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MEA Holds Virtual Representative Assembly
he MEA held its 92nd annual Representative Assembly (RA) on May 16th. The virtual event was the first of its kind in MEA history. MEA’s RA is the largest democratic body of the association made up of educators elected by their local associations to represent their district. The MEA RA delegates set the course of work for the Association in the upcoming school year and discuss and take positions on key education issues. This year, due to the virtual nature of the event, MEA took up a few issues now and will discuss others in August. During the MEA RA, members also celebrate the great work of our educators, partners and our students. On the following pages are the issues discussed, key take-aways from leadership and MEA’s executive director, and the winners of MEA’s awards. There will be an “extraordinary” session of the RA on August 15th (in person if possible, virtual again if needed) to address the rest of the business items (amendments to bylaws and resolutions and any additional new business items that were submitted on May 16th).
MEA Award Winners MEA is proud to honor its members, and members of the community who are committed to excellence in education. Below are this year's winners.
2020 MEA John H. Marvin Local Association Award
Scarborough EA The Scarborough Education Association stood strong in their demand for a fair contract settlement. They organized, reached out to the media and the community, held rallies and attended school committee meetings where they were thwarted in their attempts to speak during public comment. Still they stood strong!
2020 MEA John H. Marvin Local Association Award
Merrymeeting TA Moving Forward “Please do what you can to stay well and stay strong. We have a mountain in front of us-a mountain of health concerns still to be addressed, a mountain of battles to fight in the face of the bleakest of economic outlooks, a mountain of hurdles to overcome so that our students have the schools they deserve and we have the resources and the conditions we need to do our jobs. We need all of us together to climb that mountain.” Grace Leavitt, MEA President “During this crisis, the MEA has worked to respond quickly and to focus in on members’ immediate needs in this new environment. We’ve done that well and continue to look forward to addressing needs in the coming months and years. We will have to work even harder than we have in the past to organize around membership, engage members, advocate, collectively bargain and to stay firm and be able to act on what we believe in. We will remain focused on our priorities while seeking new possibilities for how we do our work to support members, students and our public schools.” Paula Voelker, MEA Executive Director 28
Maine Educator • June 2020
The members of the Merrymeeting Teachers Association worked diligently and thoughtfully to organize their communities as they sought to negotiate a fair contract. After many months of activism and speaking up and showing up for one another, the community responded with voting to increase the school budget and with continued activism by the members much deserved raises were included in the settlement.
Human and Civil Rights Award
Sue Campbell Sue Campbell is a dedicated program director at Out Maine who focuses on bringing LGBTQ training to schools throughout the state. She advocates for and promotes safe and affirming schools, a strong educated provider safety net, safe and welcoming communities, and informed parents and families.
Human and Civil Rights Award
Hermon High School Civil Rights Team The Hermon High School Civil Rights team are leaders in their school and role models not only for other students, but also for the faculty and staff. The Civil Rights team created a Day of Welcome event to help all schools eliminate bias-based behavior and strives to create a safe and welcoming environment for all students. They foster conversations with students to eliminate discriminatory or abusive behavior to make Hermon High School a better place.
