MEA Voice Magazine - April 2021 Issue

MEMBERS PUSH FOR EVALUATION FIXES PAGE 11

ASPIRING EDUCATORS BUILD MOVEMENT PAGE 26

One Year In Meeting Hardship with Resolve April–May 2021 | Vol. 98 | Issue 4 | mea.org

LETTER TO MEMBERS

You are the Strength in Union Time for reflection can be hard to come by in the midst of a crisis, so let’s take a moment to think about all we have been through over the past year.

It’s hard to believe the tectonic shifts we experienced so rapidly throughout society, across the globe,

in reading we hope you also find something more intangible: Courage in the face of struggle. Resilience in the wake of adversity.

In these pages are stories of MEA members who continue to press for change even if they didn’t win the first time. Stories of your union

In this historic storm of upheaval and unrest, we stood together and found in our solidarity both strength and solace. right down to our communities and classrooms. We have been reminded of the fragility of our lives and the importance of our public schools, among other vital institutions.

brothers and sisters who have struggled alongside you and refused to give up. Stories of educators helping out, supporting each other, being the change they wish to see.

And we have seen the power of our collective voice. In this historic storm of upheaval and unrest, we stood together and found in our solidarity both strength and solace.

As we approach the remaining weeks of this painful and exhausting year, we want to thank you.

Our work is never done, and the challenges are not over. You will see that in this issue of the Voice, but

Paula J. Herbart President

Thank you for your membership and involvement at a time when nothing in life feels easy.

Thank you for putting your concern for colleagues and students

Chandra A. Madafferi Vice President

into plans and action and hard work to keep people safe—together.

Thank you for doing your best to adapt to change and care for students as learners and humans.

Thank you for your phone calls and emails and endless Zoom meetings to stay updated on the latest developments. Your contacts keep us informed of conditions on the ground to help inform our statelevel advocacy.

This year, perhaps more often than most years, we’ve heard the stale attempt to tear down our association from those aligned against organized labor: Oh, sure, educators are great, but it’s their UNION that is a problem.

The union is the educators. The educators are the union. Together we have a collective voice that is louder and more powerful than what we could each accomplish on our own.

Because of that, the stories you will read on these pages also contain the seed of something that has felt elusive for so long: Hope.

We thank you for that, too.

Brett R. Smith Secretary-Treasurer

CONTENTS

4 Editor’s Notebook Educator voices 7 AEM/MiNE Introductions 9 My View Looking Ahead 10 Issues & Advocacy American Rescue 26 MEA Elections NEA Board On the cover: Veteran educator Tavia Redmond has never experienced a challenge like pandemic teaching in Romulus this year. Read more on pages 18-19.

Executive Director �������������������� Michael Shoudy Director of Public Affairs ������������������ Doug Pratt Editor �����������������������������������������������Brenda Ortega Staff Photographer ����������������������� Miriam Garcia Publications Specialist �������������� Shantell Crispin The MEA Voice ISSN 1077-4564 is an official publication of the Michigan Education Association, 1216 Kendale Blvd., East Lansing, MI 48823. Opinions stated in the MEA Voice do not necessarily reflect the official position of the MEA unless so identified. Published by Michigan Education Association, Box 2573, East Lansing, MI 48826-2573. Periodicals postage paid at East Lansing and additional mailing offices. Payment of the active membership fee entitles a member to receive the MEA Voice. Of each annual fee whether for active or affiliate membership, $12.93 is for a year’s subscription. Frequency of issue is October, December, February, April and August. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the MEA Voice, Box 2573, East Lansing, MI 48826-2573 or via email at webmaster@mea.org. Allow at least three weeks for change of address to take effect.

MEA Voice telephone: 517-332-6551 or 800-292-1934. Circulation this issue: 111,363

11-17— ISSUES & ADVOCACY: MEA members have been pushing for evaluation system fixes.

21— COVID VIGNETTES: A first-year teacher tells his story to make others feel less alone.

18-25— COVID VIGNETTES: Among several stories in part three of this series, meet a bus driver and military veteran who crocheted a different stuffed animal for every one of her 31 riders.

26— STRENGTH IN UNION: Aspiring educators are standing together on an important issue.

34— MEMBERS AT WORK: An English teacher branches out into computer science classes.

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NEWS & NOTES

Editor’s Notebook Because she’s been teaching for 28 years, Tavia Redmond—featured on the cover of this issue—offers many informed opinions and defining questions on education issues. Here are a few: Retaining third graders? Let classroom teachers, administrators, and parents make those tough calls—not a test score, she says.

Intervene earlier. In fact, instead of punitive measures after the fact, how about funding developmental solutions—such as universal highquality preschool?

Statewide standardized testing during a pandemic? “So we’re going to bus in students who are home to be tested, when we know the test scores are not going to look good? Why would you add that stress?

What are we gaining? It makes absolutely no sense.”

Evaluating educators amid shifting schedules and modes of operation? “What are we evaluating? We just keep getting more and more thrown at us every day. Do they understand we’re in a pandemic?”

Read Redmond’s story of what her job teaching third graders has been like this school year on pages 18-19. And she’s not the only MEA member pressing policymakers to listen to folks on the frontlines.

Starting on page 11 in this issue, in a package of three articles, MEA members discuss issues with the GOP’s restructuring of educator evaluations over the past decade:  Read about efforts to get legislative solutions to evaluation changes that are driving people out of the profession.  Get a look at how MEA members and leaders in the Saginaw-Bay County region hold legislative councils with local politicians to get their voices heard.  And find out how bargaining teams have successfully pushed back against a legislative change in 2017 that wants to add even more weight to high-stakes educator evaluations.

A group of Aspiring Educators of Michigan (AEM)—MEA’s preprofessional wing—also are raising their voices about a longstanding barrier to becoming an educator. At a time of national teacher shortages, these young people are questioning the accessibility and equity of fifth-year internships for educator certification.

This year of the pandemic has brought many sudden changes.

Challenges have deepened, and tensions have worsened. No easy solutions exist, yet educators from every job classification at every level of the system have met the difficulties with courage, innovation, and leadership.

I’ve been inspired by the spirit of educators since childhood, but I’ve never wept, and cheered, and struggled with hearing their powerful stories as much as in the past year. We are stronger together—so please, don’t let the fatigue tell you otherwise or prevent you from speaking up.

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—Brenda Ortega, editor

$842 M

Amount, in millions, of COVID‑19 relief dollars for Michigan schools being held hostage by state Republicans without regard for safety amid a pandemic. Read more on page 10 about education funding amid the greatest global public health threat in a century.

QUOTABLES “I was fan-girling over her, because I already felt our teaching pedagogies aligned, but I just loved listening to her speak.”

Fathiya Mohamed, an MEA member and secondyear second-grade teacher in Kentwood, after a presentation by best-selling author Dr. Beverly Tatum at MEA’s Winter Conference in February. The conference—held free and virtually this year—featured a Speaker Series spotlighting authors and figures in the national conversation around race, equity, and inclusion.

