"What I Love About Maine" Cover Contest

What I Love About

The MEA is pleased to showcase student artwork during its sixth annual Maine Educator Art Cover Contest. MEA believes in celebrating the successes of our students and members, and this cover contest gives the Union that opportunity. Artwork was judged in the following categories: K-4, 5-8, 9-12 and Digital. Congratulations to all the students and teachers!

Cover Contest Winner Madison Shepard Region 10 Technical High School Creative Digital Media Program Teacher: Jean Palmer

K-4 Winner Henry Bernard Manchester School Teacher: Stacey Sanborn

5-8 Winner Grace Jiang Ridge View Comm. School Teacher: Susan Griffith

K-4 Runner Up Charlotte Brundige Windsor Elementary School Teacher: Carolyn Blomerth 9-12 Winner Abby Bisson Region 10 Technical High School Creative Digital Media Program Teacher: Jean Palmer Digital Winner Alex Arnold Region 10 Technical High School Creative Digital Media Program Teacher: Jean Palmer

5-8 Runner Up Mary Gallagher Noble Central School Teacher: Angela Nilles

Digital Runner Up Milo Barter K-12 Technical High School

Maine Education Association Together.

A Stronger Voice.

94TH ANNUAL RA 2022

2022 MEA Representative Assembly

The MEA held its annual Representative Assembly (RA) in May. The MEA RA is the largest democratic body of the association, made up of educators elected by their local associations to represent their district. At this year’s MEA RA members: • Set the course of work for the union in the upcoming school year • Discussed and took positions on key education issues • Honored members, education leaders, and students with awards and scholarships On the following pages are the items voted on by the delegates at the Representative Assembly, MEA’s award winners and the winners of MEA’s Clyde Russell scholarship for students.

From MEA President Grace Leavitt to MEA RA Delegates

But change is part of our profession—as educators, in all and any of our roles, we must be lifelong learners and that means continual change, to keep working at a better understanding of how students learn, and what students need to be successful in their learning, to keep improving our ability to provide what students need for them to learn.

We must act together to do all we can to provide an honest, accurate education for our students if we are to build a better future. We must act together to do all we can to ensure that the policy- and lawmakers that we elect believe in the common good of a strong system of public education for ALL. We must act together to do all we can to work for a just, inclusive, equitable and strong society. We must work together to keep growing our Association—reaching out to those who have not yet joined us and demonstrating to them the value of belonging. We must work together—labor with management, certified staff with support professionals, higher ed with pre-K-12, We must work together for positive, forward CHANGE. Each year at the MEA RA, the Union presents awards to members and those in our community to honor the work done to support public education over the course of the school year. Below are this year's award winners.

Award for Teaching Excellence Mallory Cook (Hermon EA)

ESP of the Year Kim Hubbard (Tri-County ESP)

Anne Sheehan Political Action Award Associated Facilities of UMaine, Jim McClymer, President AFUM

Ashley Bryan Arts & Humanities Award Sylvia Jadczak (RSU 18 EA)

Golden Apple Award The Civil Rights Team Project

Golden Apple Award The Game Loft

Human and Civil Rights Award Hermon High School Gay-Straight Alliance

Honor Medal Award Kara Schwartz (Hermon EA)

Honor Medal Award Kelsey Stoyanova (EA 22)

John Marvin Local Association Award Oxford Hills EA

John Marvin Local Association Award Seacoast EA

Not Pictured: Human and Civil Rights Award Dr. Larissa Malone (AFUM) Not Pictured: Friend of Education Award Senator Joe Rafferty

Not Pictured: Golden Apple Award Todd Macarthur (Winthrop EA) The Clyde Russell Scholarship Fund was created by the Maine Education Association through a trust established by the late Audrey Lewis. The scholarship is available to graduating high school seniors who will attend a 4-year college and graduating high school seniors who will attend a Maine Community College. Below are the winners of this year’s Clyde Russell Scholarship.

