Spring has sprung at last! (Even though I know its still a bit hidden by snow in the County…it is on its way there, too!)
And with spring comes lots of good things!
First, the 2022 MEA Representative Assembly, May 21-22, IN PERSON, in South Portland. Along with conducting other business at their meeting this past weekend, the MEA Board of Directors’ discussed and took positions on various items that will come before the delegates at the 2022 MEA RA. The MEA RA is the annual event where delegates elected to represent their local associations from across the state come together and raise their voices to set the course of the MEA for the coming year. Along with debate on MEA’s positions, actions to be taken, and determining the budget for 2022-2023, members have the chance to network and connect with other enthusiastic educators from all parts of Maine. There are inspiring speeches, raffles, an auction, and the MEA Awards Banquet where individuals and organizations are recognized for their achievements and their support of public education, educators, and students. I guarantee you will be in awe of both the recipients of the many awards as well as the students who will receive scholarships from the Clyde Russell Trust that evening!
Although the deadline has passed for the elections conducted by MEA, it is NOT too late for locals to hold an election if your local association has a vacant seat! Your MEA Board of Director will be reaching out to local presidents in their districts and can help explain the process for electing a delegate and submitting the certificate of election. Information and the list of vacancies (Attachment I) are on the MEA website here: https://maineea.org/mea-elections/ Let us know if you have any questions! We want to be sure all of our locals are represented at the 2022 MEA RA!
For those of you who will be delegates, please save the date for the Pre-RA Overview Meeting (PROM) most convenient for you! In-person meetings: April 25—Portland; April 27—Bangor; May 2—Augusta; May 4—Caribou; virtual meeting: April 26. Meetings will be held from 4:30-6:00. Further details will be sent soon.
Second, MEA is once again participating in Early Enrollment! The effort to keep growing our Association both in number and in strength is year-round—and you can help! If you know a colleague who is not yet a member, talk to them about why you belong. Your local leader can contact your MEA UniServ Director for details about Early Enrollment and there is information on the MEA website.
Also, Maine Public High School Quiz Show has begun and MEA is again a sponsor! Check it out Thursdays at 8 p.m. on Maine Public Television. You might catch a glimpse of a certain ‘celebrity’…
April is Autism Awareness Month and MEA is again one of the sponsors for the Walks for Autism. You can register to take part ($20 fee for individuals) in Westbrook (April 24th) or Bangor (May 1st).
April is also National Poetry Month!
Your Career
Many districts have been involved in work on cultural competency and equity audits; some have been working with the Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium. They have useful resources, including webinars, on their website: MAEC, Inc. – under the Resources tab.
Also check out Maine Intercultural Communication Consultants under the Resources tab for useful items.
The National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments and U.S. Department of Education will host another webinar in their ongoing “Lessons from the Field Series”. On April 13 from 3:00-4:15 the topic is “Supporting Transgender & Nonbinary Students in K-12 Schools”. Here is the link to register: Webinar Registration – Zoom
This resource is from another NCSSLE webinar held recently on Expanding School-Health Center PartnershipsHallways to Health: Home – SBHA Toolkits (sbh4all.org) It may be of interest as the Maine DOE recently announced a funding opportunity to expand the number of school-based health centers in our state.
Here are resources from NCSSLE on school climate: https://safesupportivelearning.ed.gov/scirp/about
If your school does not yet participate in the Civil Rights Team Project, you may be interested in their latest newsletter. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.
Your Association
MEA members and our state Association and especially our local leaders have done great work during this school year. A lot has been accomplished–improvements in pay, safety protocols, mental health support–and much more. You can show your MEA pride with the new items available for purchase in our MEA online store.
Local presidents*, MEA Representative Assembly Delegates, and MEA Government Relations Committee members will be getting information soon to register to be a member of the MEA’s Screening and Endorsement Committee. Meanwhile, save these dates! Screening and Endorsement for the 2022 Gubernatorial Election will be June 25th; the candidates for Governor are invited to participate in the process by filling out and returning our questionnaire and being interviewed by the S & E Committee. The dates for the S & E for state legislative races are July 13th and 14th. Following the primaries all candidates receive our questionnaire and the Committee reviews the responses to make their recommendations. (Note: The MEA Board of Directors takes action on endorsements of friendly incumbents at their May meeting.) (*Local presidents may instead designate a member to attend in their place.)