Tatum is the author of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race.

NEWS & NOTES

Early Enrollment offer for first-time MEA members until Aug. 31, 2021: Share this issue with a friend, or send them to mea.org/join.

ICYMI School employees who have never been a member of their current local union are eligible for the Early Enrollment program from April 1-August 31, which offers the benefits of membership with no dues required until the start of the next membership year. If you know

a new hire or early career educator who’s unsure about becoming a member, share this issue of the magazine and encourage them to join a professional organization of more than 120,000 education employees with the power to make a difference in public schools. Last

Above and Beyond Because she’s 75, retired educator Pam Kellar was able to get a COVID‑19 vaccine quickly.

Yet she still spent weeks on the phone and internet scheduling appointments for others. Kellar, president of the MEA‑Retired chapter in Warren, helped both active and retired educators from the area get vaccinated. The former elementary school teacher navigated three hospital systems and the Macomb County Health Department to snag appointments for educators who didn’t have time to check online sites every 15 minutes or hold on the phone for hours. “I’m retired, and I don’t have anything to do, so I don’t mind listening to elevator music for two hours if it means more teachers can get vaccinated.” The stress of the past year has made it hard to sleep, often waking her early. “One morning I woke up at 4:10, and I was able to schedule seven teachers.” The quest became a competition between her and the vice president of the Warren Education Association, Lisa Sikoski.

“Except for my neighbors, everyone I’ve made an appointment for has been a union member,” Kellar said.

year 1,000 new educators joined their professional union during Early Enrollment and stayed to enjoy all of the benefits of belonging. Prospective members can learn more about the benefits of membership and sign up at mea.org/join.

QUOTABLES “From social justice work, webinars, and book studies to get out the vote activities, monthly professional development, and leadership offerings, our members put in the work to ensure they are prepared for the demands of a career in public education.”

Pam Kellar

Brittany Perreault, president of Aspiring Educators of Michigan (AEM) speaking about the role of MEA’s pre-professional wing.

Meet a member of AEM on page 20 who tells her story of student teaching in the pandemic, and check out page 7—a new recurring feature with the latest news about aspiring and early career educators.

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NEWS & NOTES

UPCOMING EVENTS

Editor’s Note—The information below regarding nominations for the ESP Caucus board is rerunning from the February-March issue of the Voice. One correction and a date change are noted below.

April 23-24

Nominations sought for ESP Caucus Board

MEA Representative Assembly VIRTUAL MEA’s highest governing body will meet virtually for the Representative Assembly (RA) to consider the organization’s policy matters for the coming year. Delegates are elected from locals around the state.

May 4

Teacher Day/School Family Day Nationwide/Statewide Each year schools and communities observe Teacher Day/School Family Day during National Teacher Appreciation Week to recognize the contributions all school employees make in our communities and society.

Nominations are being accepted for several positions on the MEA ESP Caucus Executive Board. Open positions are as follows beginning September 1, 2021 (unless otherwise noted): PRESIDENT:

1 Position—September 1, 2021 to August 31, 2024 VICE-PRESIDENT:

1 Position—September 1, 2021 to August 31, 2024 SECRETARY:

1 Position—September 1, 2021 to August 31, 2024 AT-LARGE:

1 Position—Immediate to August 31, 2021

3 Positions—September 1, 2021 to August 31, 2024

July 1-3

DIRECTOR BY CLASSIFICATION

NEA Representative Assembly

CUSTODIAL:

1 Position—Immediate to August 31, 2022

VIRTUAL The NEA RA, consisting of 8,000 delegates across the U.S., adopts the strategic plan and budget, resolutions, the Legislative Program, and other policies of the association.

MAINTENANCE:

1 Position—Immediate to August 31, 2022

July 27-29

MEA Summer Conference VIRTUAL Sessions at this MEA Conference help association leaders and members be informed and engaged on topics that include organizing, advocacy, political action, professional development, legal issues, and communications.

For more information, go to mea.org/conferences.

6 APRIL–MAY 2021

HIGHER EDUCATION:

1 Position—September 1, 2021 to August 31, 2024 OFFICE PERSONNEL:

1 Position—September 1, 2021 to August 31, 2024 PARAPROFESSIONAL:

1 Position—September 1, 2021 to August 31, 2024 Elections to the ESP Caucus Executive Board will take place during the virtual MEA Spring Representative Assembly on April 23-24, 2021.

Information needed for each candidate includes: name, present occupation, home address, home and work telephone numbers, home e-mail address, school district, name of nominee’s local ESP association and written consent of the candidate running for office.

Candidates and nominators must be members in good standing of MEA/NEA. Nominations will be accepted from the floor at the virtual MEA/ESP Caucus meeting on Thursday, April 22, 2021, which begins at 6 p.m.

Candidates will be given up to three minutes to address delegates.

The Future is Now In this new recurring Voice feature, Aspiring Educators of Michigan (AEM) and MEA’s early career educator group—Michigan New Educators (MiNE)—team up to talk public education. Plus: Get a closer look at two members on pages 18-19, and learn about an AEM-led empowerment movement on pages 26-27.

Meet the State Leaders

AEM is MEA’s pre-professional arm with campus chapters and a state Board of Directors.

Four core values: Educator Quality Community Engagement Political Action Social Justice

MiNE is a group offering support and networking for early career educators.

Our focus: Empowerment Engagement Efficacy

Meet the State Leaders (via 6-word memoir—find the assignment at sixwordmemoirs.com).

Brittany Perreault, President, attends Michigan State University

First Year Teacher Workshop (August, 2021) helps members prepare for the first days of school

Molly Carlin, Vice President, attends Michigan State University

Leadership Training Day (August, 2021) chapter leadership training

Kate Singer, Secretary/Treasurer, attends Central Michigan University

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Symposium (fall, 2021)

What’s Next: Interview Boot Camp (May, 2021) designed to help members land their dream job

Connect with AEM instagram.com/aspiringedofmichigan/ twitter.com/AspiringEdOfMI facebook.com/aspiringedofmichigan

Anthony Barnes: “Educator, not a job, a Lifestyle.”

Kalamazoo Public Schools

Jordan Baines: “Preparing today’s children for tomorrow’s opportunities.”

Huron Valley Schools

Brittney Maczala: “Never stop exploring, learning, and growing.”

Monroe Public Schools

Skye Kapinus: “Wonder, discovery, growth; shaping the future.”

Lansing School District

Colin Campbell: “Where do we go from here?”

Royal Oak Schools

Amanda Henderson: “German speaker, always trying, always learning.”

Rochester Community Schools

Danielle Baranowski: “Blessed beyond measure; adventure, love, growth.”

Bay City Public Schools

What’s Next Early Career Educator Networking Virtual Event (May, 2021)

Jaycob Yang: “Teaching students to live their truth.”

