I don’t know where November went (I’ve heard others say that, too)–once elections were behind us, we were already into discussing the upcoming legislative session and the number of meetings seemed to quadruple overnight. We are looking forward to making ever more progress on ways to support and promote our members and our professions. Watch for how you can help—be sure to sign up for “Under the Dome” (the weekly updates from our Government Relations Director during the legislative session) and watch for the call to contact legislators and submit/present testimony on key bills as we move ahead.
You can help right now by contributing to the MEA Fund in Support of Public Education https://maineea.org/mea-fund/ and the NEA Fund for Children and Public Education https://www.neafund.org/Donate# . These are the voluntary member contributions used to support public education friendly candidates and a little replenishment now would be great! Please consider making a recurring contribution. These funds helped elect the legislators who will be listening to us and supporting bills to improve the working conditions for educators and the learning conditions for students.
Among those legislators we have four of our own MEA members in the House and four more in the Senate—who better to understand educators and the challenges they face? (FYI, I learned that in Alaska 10% of their legislature is comprised of NEA-Alaska! OK, so their legislature is much smaller, but what a great goal to aim for in 2024!)
Enough about last month—please read below for information on professional development opportunities and resources, especially resources on school safety; grants and awards; MEA elections; and a message about a recent school board meeting I attended where the local association showed what being a union is all about!
Our MEA Conference, Forward Focused, is this Saturday, December 10th! Hope to see you there!
Your Career
ESP Learning Network Webinar Series (view full list of upcoming webinars)—these webinars are open to all members, not only ESP!
- Changing the Lens to Change the Outcome – Thursday, Dec. 8, 7-8 p.m./ET. Gain practical ideas to build emotional resilience as ESPs. Learn to take responsibility for your emotional well-being in the face of trauma. Register here.
- How is the air treating you? – Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023, 7-8 p.m./ET. Learn about preventative measures and treatments to ensure safe and healthy school environments for all. Register here.
The Maine Teacher Residency Program is a new program established through the efforts of MEA member Dr. Flynn Ross and colleagues to support student teaching candidates, emergency, and conditionally certified teachers. Interested? More information here: Maine Teacher Residency (google.com)
As a member of an NEA Think Tank on Reimagining the Future of Public Education, I was asked to attend a series of webinars that may also be of interest to you: https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/event/webinar-whole-child-policy-putting-science-learning-and-development-practice?utm_source=Unknown+List&utm_ca
We shared some resources from NEA following the rash of ‘swatting’ that occurred. https://www.nea.org/resource-library/neas-school-crisis-guide
The Maine DOE also shared these:
- Supporting Our Schools Modules for Staff Support
- Psychological First Aid for Schools (PFA-S) Field Operations Guide
- Helping Youth after Community Trauma: Tips for Educators
- Providing Psychological First Aid: Teachers
Supporting Schools During and After Crisis (Critical Practices Overview p. 9; Critical Practices for Districts p. 26; Critical Practices for Schools p. 29; Critical Practices in the Classroom p. 36) Resources for educators supporting students after an incident of violence Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers Coping Tips for Traumatic Events and Disasters
And more from US Dept. of Homeland Security:
Becoming a Trauma-Informed School Webinar Series (January 9, 23, & 30, February 6, 13, & 20, 2023) – This six-session training series, hosted by the Mountain Plains Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network, provides education on the fundamentals of trauma and how it emerges within our public schools. It will provide tools and perspectives on the complexities of becoming a trauma-informed school environment and will explore the logistical components of implementing best-practices on a systems-level for trauma-informed supports and protocols.
Learning Without Violence: A School Violence Prevention Virtual Summit (February 15, 2023) –This half-day virtual summit hosted by the National Center for School Safety, the University of Michigan Injury Prevention Center, and the University of Michigan Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention will disseminate research, facilitate new collaborations, and explore school violence prevention strategies.
Please know that safety—in all senses of the word, for educators and for students—is a top priority for MEA and NEA!
Staff at the Maine Department of Education has asked me to encourage those who will be renewing their certification in 2023 to do so once you have your documents ready (after January). In other words, there is no need to wait until June—you can renew earlier and that will no longer affect your renewal date, so if you can, it would be good to avoid the usual ‘rush’.
Your Association
Applications for MEA Grants—Human, Civil Rights and Social Justice, Members Are Leaders, Lambert Political Action–are due this Friday, Dec. 9th! https://maineea.org/award-grants/
(You have more time to nominate deserving recipients for MEA Awards, but why not do that now?)
