The season of graduation and end-of-year celebrations and state championship games is upon us—along with (thankfully) warmer weather. But amidst everything you do, please take a few moments between all these events and activities to read on for interesting and important information!
TWO VERY IMPORTANT ITEMS
First, be sure to vote to support school budgets and vote in your local elections next Tuesday, June 11th! The outcomes of local elections can have a major impact on you, your districts, and our students.
Second, if you know of members who are retiring, encourage them to join MEA Retired to stay connected and engaged! Maybe your local can give a year of membership as a gift to retiring colleagues! Information is here: https://mearetired.org/
OK, THREE important items: if you are a local president, MEA RA delegate, or GR Committee member, you can add your voice to the MEA Screening & Endorsement Committee. This is an important process—please check out the information regarding registration in the “Reminders” section below!
Oops—FOUR! It seems some of the messages you get from MEA are going into spam folders—even if this didn’t happen to you before! (A few have even gone into my own spam folder!) Please check your spam folder once in a while—we don’t want you to miss anything! If messages from MEA are going in your spam folder, you may need to ‘trust’ email from maineea.org to avoid the problem.
THIS MONTH
June is Pride Month: Here is a list of events around the state. If you plan to join us at either the Portland or the Bangor parade, please let us know. And thank you to those of you who were there last weekend in Auburn/Lewiston!!!
And check out resources from NEA here: resources
June is also Gun Violence Prevention Month: https://www.nea.org/resource-library/gun-violence-prevention-response-guide
NEA has resources about Juneteenth: https://www.nea.org/professional-excellence/student-engagement/tools-tips/teaching-juneteenth-and-meaning-freedom
MEA AND NEA EVENTS AND RESOURCES
MEA Summer Camp—our summer conference is July 29-30. Check out the great variety of excellent topics! Summary – 2024 Summer Conference: MEA SUMMER CAMP (cvent.com) Attend one day or both (there is a block of hotel rooms at reduced rates for you). Don’t miss it!
What Educators Need to Know About New Title IX Rules—The Biden-Harris Administration, through the U.S. Department of Education, released important new regulations governing the responsibilities of schools to investigate, address, and remedy sex-based discrimination in education, including discrimination and harassment based on gender identity and sexual orientation. They go into effect on August 1, 2024. Here is an overview of the new requirements. You can join the discussion about these new rules with Sarah Warbelow, Human Rights Campaign Vice President, Legal, and Keira McNett, NEA Staff Counsel, on Thursday, June 6, from 4 to 5 p.m. ET by registering here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information about how to join the webinar on Zoom.
Freedom to Learn & Teach Truth Day of Action – June 8 Join parents, students, and educators across the country in a day of action for an honest and accurate education. Learn more: https://www.nea.org/professional-excellence/conferences-events/events/freedom-learn-teach-truth-day-action
Leaning into Hard Conversations: Why We Must Discuss Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and Racism to Maintain Our Multicultural Communities—the panel discussion features Wajahat Ali, Amy Spitalnick, and Eric Ward tackling the tough conversations around hate and racism. June 10 @ 7:30PM ET:https://nea-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_TTFrY78pQ7WFKN-KbO9oCg
Warmer weather is here, and NEA is conducting a “Survey on Excessive Heat.” NEA will use the information to advocate for legislative and regulatory improvements. Educators with personal experiences of excessive heat in school settings (classrooms, buses, and more) should share their stories with NEA here: nea.org/survey-excessive-heat-schools
Enter NEA’s postcard design contest by June 14.Submit a postcard design that motivates people to vote early and centers public schools, educators, and/or students in its message. The public will vote on up to six finalists. Three winning designs will each get a cash prize. NEA will print and send pre-addressed, pre-stamped postcards to volunteers to write a personal message. Check out the contest rules here.
New NEA Podcast: Mental Health in Higher Education discusses the mental health crisis among college faculty and staff and what solutions exist for our members. Mental Health in Higher Education
OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST
The third annual UMaine Educators Institute will be held June 17 and 18. This year’s program has two strands: “Mathematics/STEM Education” and “Social-Emotional Learning and Teacher Wellness.” The event will be held on the UMaine campus in Orono. Participants may attend the institute for professional development and earn contact hours/CEUs or by enrolling in EHD 590 to earn three graduate credits. Group rates are available. https://umaine.edu/summeruniversity/2024-summer-educators-institute/ Registration deadline is June 10th.
FREE professional development opportunities in Gorham, Rockland, Orono and Monson June 24-28th–workshops facilitated by Side x Side teaching artists in a variety of materials including poetry, movement, mapmaking and sculpture. Register to become a Side x Side member (it’s free!) to access classroom resources and toregister for their Summer WorkshopsHERE! Deadline to register is June 10th.
NEW DEADLINE! Student Loans Account Consolidation & Adjustment Deadline Moved to June 30: The Biden Administration has extended the deadline to June 30! NEA members who have a FFEL, Perkins, or Parent Plus loans, must first consolidate into a Direct Loan before June 30 to take advantage of the one-time account adjustment. This will credit any payments made on those loans for purposes of PSLF. For more information on PSLF and the account adjustment, please visit nea.org/pslf
High school teachers, especially those who teach social studies, may be interested in last month’s issue of the “Maine Civic Digest”; it contained a lot of information and opportunities to share with students, more than I can include here. Take a look: Subscribe to the Maine Civic Digest | League of Women Voters (lwvme.org)
REMINDERS
Check out the Maine Teacher Residency Program— https://sites.google.com/maine.edu/maine-teacher-residency/home and let new hires know about this, too!
For local association presidents (or their designee), MEA Representative Assembly Delegates, MEA Government Relations Committee members—remember that the Screening and Endorsement for the US Senate race is Saturday June 22nd; please register here: MEA Screening and Endorsement Meeting for United States Senate – June 22nd (ngpvan.com) And the Screening and Endorsement for state legislative races is Tuesday July 9th; please register here: MEA Screening and Endorsement Meeting for State Legislature – Tuesday July 9th (ngpvan.com)
The next Conversation for Racially/Ethnically Diverse MEA Members is June 6th at 7 p.m. Join the (virtual) conversation and meet some of the members of the MEA BIPOC Committee. (If you didn’t receive an invitation, check your spam folder; if it’s not there, please let us know asap!)
Last but not least, the MEA delegates to the NEA Representative Assembly I know will be stepping up to make contributions to the NEA Fund for Children and Public Education, via donations to the various online auctions, winning bids on items, or just making a contribution. You can, too! Watch for information about the auctions coming soon, or make a contribution now–recurring donations in any amount would be great! These are the only funds that can be used to support public education-friendly candidates in federal races—dues dollars are never used! https://educationvotes.nea.org/donate/ November is coming right at us!
I’ll close with this:
I was honored to have the opportunity recently to serve on a panel with Jack McKay, President of the Eastern Maine Labor Council and Executive Director of Food and Medicine, and Cokie Giles, President of the Maine State Nurses Association. We discussed the importance of labor unions and the impact of our work on not only the people we represent, but also on the students in our schools and the people in our communities. While this is my second-to-last monthly President’s message, since the privilege of serving as your MEA President will end mid-July, I will continue until the last minute in office to do all I can to keep us strong and moving forward. I hope still to see many of you in these remaining weeks—at a Pride event, at Screening & Endorsement, or at a meeting, or on zoom.
Meanwhile, reach out any time!
Thank you for ALL you do!
In Unity,
Grace Leavitt, President
Maine Education Association