Utica Community Schools John Lennon: “Teacher, hiker, writer, educating for justice.”

Public Schools of Petoskey

Book Studies: new books coming this summer Connect with MiNE instagram.com/mineweducators twitter.com/mineweducators facebook.com/mineweducators soundcloud

Want to get involved? Have a story idea? Contact Annette Christiansen achristiansen@mea.org MEA VOICE 7

MESSA, Meijer and the Detroit Lions recently co-sponsored a COVID-19 vaccination event exclusively for preK-12 school employees at Ford Field in Detroit. More than 2,000 teachers and education support professionals from Southeast Michigan received a vaccine. The event was open to all preK-12 teachers and education support professionals in the area, regardless of whether they had MESSA coverage. (Photos courtesy of Meijer Inc.)

MESSA and Meijer join forces to get school staff vaccinated MESSA is teaming up with Meijer to help more preK-12 teachers and support staff get the COVID‑19 vaccine at their local Meijer pharmacy, as quickly as supplies become available.

“We at MESSA have immense respect for the hardworking MEA members who take care of our kids and our schools, regardless of which health coverage they may have,” MESSA Executive Director Ross Wilson said. “We want to show our appreciation to school employees, and helping them get vaccinated is the most impactful thing we can do at this moment in time.

“Together, we will defeat this virus.”

Register for the vaccine today: Text SCHOOL to 75049 to register for the COVID-19 vaccine at your local Meijer pharmacy. Learn more by visiting messa.org/meijer-vaccine.

8 APRIL–MAY 2021

How to register Getting registered is quick and easy: Text SCHOOL to 75049 or register online for a free Meijer account by visiting clinic.meijer.com. Follow the instructions, and you’ll be registered in just a couple of minutes.

Even if you already have a Meijer account, you should still register by texting SCHOOL to 75049. This will ensure you are identified as a preK‑12 school employee as vaccines continue to become available.

Next steps Once you have registered with your local Meijer pharmacy, you will receive a text notification from Meijer when vaccine appointments are available. Just follow the instructions to set up an appointment at a time and pharmacy that is convenient for you.

Public school teachers and support staff have gone above and beyond throughout this pandemic, and we at MESSA want to thank you for everything you do to ensure our kids keep learning and growing.

This is just one way for us to show our appreciation as we all work together to defeat this virus and move forward.

Questions about registering?

If you have any questions about registering with Meijer to get a COVID-19 vaccine, please contact your local Meijer pharmacy or visit clinic.meijer.com.

For additional details, including some frequently asked questions, visit messa.org/meijer-vaccine.

Eclipsing Restoration with New Growth

By Robyne Muray The COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be an event of catastrophic proportion. Its aftermath can be seen in the breakdown of economic, health and political structures that navigate society.

However, in terms of scholastic instruction, communities across the nation have gained a greater appreciation of the importance of public school systems.

As parents have grappled with the balance of working from home while actively participating in their child’s education due to school closures, there has been a reckoning of how essential face-to-face instruction is for academic rigor and social-emotional development of the whole child.

Coupled with ongoing struggles and turmoil surrounding issues of race, privilege, equity, and inclusion in America, the pandemic has created opportunities for positive change in our education landscape even as it has wreaked a wide path of destruction.

What could Arise Many districts are taking this time of general upheaval as an opportunity to improve their educational philosophies to address equity through professional development

and courageous conversations. That means expanding access to collaborative teams that represent all stakeholders, building and supporting culturally responsive learning communities, and expanding professional development opportunities to provide best practice instructional support, all while preparing for the return to onsite.

During a nebulous period of stress and challenge at the height of the pandemic, many districts throughout the state also have worked diligently to meet the challenges of a virtual instructional platform. Educators produced creative ways to deliver content to students and provide parental supports. That learning does not recede with the pandemic.

It is a hard-won new tool in educators’ toolbox which can benefit students going forward.

New Beginnings My first article in this series ran last fall and featured a poetic piece I wrote called “I am from” which focused on my early struggle to understand the pandemic’s ultimate effects and significance. I think it is fitting in this last article of the series to end with a piece of expression about my aspirations for public education.

A strong educational system has resources to keep its structure in shape, but an educational system of strength kneels in reflection to keep its foundation in shape.

A strong educational system is not afraid, but an educational system of strength shows courage in the midst of fear.

A strong educational system is not easily shaken, but an educational system of strength remains open to alternative conceptions.

A strong educational system can walk alone, but an educational system of strength knows it takes multiple footprints to reach the goal.

A strong educational system is strong enough for the academic journey, but an educational system of strength becomes stronger in the journey.

Conclusion Writing this series has been an amazing opportunity to reflect during a life-changing moment in history. As an educator on this journey, I’ve learned the hope of public education remains intact. What also holds true is my belief in the ability of public schools and educators to renew and reinvent themselves to meet the needs of our children and provide them with the tools of success.

Robyne Muray is a Lansing teacher and MEA member participating this year in the district’s Aspiring Leaders program. She was the 2018-19 Michigan Region 6 Teacher of the Year.

MEA VOICE 9

ISSUES & ADVOCACY

Savoring a Win for the People Last month Congress passed the American Rescue Plan, President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package to provide critical funding for public schools, create and support jobs, cut child poverty in half, make health care more affordable, and put this pandemic behind us.

The passage of the historic economic relief package is proof that when we show up and make our voices heard, we shape the future for ourselves and our children.

As of press time for this issue, GOP leaders in the state Legislature continued to withhold $840 million in federal pandemic funds from last December—in a clumsy scheme to force Whitmer to sign away executive authority to shut down school buildings or athletics in a public health crisis.

The Legislature allocated $650 million of Michigan’s $1.7 billion share of December’s federal COVID relief money without additional strings. The funding is meant to supply schools with needed tools,

Stay informed about the latest MEA advocacy, and get involved!

Go to mea.org/signup to sign up to receive MEA’s Capitol Comments newsletter, and be the first to know what’s happening in Lansing and how you can help.

Meanwhile, K-12 districts and higher education institutions in Michigan are set to receive nearly $4.9 billion from the American Rescue Plan to begin recovery efforts in the wake of the worst global public health crisis in a century. Public schools and colleges and universities can use the money to:  hire more teachers, paras, custodians, nurses and counselors

Thanks to the American Rescue Plan

Michigan will receive

$4,865,700,000

for public K-12 & higher ed schools

 implement safety protocols and acquire PPE  improve ventilation and HVAC systems  help students deal with trauma and learning recovery  put devices and internet access into the hands of students locked out of online learning  feed hungry students and assist homeless students

That message will be important to remember as state budget season begins this spring. Michigan faces numerous pressing needs competing for attention and funding while Republican party leaders have so far this year taken a decidedly partisan approach to the pandemic.

10 APRIL–MAY 2021

supplies and equipment to ensure safety amid the pandemic.