Julia Viani Central High School

Michaela Bouthillette Biddeford High School

Cody Emerson Morse High School

Grace Hall Belfast Area High School

2022 NEW BUSINESS ITEMS

1. RESOLVED: that the MEA prioritizes the purchasing and marketing of union made goods when possible. 2. WITHDRAWN 3. WITHDRAWN 4. RESOLVED: that the MEA will explore avenues for grant funding opportunities to: a. Collaborate with the state and other organizations to develop strategies to recruit, support and retain BIPOC educators in Maine. b. Develop and implement an Ethnic Diversity Group of Educators (EDGE) partnership support program that would partner veteran MEA members of ethnic diversity with new educators and staff of ethnic diversity and of color to help them identify ways in which to engage and participate in the union and prepare for leadership roles. c. Work towards developing a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion staff position within the organization in order to increase membership and "ensure safe and supportive environments that are free from social and racial injustice." 5. RESOLVED: The MEA will investigate avenues to fairly demonstrate the value of the time and contributions of MEA union members serving on MEA committees through stipends, reduced membership fees. 6. RESOLVED: The MEA will review its governance documents and replace gendered language with gender-inclusive equivalents. 7. RESOLVED: The MEA will work to shift our educator culture from one of volunteerism to one of fair compensation by: 1. training members to request compensation for additional duties beyond the scope of their contracted district positions. 8. RESOLVED: The MEA will work to create or adopt an organizational definition of educational equity. 9. RESOLVED: The MEA will collaborate with the MPA and MSMA to propose legislation that protects schools from incessant Freedom of Access Act (FOAA) requests. 10. RESOLVED: The MEA will pursue legislation for education support professionals to get paid at least 9% more than the highest of City, State or Federal minimum wage as base pay. 10. RESOLVED: The MEA will work to develop and promote legislation that requires the State to provide educational services to students who are expelled. 11. RESOLVED: The MEA will create a women in education caucus. 12. RESOLVED: The MEA will create a LGBTQ+ Caucus. 13. RESOLVED: The MEA will investigate removing the phrase “Perform non-instructional, nonevaluative functions” from Chapter 115 section 5 A (1) (A) ii.

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2022 NEW AND AMENDED RESOLUTIONS Amendment to B17

B17. RESOLVED: That the MEA believes that members need to be professional proactive advocates for children and public education. To accomplish that objective, the MEA also believes that: • members can be more effective at Individual

Education Plan meetings if they are knowledgeable about special education laws and regulations, transition regulations, and 504 regulations. • local associations should have a resource person knowledgeable in special education/ inclusion/504. • local associations should negotiate additional resources and improved working conditions in special education. • state and local organizations involved in special education need to coordinate their services. • members need to be knowledgeable of legal protections against harassment, student violence, and other unsafe working conditions for educators or students. • members need to gain knowledge about issues that face our increasingly diverse students and staff, including the District’s Lau Plan, a document which describes how school administrative units (SAU) meet the needs of its English learners and fulfills its civil rights obligations to them. • members need training on the social and

emotional needs of students. • members need current training on bullying prevention. • members need training on implicit bias. • members can be more effective at language assessment committee meetings for English for

Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL students) if they are knowledgeable about the student’s

Individual Language Assessment Plan (ILAP). • members need support in all of the above issues through local professional development. (Adopted 2003; Amended 2012; Amended 2015; Amended 2019; Amended 2021, Amended 2022)

Amendment to B22

B22. RESOLVED: That the MEA supports legislation that will identify all issues relating to the implementation of new technological methods of instruction which affect teachers and other school employees, as being within the scope of mandatory negotiations between the bargaining agent of the employees and their employer. These issues include, but are not limited to: workload, work hours, work assignments, evaluation and performance expectations, training and professional development, curriculum, and staffing. (Adopted 2008, Amended 2022)

New E31

E31. RESOLVED: that the MEA believes that each student’s choice of moniker consistent with their self identity and that their moniker should be respected and extended to all student approved instances that are not legal documents including but not limited to: email, yearbook, lunch card, marquee, educational software such as attendance systems, and public announcements. (Adopted 2022)

New E32

E32. RESOLVED: that the MEA believes in the support of educators teaching curriculum through an equity lens. (Adopted 2022)

New E33

E33. RESOLVED: that the MEA believes in the support of educators who resolve to share diverse and inclusive learning materials to all students in their learning environments. (Adopted 2022)