The MEA-Retired Association offers a grant to help with the cost of graduate studies—deadline is Feb. 1st; information is here: APPLICATION FOR THE ANNE SHEEHAN HONOR GRANT.pdf
Nominations for the NCHE/NEA Higher Educator of the Year Award are due Feb. 5th. Information is here: nche-higher-educator-of-the-year-award-application-22-23final.pdf (nea.org)
Deadline for nominations for the for the 2023 Claudette and John Brassil Distinguished Educator Award sponsored by the Maine Council for English Language Arts (MCELA) is this Saturday, Dec. 10th. For information about the award and to submit a nomination: https://www.mainecela.org/brassil-award.html
MEA Elections:
Many positions are up for election: MEA Board of Director seats, NEA Director, MePERS Trustee, NEA Representative Assembly district and at-large delegates, and MEA Representative Assembly Delegates. A complete list of vacancies and information on the MEA website has been updated: https://maineea.org/mea-elections/
In order to run, you must submit a ‘Notice of Intent’—these are due January 20th! (For local association delegates to the NEA RA, local presidents receive a notice in January from NEA about how many delegates your local is entitled to.) The MEA RA is May 20-21 in South Portland, and the NEA RA is July 3-6 in Orlando.
Your Support
For those who will be at the upcoming MEA winter conference, Forward Focused, there will be space to meet right after sessions for any attendees interested in forming an LGBTQ+ Caucus or a Women in Education Caucus, as per New Business Items passed at last year’s MEA Representative Assembly.
If you are planning to retire in the next few years, be sure you sign up for one of the Pre-Retirement Seminars sponsored by MEA-Retired and MEA. To register: https://maineea.org/pre-retirement-seminars/
Of Interest
Attention MEA-Retired members! USM’s Teacher Education program is looking for intern supervisors. More info here: Teacher Education Internship Handbook 2022-23 (maine.edu) The Teacher Education Department at the University of Southern Maine is seeking candidates to serve as part-time field supervisors for graduate and undergraduate students during their internship placements. This position is paid. The candidate qualifications are: currently holds or did hold a teaching certificate and has at least 3 years of experience in schools; is respected by peers as being an effective current or former faculty member who models the knowledge and skills reflected in the Maine Teaching Standards; has a positive, collaborative, and supportive disposition; has been recommended by a respected member of the education community and a member of the Teacher Education Department faculty; appointment is approved by a vote of the Teacher Education Department faculty.
Interested applicants should submit a brief letter of interest and a resume or CV to ETEP Coordinator Sara Needleman (sara.needleman@maine.edu).
Shout out to one of our MEA-Retired members, Corley Byras—she is one of the Portland Press Herald’s “Mainers to be Thankful For”! https://www.pressherald.com/2022/11/23/2022-mainers-to-be-thankful-for/
Many of you served recently on the Maine DOE Multilingual Education Task Force—I know your time and input was appreciated! The Summary of Recommendations and Action Steps are now available: METF Report v4.pdf (maine.gov)
From a recent article in the Bangor Daily News 2 Passamaquoddy short films now streaming online (bangordailynews.com). Information about the Reciprocity Project is here: https://www.reciprocity.org/films
We now begin many MEA meetings and events by acknowledging that we are on the traditional lands served by the people of the tribes of the Wabanaki Confederacy. You can find information about land acknowledgements—and posters you can download! —here: Land Acknowledgement — Upstander Project
Our local associations really step up! Several locals helped see that candidates who support public education were running this November for seats on school boards, and many were successful. Thanks to Lisbon EA, RSU 23 EA, RSU 67 EA, RSU 22 EA, MSAD 75 EA, and Westbrook for their efforts with this! School board elections happen at different times of the year—if your local would like some ideas on engaging in similar efforts, reach out to us.
And here is one local showing what being a union is all about!
MSAD 51 Ed Techs and Secretaries have been working without a contract since the end of June. The union stood in solidarity at the most recent school board meeting where member after member spoke about how important it was that these essential, hardworking, dedicated employees be recognized and respected for the important work they do. This happens to be the district that I am on leave from, and I know there are other locals in similar situations. Let’s show the power of our union, the importance of being a member, and we’ll see good resolutions soon!
Reminders
Local presidents—watch for communication from your MEA Board Director with updates from our Board meeting this past weekend. It has been customary at our December Board meetings for the Directors to make individual donations to an organization that supports our communities. This year the chosen organization was Equality Maine https://www.equalitymaine.org/ I am grateful for the generosity of our MEA Board members!
Many of our local associations participate in activities to support their communities at this time of year, the season of giving—maybe your local ‘adopts’ a family in need of some holiday cheer, or volunteers at a charity to help collect donations—whatever it may be, please share what your local does with us and help us to show how our members are integral to our communities across the state!
With that, I’ll close with wishes for you all to enjoy the upcoming holidays and to be well!
Thank you for all you do each and every day for your colleagues and for the students!
In Unity,
Grace Leavitt, President
Maine Education Association