Our children deserve better than to be used as pawns in a cynical ploy to score cheap political points, and MEA members have shared that message with lawmakers in responding to our call to action.

Your advocacy matters—and our success makes a difference for American families, students, educators, schools and communities. Savor the victory, and stay tuned.

Push is On for Changes to Evaluation System Stories by Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor MEA member Ryan Ridenour has never known a teacher evaluation system other than the one used in Michigan since 2015. Still the world history and psychology teacher, in his sixth year at West Bloomfield, has found key problems with the state’s method for scoring, rating, and ranking educators.

“I know the modern education system is obsessed with data analysis, but data is only useful if it’s valid,”

Ridenour said. “I kind of roll my eyes when I see people refer to student growth data as objective, because if you’re an educator you know that’s not true.”

In rating educators based on students’ test scores, “There’s a lot of subjectivity,” he said—from choosing a data collection method, to setting the proficiency bar, to determining what counts as “adequate” growth and how much value the teacher added to the equation.

States across the political spectrum are backing away from

requirements for documenting student growth as part of teachers’ evaluation scores out of concerns about accuracy and intensifying pressures to teach to the test— which discourages deeper learning and critical thinking.

Two bills in the Michigan Legislature would reduce or eliminate the use of standardized assessments and student test scores in teacher evaluations. Without legislative action, the student growth portion increases from 25 to 40% this spring—a change delayed over the past two years.

MEA VOICE 11

ISSUES & ADVOCACY

Sen. Ken Horn (R-Frankenmuth) has introduced Senate Bill 56 to drop the student growth piece altogether in recognition of the diverse strengths, learning styles, and needs of students which educators must work to address every day.

“When we use a cookie-cutter approach and a one-size-fits-all approach to testing and evaluating, that does the kids no favors and it certainly is no good way to evaluate a teacher,” Horn said in an interview.

In the other legislative chamber, House Bill 4032 would permanently return the percentage of an educator’s evaluation that is tied to student growth measures to 25%.

“What we’re looking at now in negotiations with some of our stakeholders—educators, administrators, lawmakers—is bumping it back to 25% but eliminating M-STEP as a mandatory portion, allowing districts some flexibility in what tests they use,” Horn said in late February—and negotiations continued as of press time.

A former Saginaw County commissioner and restaurateur, Horn described the M-STEP—which replaced the MEAP as Michigan’s statewide assessment after the adoption of Common Core State Standards—as a “flawed tool” for assessing the work that happens in classrooms.

“What we need to do is take a holistic look at this system and say from the ground up, is this the right way to evaluate teachers?”

Horn said.

For MEA member Ed Clements— who coordinates the Work-Based Learning program at Bay City Central High School—the biggest problem with the evaluation system, including student growth metrics, is its punitive nature.

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With the elimination of teacher tenure at the outset of GOP-led evaluation reform in 2011, scores from teacher evaluations rank and sort individuals for layoff and recall—a high-stakes approach at odds with the growth and development focus built into state-approved observation tools.

“With this point system, there’s no longer teamwork,” said Clements, who also serves as a Bay City commissioner. “There’s no longer colleagues and camaraderie. It’s everybody for themselves, survival of the fittest. I have to worry if I help someone, they might score a point higher than me, and if we’re seeing layoffs—I could be the one.”

Educators have decried evaluation changes made over the last decade as yet another factor driving teacher shortages in Michigan. In surveys, interviews, conference work sessions, and contacts with lawmakers, MEA members have called for legislative fixes to the issues.

Educators are fleeing the profession in part because of dwindling respect evidenced by an evaluation process that takes tens of hours to complete, requires them to amass mountains of data to prove they’re doing their jobs, and produces ratings that do not accurately reflect their effectiveness, said Birch Run Education Association President Amy Urbanowski-Nowak.

“Teachers leave because they’re tired of focusing on what they’re doing wrong,” she said. “They’re leaving for professions that value what they’re doing right.”

That has been the case for MEA member Jennifer Hockstra, a math and science teacher who started her 11th year of teaching in Montcalm County last fall but took a leave of absence in November from the

stress, shrinking pay and benefits, and rising expectations.

She described the evaluation system as “soul crushing” and said she does not know if she will return to the classroom despite her status in two high-shortage subject areas. She has taken a remote job as a vaccine scheduler at a health system where her take-home pay is higher and she pays lower health care premiums.

“I can tell you I’m a great math teacher,” Hockstra said. “Intrinsic motivation is my thing. I will do my best every single time just because.

But it’s unfair for me to be graded on things that are totally outside of my control.”

In addition to reducing the weight of student test scores in educator evaluations, MEA has been advocating for the following improvements:  Eliminate the “highly effective” category and rename “minimally effective” to include three summative categories with the lowest designated as “emerging” or “developing”  Prohibit any caps on the number of individuals in a school district who can fall under the highest category  Prohibit any ranking based on score differentials within a summative category  Create a system of due process for educators to dispute an evaluation, as called for in the 2013 statecommissioned report by the Michigan Council for Educator Effectiveness Similar changes were proposed in the past two years by an education stakeholder work group—comprised of superintendents, school board lawyers, and staff from MEA and the Michigan Department of Education

Ryan Ridenour

(MDE)—discussing ways to improve the system.

“Then the pandemic hit and everything got put on hold,” said MEA UniServ Director Tammy Daenzer, who served on the workgroup and leads an MEA staff cadre that provides training to union locals on the evaluation law’s requirements. “Now we’re bringing it back around again.”

With decisions up in the air around this year’s testing requirements and how they will relate to evaluations based on the disruption of the health crisis, focus also must remain on systemic problems that predated the pandemic—and will stretch beyond if left unaddressed.

At this early career point, West Bloomfield’s Ridenour says he would like to see change. While he enjoys the part of his evaluation where a skilled administrator gives him developmental feedback based on observation, the emphasis on test scores is not good for educators or students.

Amy Urbanowski-Nowak

“If you ask teachers what learning needs to be targeted, what are the problems and where are the struggles, they already know,” Ridenour added. “That’s a big part of the job.

They don’t need standardized test data to tell them.”

to convince his GOP colleagues that “it’s not necessarily our role to dig that deep into the classroom. It breaks the bond between teachers and students, and we should be strengthening those, not breaking them.”

Sen. Horn agreed but acknowledged much work that is needed

ADD YOUR VOICE MEA is urging members to contact their representatives and senators about the student growth bills already introduced, as well as other priorities for improvement in the evaluation system.

In addition to long-term fixes that are needed—given pressures related to the pandemic—educators and their districts need immediate flexibility this year to streamline evaluations to not waste precious time on burdensome paperwork and process. While evaluations can be an important tool for providing constructive feedback to educators, the reality of the current teaching environment needs to be acknowledged.

Should evaluations be deemed unnecessary at the local level, there should be flexibility to bypass them this school year.

Go to www.mea.org/legislation for the latest calls to action based on what’s happening at the Capitol when this edition of the magazine arrives in homes.