New G8

G8. RESOLVED: that the MEA believes in the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and therefore believes that the efforts to view policies and practices of the Association with an equity lens must be ongoing in order for MEA to be a diverse, equitable, inclusive organization, and in order to work for a more diverse educator workforce that will help to promote equity and inclusion in our public pre-K-12 schools and institutions of higher learning. The MEA believes that all local affiliates also need to be engaged in this work at the local level. (Adopted 2022)

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2022 CONSTITUTION CHANGES CONSTITUTION ARTICLE VI, SECTION 2, PART B ARTICLE VI. OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS Section 2. Board of Directors

B. Ethnic minority members shall be guaranteed representation on the Board of Directors in the same manner as an election district is guaranteed representation, except that the count for ethnic minority members shall be based upon statewide membership totals. If there are no ethnic minority members elected to the Board of Directors in election districts, an at-large ethnic minority seat on the Board of Directors shall be created for a threeyear term utilizing any legally permissible manner. Candidates for this seat shall come from and be elected by ethnic minority members in a statewide election.

CONSTITUTION ARTICLE VI, SECTION 3, PART C ARTICLE VI. OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS Section 3. Terms of Office

C. MEA Board of Directors members shall serve no more than two (2) three-year (3) terms to begin July 15. An exception to this is for MEA Board of Directors members who will have completed fewer than two (2) years of a vacated seat; in this case, they will be eligible to serve two (2) consecutive three-year (3) terms. MEA Board of Directors members who will have completed two (2) years or more of a vacated seat are eligible to serve one (1) additional three-year (3) term. In no case will an MEA Director serve for more than eight (8) consecutive years.

CONSTITUTION ARTICLE VI, SECTION 4 ARTICLE VI. OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS Section 4. Impeachment

Members of the Board of Directors may be impeached for violation of the Code of Ethics of the Education Profession or for misfeasance, for malfeasance, or for nonfeasance in office in accordance with the procedures outlined in the Bylaws.

CONSTITUTION ARTICLE VII, SECTION 2 ARTICLE VII. AFFILIATES Section 2. Ethnic Minority Representation

Affiliates of the Association shall take all legally permissible steps to assure that their elective and appointive bodies shall have ethnic minority representation at least proportionate to the ethnic minority membership of the affiliate. "Ethnic minority" shall mean those persons designated as ethnic minority by statistics published by the United States Bureau of the Census. This designation shall specifically include American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black, Hispanic, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, and multiple races.

CONSTITUTION ARTICLE VII, SECTION 5 ARTICLE VII. AFFILIATES Section 5. Standards and Procedures for Affiliation

Affiliates that fail to comply with standards and procedures set forth in this Constitution, Bylaws, and Standing Rules shall be subject to censure, suspension, or disaffiliation. Any such action may take place only after due notice and a due process hearing.

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2022 BYLAW CHANGES ARTICLE I. MEMBERSHIP Section 1. Membership Categories

J. Community Ally Community Ally membership shall be open to any person interested in advancing the cause of public education, who supports the mission, vision, and core values of the Association, and who is not eligible for any other MEA membership category. The MEA Board of Directors shall adopt rules to implement this membership category.

ARTICLE I. MEMBERSHIP Section 2. Rights and Limitations

A. Rights of Participation 1. Active, active education support and nonteaching professional members shall have the right to full participation including, but not limited to, the right to vote and hold office. Past presidents shall enjoy these privileges, unless they become a regular employee of the NEA or any of its affiliates, in which case the privileges are waived for the duration of his/ her employment with NEA or any of its affiliates. 2. Retired and student members shall only be eligible to hold office and vote for Association positions which represent their membership category, except when serving as elected delegates to the Maine Education Association Representative Assembly. 3. Reserve and staff members shall not have the right to hold office or to vote. 4. Community Ally members shall not have the right to nominate or vote for candidates for elected office, nominate, or vote for delegates to the Representative Assembly, or hold any elected office or appointed committee position in the Association.

ARTICLE I. MEMBERSHIP Section 2. Rights and Limitations

B. Aid and Services 2. Retired, student, reserve, staff members and community ally shall be entitled to receive special services and publications of the Association.