more employees to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations or regular testing as a condition of employment.
MEA has been following every step of this process and had expected the Board of Occupational Safety and Health in Maine to discuss at their meeting this week how this order would be implemented in Maine. That discussion has been put on hold as the issue is now facing legal challenges. MEA will keep you posted as this progresses, but meanwhile, if your district begins to talk about implementing a vaccination policy, local association leaders should be sure to reach out to your UniServ Director for guidance on the subject. Also, just a reminder about the position taken by the MEA Board of Directors earlier this fall. In addition, it remains to be seen how or if the identification of the new variant may play into all of this.
Your Career
The U.S. Department of Education School Ambassador Fellowship Program allows educators to bring their expertise to the Department and includes them in a professional learning community to improve student learning. Applications are due January 14th. For information: School Ambassador Fellowship Program – Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
Intended for teacher leaders, coaches, and administrators, the Maine Curriculum Leaders Association is holding a Resilient Leaders Circle. For information and registration: https://www.mainecla.org/resilient-leaders-circle.html
If you work in pre-K, Kindergarten, or with first grade students, you may be interested in the Maine Association for the Education of Young Children (MaineAEYC): MaineAEYC
Your Association
There is still time to submit an application to be selected to attend the NEA Leadership Summit, March 11-13th as an NEA-funded participant. If you are interested, please complete the application and send it to me no later than December 7th.
There is also still time if your local association is interested in applying for an NEA Community Advocacy and Partnership Engagement (CAPE) Grant. Applications are due December 10th. For information: Community Advocacy & Partnership Engagement Grant | NEA
The MEA will be weighing in on several bills in the upcoming legislative session and will be reaching out to you to contact legislators and to submit testimony to tell your story. The bill proposing a minimum hourly wage for our ESP was carried over; MEA will be working on this and other important items. To be sure you know the latest, contact MEA to sign up to receive the newsletter “Under the Dome” by our Government Relations Director John Kosinski.
Your Support
ESPecially for our Education Support Professionals: ESP Learning Network Series Avoid the Burnout: How Taking Care of You is the First Step in Meeting the Needs of the Whole Student, Dec. 9th, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm EST. Register here
For our Aspiring Educators—Student MEA members: Praxis Blended Learning Courses – NEA created free courses to assist aspiring educators who are studying for Praxis Core (and some content) exams. These 90-minute weekly virtual sessions run 4-6 weeks. The next sessions begin February 7th. Register here
For educators dealing with student loans, watch for information coming soon about our webinar on student loan forgiveness. NEA and MEA have been successful in their efforts to address this issue and many educators are finding that they can save a lot! The webinar will be January 12th; registration information will be available soon.
For those planning to retire this year or in the next year or two, watch for the announcement about when registration opens for the pre-retirement seminars offered by MEA Retired. The dates for the upcoming seminars can be found here: https://maineea.org/pre-retirement-seminars/
Of Interest
MEA helped to see that LD 633, Resolve, Directing the Department of Education to Review Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Training and Other Professional Development for School Staff was passed last year. This law requires the Department to review what training there is on DEI. The DOE is conducting a survey to assess needs. Please take a few minutes to complete their survey by December 8th.
An action guide on social/emotional learning from the Rennie Center can be found here: Excellence through Social Emotional Learning – Overview | Rise 360 (articulate.com)
Two resources from the U.S. DOE Office of Civil Rights that may be of interest: Supporting Intersex Students (ed.gov) and U.S Department of Education Supporting Transgender Youth in School (PDF)
Here are some resources for teaching about Native Americans and a more complete history: Bounty — Upstander Project and a new book, “If You Lived During the Plimoth Thanksgiving” written by Chris Newell, illustrated by Winona Nelson, published by Scholastic (the website says it is out of stock, but it can be purchased other places, too) https://shop.scholastic.com/parent-ecommerce/books/if-you-lived-during-the-plimoth-thanksgiving-9781338726367.html
Reminders
The next Conversation for MEA Members of Color is tomorrow evening, Dec. 2nd, at 7 p.m.
The MEA Board of Directors will be meeting this weekend. Reach out to your Board Director if there is anything you want them to share at our meeting. They will be in touch with local leaders shortly after the meeting with any updates.
Deadline to apply for MEA Grants is December 10th! Apply now for a Human, Civil Rights and Social Justice Grant, Members Are Leaders, and/or a Leroy Lambert Political Action Grant. Information is here: https://maineea.org/award-grants/
The next National Board Training for candidates for National Board certification will be Saturday, December 11th.
The next MEA President’s Virtual Office Hour for local presidents and vice presidents will be Dec. 14th at 7:00 pm.
If you haven’t downloaded the MEA App yet, take a moment now to do so! What a quick and easy way to stay up-to-date on issues and to access important information! https://maineea.org/mea-app/
The 94th MEA Representative Assembly will be May 21-22, 2022—while it is months away, it’s not too soon to be thinking about how your local association will be represented there and help set the direction of the MEA for the coming year! Will you step up and run to be a delegate from your local? Watch for information coming soon about and meanwhile read about the MEA RA on the Members only section of the MEA website.
Also watch for information soon about running as a district delegate to the NEA Representative Assembly, held July 2nd-6th, 2022. Local associations can also send delegates; local presidents get information from NEA in January about the number of allocated delegates. MEA can offer some limited assistance to locals with the cost of attending.
Note: If you noticed a difference between the MEA legislator scorecard that was sent out and what is now posted on the MEA website, a procedural vote on LD 993 was removed as it did not necessarily accurately reflect legislators’ positions.
In closing, I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a healthy and restful holiday season. While 2021 will soon come to an end, there is no end to the challenges we are facing in our schools and on our campuses. Be assured that MEA will continue to support members as we face these challenges together and continue the most important work we do for and with the students in Maine. Here’s to better times ahead for us all in the New Year!
Stay well, and stay strong.
In Unity,
Grace Leavitt, President
Maine Education Association
