Happy New Year! I hope all were able to enjoy the holidays, the break, time with family and friends, and still have time to relax, recharge, and maybe make one or two resolutions or intentions for 2023!
One of those resolutions for me I guess will be to stop using two phrases that I have used for quite a while—“It is what it is” and “Moving forward”–According to a piece on NPR, they are among the top ten words or phrases we should drop from our conversations, https://www.npr.org/2023/01/01/1146517288/goat-gaslighting-banished-words
Maybe it will be OK to say “So be it” and “Making progress”? We’ll see how I do with this!
Here’s to hoping we make lots of progress—in our schools and classrooms, in our local districts and associations, in the legislative session and even in D.C., and also in our Maine Education Association!
A great way to do the latter is to be sure more of you step up and engage in our work—and one way to do that is to be involved in the many elections coming up—for the MEA Representative Assembly, for the NEA Representative Assembly, for the MEA Board of Directors, NEA Director, and MePERS Trustee!
You should all have received a large postcard with a summary of information about these elections, and there is lots of information on our website: https://maineea.org/mea-elections/
Also, local presidents and vice presidents were invited to a zoom meeting taking place this afternoon to go over what these elections entail, important deadlines, and to answer any questions they may have. IMPORTANT: 4:30 p.m. on January 20th is the deadline for submitting your Notice of Intent to run!
Our goal is that each association will send delegates to the MEA RA and that we will fill at least all of the NEA RA District delegate and At-Large delegate seats this year! Let’s make everyone’s resolution be to step up and speak up!
Other important reminders and information:
UPCOMING! ESP Learning Network Webinar Series (view full list of upcoming webinars)
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.
February 5th is the deadline to nominate a postsecondary education professional for the NCHE/HEA Higher Educator of the Year Award. Details here: nche-higher-educator-of-the-year-award-application-22-23final.pdf (nea.org)
The Executive Director of Maine Administrators of Services for Children with Disabilities (MADSEC) shared with me that they are offering a number of professional development sessions that may be of interest: MADSEC – Home
There are a number of resources on all aspects of school safety on the website for the Maine Department of Education’s School Safety Center Safety Center Home | Department of Education (maine.gov)
At the 2022 MEA RA New Business Items were passed regarding two special interest caucuses, one for LGBTQ+ and another, Women in Education. A special interest caucus needs to be formed by members, but if you would be interested in either of these, I will do what I can to connect you with others who are.
The next Conversation for MEA Members who are Racially/Ethnically Diverse will be January 12th; if you have not been receiving these invitations and should be, please let me know, and please join in the conversations!
The next MEA President’s Virtual Office Hour for local presidents and vice presidents will be January 10th.
Lastly, you can see that this President’s message is quite different from previous ones. We are looking at some ways to communicate more efficiently as we ‘make progress’ (I almost wrote ‘move forward’ there!) So stay tuned!
Especially watch for “Under the Dome” updates that will be more regular as the legislature meets and committee hearings begin—and please answer the call to contact legislators as important bills come up! (If you are not already subscribed to “Under the Dome”, contact us.)
Speaking of committees, you know I can’t let a message go by without reminding you we have a place for you on several MEA Committees—a great way to step up and speak up and be engaged in our Association! Just let me know if you are interested.
And remember, a great way to keep up to date and to have information at your fingertips is by downloading the MEA App! https://maineea.org/mea-app/
As always, please reach out any time, and let me know when I could visit your local association meeting.
Stay well and stay strong!
Grace Leavitt, President
Maine Education Association
