I am optimistic that it will indeed be a Happy New Year for our members and our students! There are a lot of positive possibilities on the near horizon!
A New Year would not be complete without some Resolutions!
There are two kinds of Resolutions I hope you will consider making.
First, your personal Resolutions, of course!
Second, be thinking about MEA Resolutions!
Actually, there is one more Resolution I hope you’ll consider making!
New NBCTs in Maine
Congratulations to the new NBCTs in Maine! 22 MEA members have successfully completed this rigorous process and attained National Board Certification.
Season of Giving
Many thanks to all of our members who participated in a Season of Giving project in their areas! Your generosity is so appreciated! The project that received the most ‘likes’ will be announced shortly, and arrangements will be made to their breakfast to be delivered soon!
Attendance is Important!
Did you know that over 15% of our students are chronically absent? There is an increased focus on finding ways to reduce this. We can do better!
Reports on Education-pay, effective teaching and childhood poverty
The 2018 Global Teacher Status index report is out. In the introduction, it states: “In this report we are able to show that both high teacher pay and high status are necessary to produce the best academic outcomes for pupils.”
Another report, by the Teaches Alliance, is titled “Qualities of Effective Teachers Who Teach Disadvantaged Students.”
Also just released, the 2018 report of Invest in Tomorrow is about the initiatives to address child poverty in Maine.
Resources on equity, cultural diversity, unconscious bias-Check these out!
https://crestories.org
https://www.tolerance.org
https://www.springpointschools.org/media/2018/11/Springpoint_Designing-with-Diverse-Communities_resources-and-research_2018.pdf
https://www.fbmarketplace.org/free-resources
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day-Resources & Events
Help students put in perspective Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life, his impact on the Civil Rights Movement, and his significance to American culture and history.
Attention pre-K-3rd grade teacher
Are you an educator of pre-K through 3rd grade students? The Maine Association for the Education of Young Children (Maine AEYC) is looking for educators of children age birth to third grade to join their first cohort of an annual ECE Policy Leadership Program.
A few reminders:
If you are an Early Career educator (in your first seven years of working in our schools)-remember to register now for the conference on January 25th – Register here: https://maineea.org/conferences_trainings/
Read Across America grants due February 1st. FMI go
MEA Elections – for a list of vacancies on the MEA Board of Directors and for MEA and NEA Representative Assemblies and for the elections timeline with important deadlines, go to https://maineea.org/mea-elections/
MEA Awards – the deadline for nominations is March 7th; for a list of the awards, criteria and nomination forms, go to https://maineea.org/award-grants/
Your MEA Board of Directors wants to be sure to stay connected with you! When the Director for your area reaches out, please respond and help keep them informed about what is going on in your local. And feel free to reach out to them! For a list of the current Board, go to https://maineea.org/board/
And as always, contact me any time, and let me know if you’d like an in-person appearance in your local! I’ll be dividing my time in the coming months among MEA headquarters, the legislature, and the road as I come to visit you!
In Unity,
Grace Leavitt, President
Maine Education Association
