And we’re off and running! I have had the good fortune to meet many members and local leaders over the summer months—some as recently as this past week. At gatherings of educators there is always palpable energy created (sorry, law of conservation of energy!). It has been especially exciting for me to have met newly enrolled members, first-year educators, members stepping up to take on leadership roles in their local association, and the many first-time attendees at our MEA summer conference! The enthusiasm and dedication our educators in Maine have for working with students is incredibly inspiring and contagious—and with all that MEA and NEA have to support you, we will surely have a terrific year!
From left to right: New Seacoast EA member Kim Blake with local leader Aimee Sanfilippo; leaders in Lincoln preparing for the new year; leaders in Kennebunk making plans for back to school association events.
IMPORTANT – HAPPENING SOON
For those who are newer to the profession, you won’t want to miss the upcoming opportunity from MEA for those in their first five years: the panel discussion, “What I Wish I Knew”. The event in Bangor is coming right up, followed by a second in Westbrook, so be sure to register now.
MEA AND NEA RESOURCES AND EVENTS:
NEA President Becky Pringle will host a national webinar and panel discussion on Accelerating Student Learning on September 12th at 2:30 PM (ET). Register Here.
MEA and MEA Retired Fall Pre-Retirement Sessions—If you plan to retire this year or in the next few years, these seminars are highly recommended for you to be sure you are prepared. Registration is open now for the Fall sessions.
NEA microcredentials—professional development for all members (if you are mentoring a new educator, be sure to share this with them!): www.nea.certificationbank.com
For higher ed members—you should be receiving this directly from NEA—if not, let us know! NEA HigherEd
Of interest to all–be sure to check out the following:
- School Me Podcasts | NEA
- 2023-2024 Read Across America Calendar | NEA
- Updated: Supporting Individuals with Disabilities | NEA
NEA Conferences in 2024
NEA holds several conferences throughout the year. NEA and MEA will provide some funding for a limited number of members to attend. If you are interested in being considered to be a funded attendee, please complete this form no later than September 30th to receive an application.
- Minority Leadership Training/Women’s Leadership Training Seminar January 26-28, 2024
- NEA Leadership Summit March 1-3, 2024
- NEA Higher Ed Conference March 15-17, 2024
- NEA ESP Conference March 22-24, 2024
- NEA Conference for Aspiring Educators June 29-July 2, 2024
- NEA Conference on Racial & Social Justice July 1-2, 2024
(Note: The NEA Retired Conference will be March 3-5, 2024—MEA Retired will be communicating about this later in the year.)
OF INTEREST
NEA LGBTQ+ Caucus Rainbow Series webinar on Sept. 21: b22c3c5d-2a8f-4cc2-b8fe-193b264b56cd.png (1180×668) (constantcontact.com)
The Summer edition of the Civil Rights Team Project newsletter, The Torch: https://tinyurl.com/torch-su23 To subscribe: https://tinyurl.com/torch-signup
IF YOU CAN HELP
The MEA Board of Directors made a donation on behalf of MEA to the Hawaii State Teachers Association. If you or your local would also like to help those who are dealing with the aftermath of the fires, information is here. NEA Member Benefits has also established a GoFundMe page athttps://www.gofundme.com/f/hsta-maui-fire-relief.
IMPORTANT ISSUES
The number one issue I hear from members about is the Social Security Offsets—the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision (GPO/WEP)—which affect many educators. If you are not familiar with this topic, here is a brief description and more information here. MEA and NEA have been working for full repeal of these unjust federal laws for many years, and we will continue to do so! While our Maine delegation are in support of H.R. 81/S. 597, I urge you to keep sharing your stories—and also encourage friends and family in other states to contact their representatives and senators, too!Here are NEA’s comments at a recent hearing.
Another topic I hear about frequently is student debt. NEA has resources that may help: Student Debt Support | NEA
Register here for a webinar on Sept. 12th at 7 p.m. on preparing for payment resumption.
REMINDERS
Please be sure to let us know if you are a newly elected local association leader. Local Presidents and Vice Presidents should have received an invitation to the first MEA President’s Virtual Office Hour on Sept. 12th at 7:00 p.m. (let me know if you didn’t get it!).
And if you are a local leader, please check with the members in your local to be sure they received this message—all members should be receiving President’s Messages, but sometimes they go in a ‘spam’ or a ‘promotions’ folder, and sometimes email addresses have changed, or a member may have inadvertently unsubscribed! If you know of members who should be receiving these messages but aren’t, have them reach out to us.
And if you have new educators who were members in previous districts, remind them they need to join your local and MEA/NEA again!
MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW FOR MEA WINTER CONFERENCE: DECEMBER 2.
That’s all for now (enough, I know!) Thank you for taking the time to read this message—just a small portion of all that is available to you because you are a member of the Maine Education Association!
Be sure to talk with any colleagues who have not yet joined and tell them what they are missing out on. Together we can do even more to support educators, our students, and public education.
Reach out any time—I hope to see many of you in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, here’s to a great ’23-’24 year!
In Unity,
Grace Leavitt, President
Maine Education Association