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ISSUES & ADVOCACY

Legislative Councils: a case study in lobbying When Ed Clements attends a dinner (or for now, a Zoom call) with other MEA members and their invited guest—a state representative or senator—he doesn’t expect the educators and politician will agree on everything. Sometimes they don’t agree on much.

Yet the 22-year Bay City educator and current city commissioner keeps coming back for more of these events known as legislative councils.

“I’ve been involved on the political side of things almost my whole career, because I realized right from the get-go that every policy is derived from legislation. So it’s important that members be active to help craft the legislation that ultimately affects their job.”

Clements is one of many MEA members and leaders who have attended get-togethers with— among others—Sen. Ken Horn (R-Frankenmuth) over the past few years, relaying realities on the ground that have played out, or could result, when policy ideas become law.

In time, Horn became convinced from listening to the stories of educators that issues needed to be addressed with the state’s teacher evaluation system, which was overhauled starting in 2011 to weaken tenure protections and

14 APRIL–MAY 2021

institute a high-stakes rating system for educators.

“Teachers create a bond with their students,” Horn said in an interview.

“They know from one end of the classroom to the other where these kids are in their learning process, and every single one of these kids is wired differently, soaks up information differently. Yet they’re all geared toward the same standardized test.”

Horn has introduced one bill addressing a time-sensitive concern—this spring’s scheduled increase in the portion of educators’ evaluations tied to student test scores from 25 to 40%. Horn’s bill would drop that figure to zero.

A separate bill in the House would keep it at 25%.

The proposed legislation is one of several MEA priorities to improve a system many members view as punitive, demoralizing, and a significant factor in the widening gulf between the number of educators needed to staff classrooms and those entering or staying in the profession.

Having the chance to look a policymaker in the eye and explain an educator’s point of view is “invaluable, even if they don’t agree with you,” says MEA member Chris Bowen, an elementary art teacher in Carrollton, who added he enjoys attending legislative councils.

“When we have the opportunity to sit down with legislators and have open conversation—not debate, dialogue—sometimes we’ve had a little bit of a breakthrough in terms of understanding our side better,” Bowen said. “That’s been the case with Sen. Horn.”

The dinners—now Zoom calls— last for a maximum of one hour, and the key is to make a direct link between legislation and students’ day-to-day learning. “We’re not there to make anyone uncomfortable,” Bowen said. “And sometimes some good comes out of it. Maybe our voices get carried into some of those closed rooms in Lansing.”

The meetings are not limited to teachers. Deb Rickert, vice president of her support staff union at Saginaw Valley State University, has started attending legislative councils. With 27 years on the job, she only recently rose to leadership in the unit representing seven job categories, including custodial, skilled trades, and secretarial.

An office coordinator for academic support programs, Rickert said she decided to get more active in the union after becoming dismayed by national politics in the last few years.

The cutting of some support staff positions at SVSU last fall, despite the addition of federal relief money amid the pandemic, reinforced the importance of joining K-12

Ed Clements

educators at legislative council meetings, she said.

Rickert wanted to ensure both higher education and education support professionals were represented in discussions. “We have so much to say, but we don’t often say it. People don’t like getting out of their comfort zone, but it’s really important.”

Sitting down for extended conversation, and returning to do it again, helps lawmakers put a face with a name that’s normally only attached to constituent emails or phone messages, said Amy UrbanowskiNowak, president of the Birch Run Education Association.

“If you can establish a face-to-face relationship, then it’s helpful when you have to call on the phone or send an email when something is happening,” she said. “I also spoke with Sen. Horn directly at the Capitol when changes were occurring with our retirement and our pension.”

Not every battle will be won, but it feels hopeful to have

Chris Bowen

a policymaker listen as Horn has done, Urbanowski-Nowak said.

“He truly does take in what we say, and that’s what should happen.

Educators are on the front line and doing the work, so it’s important for us to be heard.”

To that end, as with MEA staff around the state, UniServ Director Tammy Daenzer organizes various gatherings of members from her Saginaw-Bay County region and their representatives and senators— both Democrat and Republican— on a near monthly basis.

When the legislator is listening and educators are speaking about their schools, classrooms and lives, “I rarely need to speak,” she said.

“I provide dinner, and they have the conversation.”

Even when the talk isn’t going in the desired direction, it’s important to stay respectful and productive, Bay City’s Clements said.

“You have to keep the end goal in mind—to make improvements to policies that will help a greater number of people than just yourself,” he said. “Take a deep breath and know you’re probably not going to change a mind in one conversation.

You’ve got to build a relationship, and it takes time.”

Clements said he learned the ropes from great mentors, and he’s hoping to pay it forward. “We’re trying to bring in some newer members to mentor them as well, because I’m going to be gone in several years, and we need people to fill in behind.”

Interested in Getting Involved?

If you and other members in your area are interested in holding legislative councils with your state legislators, contact your local MEA field office for information. MEA lobbyists are also available to help facilitate startup of new groups.

MEA VOICE 15

ISSUES & ADVOCACY

‘Nonsensical’ Pay Threat Tied to Evaluations Needs Fix As MEA pursues fixes to problematic teacher evaluation reforms enacted in 2015, bargaining teams in some districts have had to contend with a legislative change from 2017 that seeks to add more weight to already high-stakes evaluation scores.

At the state level, MEA’s bargaining wing has developed prototype contract language to knock down the threat, and many local teams have fought it off where administration has tried to unleash it.

Still, the change represents a “slippery slope” that bargainers across the state need to prepare against facing at the negotiating table. And the language of the law represents another area that needs remedy at the Legislature.

At issue is a section added four years ago to the School Aid Act, which is the law passed each year to distribute state funding to schools.

The section, 164h, requires school districts to adopt a mechanism tying “significant” teacher pay to performance, also known as merit pay.

The change in law is clearly in conflict with—and trumped by—Michigan’s Public Employment Relations Act (PERA), which governs collective bargaining, says MEA Bargaining Consultant Craig Culver.

PERA explicitly prohibits performance-based pay as a bargaining

16 APRIL–MAY 2021

subject, while educators’ wages is a mandatory subject of negotiation.

that moment on, I would call it a world war.”

“Merit pay is a strictly prohibited subject of bargaining, so to say you can’t enter into a collective bargaining agreement without merit pay— when performance-based pay is prohibited—it really is nonsensical,” Culver said.

As backdrop, Coopersville offered one of the lowest teacher salaries in Ottawa County at the time, said MEA UniServ Director Krista Abbott.

Educators were leaving for better pay and working conditions in neighboring districts at a rate of 25% over the past several years, she said.

Section 164h attaches a 5% state funding penalty to districts that fail to comply, a significant fine that MEA believes is rendered unenforceable by the inherent conflict in the law, which was even acknowledged

by Gov. Rick Snyder as he first signed the bill with the change.

