President's Letter

June 2021

I am beginning to write this letter the morning of our 93rd—and 2nd Virtual—Maine Education Association Representative Assembly. Yes, 2nd Virtual. A year ago, I don’t think any of us thought there would be a second virtual RA! But then, a year ago, we were likely still not fully realizing just what we were dealing with. I remember with crystal clarity sitting at a meeting in early March 2020 with school district administrators from across the state, gathered—not masked, not socially distanced—at the Augusta Civic Center, hearing the Maine Department of Education officials urge administrators to go back to their districts and have all teachers draw up two weeks’ worth of contingency lesson plans. I remember talking with MEA Committee members the next Saturday—when committees last met in person— and hearing them say how there was no way to just come up with good ‘contingency plans’ for two weeks of lessons, and me trying to reassure them to keep them general, not specific, do what you could even if you knew it wasn’t your best.

And now, here we are, the past fifteen months and all that has happened is behind us—still not knowing what tomorrow, next week, next month—or September—will bring, and what it will mean for us, for our families, for our students.

But despite the continuing chronic uncertainty, here is what we do know and what we have learned, or have reaffirmed, during these mostchallenging-of-all-time months.

We know just how important relationships are in our work with students and with one another.

We know how vitally important our public schools--and the dedicated individuals who work in them!—are to our communities, to our state, to our nation--not only to our economy but also to the health— physical, emotional, and mental--of all of us.

We have learned, if we didn’t all quite realize it already, how valuable time together with family and friends is.

We have learned how powerful collaboration and good communication are in doing good work.

We have learned that self-care is not selfish; it is critical to not only our own well-being, but to the well-being of those we care for.

We have learned that we can be more resilient than we ever imagined, and we can help our students be resilient, too.

We have learned that together, we can (and we did) accomplish amazing feats! We have learned the importance of a child’s eyes, when the smile or frown is hidden by a face covering.

We know there are inequities and opportunity gaps affecting far too many in our communities—inequities and gaps that we absolutely must address—we know they cannot and must not be pushed aside or ignored any longer.

We know that we need to recruit more great people like you all to our professions, to diversify our ranks, and we must do more to sustain our educators so they are rewarded in all ways for the very important work they do.

I’m sure you can add to the list of what we now know, of what we have realized or reaffirmed or learned.

Bottom line—You did it! You carried on in the face of the most remarkable challenges.

Now it is time to reflect, to remember what you love about being an educator--whatever your role is in our students’ lives—and to be reenergized by it.

It’s time to relax and to renew and to recharge your batteries.

We don’t know what is coming next, but we do know that together, we can handle whatever it is, and we will get through it together.

Stay well, stay strong, and stay in touch!

Grace Leavitt, President Maine Education Association 888-622-4418 x 2200