As mentioned above, the MEA Board of Directors met this past weekend. Board Directors will be contacting local presidents and vice presidents to update them on recent actions taken and discussions held, and will be sharing the “Board Briefings” (a summary of the two-day meeting). The MEA Board meets six times a year (and as needed) to carry on the business of the MEA between sessions of the MEA RA. You can see who the Board Director is for your district on the MEA App (have you downloaded it yet?) and on the MEA website: https://maineea.org/board-of-directors/
Your Support
The final MEA support session for National Board Candidates this year is April 30. To register go to: https://maineea.org/national-board-certification/ Best of luck as you complete your work and get ready to submit!
For our Student MEA members: check out the latest podcast in the School Me series, “How to Become a Teacher pt.2 – Student teaching.” This episode features interviews with three (3) NEA members that can help demystify the student teaching process for Aspiring Educators and provide insider advice that will help them make the most out of their internships. Listen to the episode here, and subscribe to School Me wherever you listen to podcasts.
The NEA has limited funds to support local affiliates who may be interested in the 2022-2023 NEA Blended Learning Program. These interactive blended learning online courses are developed by teams of NEA members who are content experts and provide guidance in using research-based strategies for supporting the professional growth and achievement of NEA members. Deadline to apply is April 30th. More information and the application can be found here.
Of Interest
If you have a student loan, we want to be sure you are aware of the October 31, 2022, deadline to submit an application for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness ‘Limited Waiver’. Before the Biden Administration issued this waiver of some of the strict requirements of the program, only 16,000 borrowers had ever received forgiveness. As of January 2022, 70,000 borrowers received forgiveness and the U.S. Department of Education has identified an additional 30,000 borrowers now eligible. The Department estimates hundreds of thousands more borrowers will be on average 2 years closer to loan forgiveness because of the waiver’s provisions. NEA has a lot of information and support for members to help with this process: https://www.nea.org/student-debt-support
The Maine Department of Education (DOE) is preparing to launch the Multilingual Education Task Force (METF), an initiative to support the development of bilingual programs in Maine schools. If you are interested in participating as a member of the METF, you are welcome to submit an application.
Reminders
Don’t forget to have your students participate in these MEA contests—“My Hero Works at School” and “What I Love about Maine”—deadlines are April 29th. Details are here: https://maineea.org/award-grants/
Be sure to download the MEA App so that you have the latest information and communications right at your fingertips! Go to: https://maineea.org/mea-app/ today!
There are so many NEA Member Benefits but I keep hearing that a lot of members are not aware of them. Check them out at https://www.neamb.com/ (And be sure not-yet members know about these as well as the chance for Early Enrollment!)
Were you aware that all members have NEAMB Complimentary Life Insurance (what used to be known as “NEA Dues-Tab”)? Our NEA Member Benefits contact has reminded us that some members may need to update their beneficiary. You can do that here: https://www.neamb.com/login
And don’t forget another NEA Member Benefit: Savi—the student loan navigator. Please share your success stories about student loan forgiveness with us!
A lot of other things happen in this month of April! The state legislature will be wrapping up this session, and campaigns for some local elections will get underway—school boards, city and town councils and select boards. These local positions are even more important than before, so you are encouraged to be engaged in supporting candidates in your area who support public education, educators, and our students. More local associations are participating in ways to help members be informed on candidates’ views. Reach out to MEA if you need information about how others are doing this.
On the topic of elections, remember that no dues dollars can be used to support endorsed candidates—only voluntary contributions can be used for this purpose. If you have not recently contributed to the MEA Fund in Support of Public Education, please consider doing so now: https://maineea.org/mea-fund/
For those with a school break coming up, please be sure to enjoy the time! Hoping we all can enjoy some great spring weather as we move forward.
Please reach out any time!
Looking forward to seeing more of you as I am able to attend meetings around the state!
Stay well!