Now some administrators have attempted to use the law to intimidate bargaining teams into adding contract language denying an annual step increase if an educator’s evaluation score does not meet a minimum.

MEA’s advice: Just say no. That’s what a bargaining team did in Coopersville—after first taking to the membership a supposed bottom-line administration proposal tying steps to evaluations.

The idea was shot down in a near unanimous vote.

“That was in May of 2019, and we did not settle the contract until October of that year,” said chief negotiator Talisha Bailey, now serving in her sixth year in the role. “We decided we’d been taken advantage of for too long. From

“The salary issue, coupled with the district’s position on tying steps to evaluation based on 164h, created a righteousness in the membership,” Abbott said.

Crisis activities began with getting the message out, coordinating members to wear matching colors and show up to sit or speak at school board meetings. Signs with the chosen theme, “A quality future starts now,” were placed all over the city, Bailey said.

“We could not keep up with people that wanted signs—we couldn’t order them quickly enough. It was phenomenal, the energy you get from that and knowing you’re doing the right thing.”

The Coopersville EA had help at every step of the way from the MultiAssociation Bargaining Organization (MABO) in Ottawa County, which is a partnership of local unions in the region that share resources and support each other in crisis.

The Ottawa County MABO reviews member contracts before

Talisha Bailey

a tentative agreement can be ratified, and the organization has drawn a line in the sand when it comes to tying pay to evaluations, said Amy Cahalan, union president in Grand Haven and MABO chair.

Tying evaluation scores to high stakes—pay, layoffs, recalls—as the state has done calls the system’s reliability into question.

“When you have administrators using a tool to evaluate teachers professionally, and it’s tied to a significant amount of money, it’s a slippery slope to that becoming a cost control method,” Cahalan said. “People are the biggest cost that a school district has, and professional staff is probably 60% or more of the budget.”

Cahalan, a 34-year veteran middle school science teacher, also coordinates Grand Haven’s new teacher mentoring program. More than 20 years ago, she began training in professional growth models for educators that focused on mentoring and progression, she said.

“Part of the problem (with the evaluation system) is the subjectivity. The

Amy Cahalan

state is asking us to use these growth model evaluation tools, and then also requiring districts to make a decision about the efficacy of a teacher. It’s not what they were designed for, so the points make no sense and they’re not consistent across districts.”

Teachers’ pay should not be subject to the whims of an administrator’s point scoring, MEA’s Culver said. “You ought to be able to know, per your contract, what your ability will be to meet your financial needs from year to year.”

In Coopersville, nearly six months of holding out against tying steps to ratings paid off. The idea was dropped, and the association approved a three-year contract with a 2.5% increase and steps each year—one of the highest the county had seen in recent years, according to Abbott. In addition, the superintendent announced his retirement and the association helped to elect a new school board president.

“We never knew we had that much community support,” Bailey said.

A Solution for the Bargaining Table MEA has developed prototype language for bargaining teams to counter administration proposals to tie salary to evaluation scores if it comes up at the negotiating table. The solution keeps mention of merit pay out of the contract except to say it is subject to school board policy, said MEABargaining Consultant Craig Culver.

Shifting merit pay considerations to board policy prevents scores and ratings from being tied to step advancement—that is controlled by the contract. “And in that case, what most boards have done is provide some sort of performance bonus at the end of the year for an effective rating,” Culver said. If this is an issue in your area, be sure to work with your MEA UniServ director to get the prototype language and other support.

MEA VOICE 17

COVID

What it’s Like

Vignettes

Tavia Redmond: ‘Let me tell you about tired’ district students had been learning remotely since last spring. When some returned to the building for the first time that day, Redmond entered a new phase of teaching— hybrid—and discovered new levels of exhaustion.

“Let me tell you about tired. I came home from work and went to bed, woke and ate something at 6:30, took a shower and went back to bed, and woke at 6 in the morning.”

It’s a big task to get the 12 youngsters in the room to understand why they can’t do so many simple things they used to enjoy, like sharing a box of markers or holding hands with a friend.

In her educator origin story, Tavia Redmond receives her first vision of the “nurturing, extravagant, and powerful” superhero she hopes to become from her first-grade teacher. “I loved her. I loved the way she dressed. I loved the way she carried herself. She was the one who I said, ‘I want to be just like her.’”

Love ultimately led MEA member Tavia Redmond to don her teacher’s cape 28 years ago.

Since then, she’s faced tough challenges with grit and patience— mostly in her hometown of Romulus, the Downriver suburb that is home to Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

But nothing compares to this year’s struggles, she says. “This right here is a whole new ballgame.”

Redmond never envisioned being asked to teach a split class in which half of her third graders are physically present in the room—masked

18 APR–MAY 2021

and unable to share supplies or mingle with friends—and half are watching from home through a computer screen.

It’s hard to know even where to stand so both in-person and remote kids can see and hear her speaking through the mask. She’s taken to carrying the Chromebook with her.

“It is very difficult, and I don’t think people who are not in the classroom see what we’re going through.”

Until March 10—the one-year anniversary of Michigan’s first confirmed COVID-19 case—all

“They get that they have to wear a mask, but they want to do those things they’ve always done in school, and I have to say ‘No, you can’t do that. You can’t share your markers.

No, you can’t sit together and color.

You can’t give her your yogurt that you don’t want.’

“I snapped at a girl yesterday because she had some grapes and another student said, ‘Oh let me have one,’ and she went to give her a grape, and I said ‘No!’ And then I was like, ‘I am so sorry. Please forgive me.’ And with all the kids on virtual saying, ‘What’s going on?’

I said, ‘Honey, you can’t. Please, just don’t.’”

It breaks Redmond’s heart, she says. “Those things we were taught about cooperative learning, working

What it’s Like

together in groups, sharing, it’s gone.

Out the window.”

All who returned to in-person learning look forward to recess time, including Redmond. “When we went out on the playground for the first time, and the weather was so nice, it brought me joy to see them getting fresh air, running around, chasing, playing tag and shouting, ‘Who’s it?’”

For many reasons, this year has felt “discombobulated” to a veteran educator who still remembers in sixth grade devouring a Scholastic News story of Marva Collins, a celebrated Chicago educator who became the subject of a TV movie starring Cicely Tyson.

Everything about virtual teaching last fall was unfamiliar—from digital strategies to scanning documents, navigating Google classroom, and mastering a learning platform all at once. “You spend hours trying to figure out every little thing, and you finally start to get in the groove and the next thing pops up,” she said.

“I can’t keep up with everything.”

One big issue for Redmond, like other K-3 teachers, has been completing all of the mandated testing while her 31 students were attending online for much of the year.

Under Michigan’s third-grade reading law, K-3 educators must gauge students’ reading levels three times a year and use scores to develop an Individualized Reading Improvement Plan (IRIP) with

interventions—which must be tracked and reported—for any who don’t meet a benchmark.

Her district uses an online tool— the NWEA—and a labor-intensive one-on-one assessment known as the DRA, Developmental Reading Assessment. Some results have been inconsistent.

She tried to have the students remain on-screen while taking the online test, but computer glitches and internet issues forced her to let them leave to complete it. Some students she noted reading far below grade level on the DRA somehow scored high on the NWEA. The discrepancies made it hard to design interventions for the IRIPs and to communicate a plan for parents to work on at home, as required under the law. “I could use information from last year to help me gauge where they were going to go, but it was a tough call,” she said.

One good that came from parents sitting by their children to start remote learning last fall was having some see firsthand their child’s reading struggles. For example, when she asked students to find a word on the screen, some parents were surprised their child couldn’t find it.

“I was able to see some changes in some of the kids whose parents started working with them, because they realized, ‘Whoa, my daughter can’t read like I thought she could.’”

COVID Vignettes

Redmond found a rhythm with all-virtual teaching as she discovered students’ digital attention span.

She added breaks and GoNoodle movement and kept her video on at lunch for social time. She started optional Fun Friday to let kids talk or play games such as Simon Says.

It was amazing to just watch and listen, she said.

“At times they weren’t talking, but they stayed for the fact they could see one of their classmates coloring and they could color, too. They would go, ‘Look at this picture—look what I did!’ Or they would play and say, ‘Did you see me?’ Or ‘Watch me make this shot!’ Then a girl would maybe start playing with her dolls, and the boys would shout, ‘Lemme go get my game!’”

As students returned, she also discovered the limits of in-person school when a melancholy girl shared a sad story about her puppy.

“My instinct is to put my arm around the child, and I had to catch myself and remember I can’t. I can’t hug.

It’s sad, really sad.”

Redmond is able to keep going by tapping wellsprings of strength.

“I have been praying, and I have been walking. When my thoughts keep going left and right, that is my outlet—just praying and walking, writing in a journal, enjoying nature, because it helps me to get away for a while.”

MEA VOICE 19

COVID Vignettes

What it’s Like

Gillian Lafrate: Student Teaching With a Twist (or two) Early in student teaching in January, Gillian Lafrate was operating from an empty classroom with her Warren third graders fully virtual and her host teacher working from home.

The Saginaw Valley State University senior elected to come in, given a choice.

“My little sister is in seventh grade.

She was learning virtually. My stepmom is a middle school teacher, so she was at home teaching virtually, and I was like, ‘It’s not feasible for me to be in my house to do this.’”

Online teaching ran all day when all students were virtual, with math and reading intervention groups in afternoons. Lafrate eased into teaching all subjects, adding more responsibility each week. She and her host teacher planned together online and reflected continuously.

“She was very available for me, but if I just needed something small, I couldn’t look over my shoulder and say, ‘Hey, I need this.’”

As the district transitioned some children back into the building, the schedule changed three times over several weeks to accommodate various blends of hybrid learning.

Elementary educators’ time is divided between virtual and in-person students.

Each time the schedule changed, Lafrate and her host teacher—now physically together—had to reassess and revise plans.

20 APRIL–MAY 2021

“We take it one day at a time, and we’ll eventually figure out what works and what’s going on. But I have to staple a note on my forehead so every time I look in the mirror I see it.

‘Take a deep breath. It’ll be fine. We’ll figure it out.’”

The good part about student teaching during a pandemic is that the host teacher is learning alongside you, Lafrate added. “Her lessons that work in person might not work online, so she says, ‘Why don’t we try new things?’ So I’ve been able to try things I want to do.”

One of her best experiences leading the class was teaching parts of speech using fill-in-the-blank writing known as Mad Libs. Students offer nouns, adjectives, and adverbs, which are randomly inserted into sentences, creating nonsense meanings and lots of laughs. “They were so excited coming in, saying, ‘Are we going to do grammar now?’”

However, it wouldn’t be student teaching if the highs weren’t contrasted with lows: “Last Friday was terrible, and it had me thinking Am I a terrible teacher? What am I doing wrong?”

The children had begun learning multiplication tables, starting with twos and fives. After a week of lessons, Lafrate reviewed and quizzed, and many in-person students did not pass. After reflection and self-doubt, like all pros, Lafrate tossed scores and started over.

Gillian Lafrate

She’s already dreading leaving the class: “I want to be their teacher every grade for the rest of their life.”

In addition to her host teacher, Lafrate has Aspiring Educators of Michigan (AEM)—MEA’s pre-professional arm—to give her support and guidance. The group helped her to gain leadership skills and directed her to resources she didn’t know existed, Lafrate said.

“I now have a family of future teachers and current teachers that I know I can reach out to if I ever have any questions or need support,” she said.

“Being a part of AEM has been such a great experience and I know the connections I made in this program will help me in my future.”

COVID

What it’s Like

Vignettes

Jaycob Yang: Finding a Way in the First Year MEA member Jaycob Yang began his first year of teaching in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

By December, he was burning out in his job working with Utica sixth graders in virtual school.

“Especially in the first half of the year, it was a difficult balance,” he said. “I was online all day, then I took an hour break after school. Then I would be working from 4 to midnight, because as a first-year teacher you don’t know how to pace yourself.”

Yang now goes to bed by 10 and figures, “It’ll get done when it gets done,” but he admits to questioning if teaching is right for him. Some friends from college have dropped out. “I will be 100% honest: the burnout is real. However, even though this is not what I expected, I recognize that this year is not the truth and I’m willing to give it another try.”

Yang is sharing his story to help other beginners feel less isolated.

For the same reason, he is among the newest leaders of Michigan New Educators (MiNE), a group of early career educators developing networking and supports for MEA member peers.

“My message to other first-year teachers—if you’re having bad days or bad weeks and feeling like you want to quit—you’re not alone. And feeling that way doesn’t make us less worthy of being in the profession.”

Yang’s motivation for taking on a leadership role in MiNE echoes his reasons for becoming an educator: Representation matters. Yang did not have a full-time educator of color until high school, or an Asian‑American educator until college. Attending largely white schools, without role models, weakened his confidence.

“I sold so many bits and pieces of my personality just to conform and fit in and not be as noticeably Asian.

But it’s noticeable when you’re the only minority student in the class.

It’s noticeable when no one sits with you at lunch. I often felt, because I was Asian‑American, I was held to that higher standard, because of the ‘model minority’ myth.”

Yang knows the importance of connections, but they’re hard to make online with many student cameras off. The pandemic has added trauma, and his principal pointed out that everyone is grieving losses.

Yang is grieving the loss of interaction and what he expected his first year of teaching to be. The kids are missing normalcy and grieving the loss of their final year on the elementary campus.

Every day he includes talk of “roses and thorns,” allowing students to share frustrations and focus on “beautiful moments.” He looks for roses, too: His students greeting each other kindly in the chat, finding the courage to speak up, joking around and developing routines.

Jaycob Yang

One day, a student discovered the “praise” feature in the meeting platform and sent praise to the teacher.

Suddenly others joined in—praising his ability to teach tough concepts, like fractions, and make them feel better when they’re sad.

“When there’s M-STEP to prep for and NWEA to prep for, and you have to keep up with your district’s pacing, it’s easy to forget the students are so thoughtful and there for you when you need them. And they know you are there for them, too.

“Seeing their appreciation puts things into perspective,” Yang added.

“I’m effective where it counts, and it can be a normal year. There can be moments of beauty and joy and normalcy.”

MEA VOICE 21

COVID

What it’s Like

Vignettes

Julie Ingison: Bus Driver Weaves Love into Job Although the children on her bus can’t see her smile through the face mask, MEA member Julie Ingison makes sure they can hear the smile when she greets them by name each day. They also can feel her love through the huggable gift she crafted for each child over the winter.

“They were so excited just to get something—before they even knew what it was,” she said. “Then for several days they were either talking about their animals or bringing them on the bus. And the fifth graders liked it just as much as my kindergarten and first graders.”

The 22-year U.S. Air Force veteran—now a fourth-year school bus driver in Ludington—over several months crocheted a different stuffed animal for each of her 31 elementary school passengers.

Ingison first learned how to make a few crochet stitches from a friend in the military in her 20s. Her aunt, a master of the craft, showed her more tricks, and Ingison eventually taught herself to read patterns.

For Project Stuffed Animals, she used some patterns to start but ventured into her own creative territory as well. “After making a few animals, you kind of figure out the basic body construction and it’s just a matter of making the ears and tails and tentacles that go along.”

“We were talking one day about what everybody’s favorite animal was, and I wrote that down,” Ingison said. “I thought it would be fun to make a stuffed animal specific to each child. No two are identical.

I made a monkey, baby Yoda, jellyfish, an octopus, dogs and cats, an alligator and dinosaurs—it was quite a zoo I had going there.”

Ingison handed out the gifts at the end of a school day, wrapped with the student’s name on it. Most honored her request to wait until they were home to open it.

22 APRIL–MAY 2021

A Lansing native, Ingison learned to drive a bus in the military and returned to it after retiring. At first she didn’t realize the job would put to use the Human Services degree she earned during active duty.

But driving a bus is about “more than getting them to and from school,” she said. “It’s about communication and building relationships.

Something we talk about often is proper courtesies and conflict resolution, like how to handle it when someone is bothering them.”

This year, in addition to wearing masks on the bus, students sit in assigned seats to ensure as much

Julie Ingison

distance between them as possible. The regular seating pattern also helps with contact tracing if COVID‑19 exposure happens.

Whenever she has a chance, Ingison gets to know the students in her charge. Because she’s kept the same in-city route for four years, she gets to see them grow and change— and eventually move on.

She lets the children determine the direction of conversations—if they want to talk about school, pets, hobbies, vacations, or some trouble that’s bothering them. “A lot of times it’s just a matter of listening.

They want somebody to talk to who will listen, and that’s what bus drivers do.”

COVID

What it’s Like

Vignettes

Chris DeFraia: Sharing a Rich Resource Ferris State University Professor Chris DeFraia has experienced many of the same effects from the global health crisis as other educators.

For one, the MEA member misses sharing advice, encouragement, and friendship with colleagues.

In addition, his genetics and biology students have seemed less engaged as the pandemic and mitigation measures to contain the virus have stretched on for a year. “And it’s really difficult to not follow them in being less engaged, because I get my energy from my students,” he said.

DeFraia also has juggled work while trading off with his wife on caring duties for their two-year-old daughter who could no longer attend daycare. (At one point he interrupted our interview to stop the cat poised to wake the child from her nap).

However, getting the hang of online teaching has been less of a struggle for him—and not because he had done it before. For about a year before the pandemic hit, DeFraia had been teaching himself how to make videos as part of a plan to “flip” his classroom.

Now he’s made a free, opensource series of videos for educators who want to learn how to make videos for teaching even after a return to physical classrooms. His YouTube channel, TeachWithVideo, separates the process into three types of videos, from easiest to most advanced.

“Teachers already have most of the expertise needed to make videos; the knowledge of their subject and how to teach it,” DeFraia said. “I’m just breaking down the video production part, to make it a lot easier to learn.”

DeFraia does not prefer online teaching, but using videos to shift class lectures and content delivery online allows him to use precious in-person time for higher-order thinking activities. “My students are going to be biology teachers, pharmacists, doctors, optometrists, dentists—they need to be able to reason and think.”

He decided to make the video series for educators when he realized he already had organized the information. Pre-pandemic he taught two aspiring biology teachers who wanted to learn to make teaching videos. “I was amazed at how quickly they learned, and their videos were excellent.”

DeFraia made the resource for educators that he wished to find during a year of teaching himself on a big learning curve.

His series instructs the viewer how to make a paper and pencil video, using a smartphone holder to record the teacher drawing on paper while explaining a concept.

The next level of difficulty is a basic screencast, using a tablet and the Explain Everything app to make a whiteboard video.

Chris DeFraia

The most challenging of DeFraia’s tutorials is an advanced screencast which edits together audio and video recordings with added visuals to make a professional-looking product.

The advanced videos require some equipment to achieve, which he explains in the tutorials.

Sharing knowledge and resources is something educators do, he said.

He also is offering feedback to any viewers who want to share the first video they produce. “There’s very little out there specific to teachers and how to make good teaching videos, so I wanted to provide that.”

Find his channel, TeachWithVideo, at youtube.com/user/cdefraia.

MEA VOICE 23

COVID

What it’s Like

Vignettes

Eric Hudson: Playing a Part to Beat the Virus MEA member Eric Hudson loves being surrounded by his orchestra students in Kentwood as each one contributes a musical puzzle piece to a mosaic of sound that becomes melody, harmony, rhapsody, symphony.

It’s also a fitting metaphor for the 37-year-old educator’s decision to join a clinical trial of a newly developed vaccine against COVID‑19 last fall. “They needed 60,000 people, and I made that number one less,” he said. “I wanted to be part of making history and beating this thing.”

His journey in the trial reached its climactic pitch last month, when the vaccine by Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson received approval for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

“I am an avid traveler. I am a social being, and being in isolation—not being around my kids every day, not traveling like I used to—I wanted it to be over. I wanted to be part of the solution.”

Unlike two other vaccines approved to combat the pandemic, the J&J shot needs only one dose— not two—and it does not require storage at freezing or sub-zero temperatures. “It could become an important way to get vaccine to more rural and remote areas,” he said.

Participation in the study required him to attend a six-hour orientation,

24 APRIL–MAY 2021

complete medical questionnaires and tests, and sign a waiver before getting a shot of vaccine or placebo.

The study was double-blind, so researchers did not immediately know who received which dose.

Hudson answered surveys and attended follow-up appointments to monitor his condition.

He initially had no reaction to the shot and felt disappointed at getting the placebo, but the next morning he awoke with muscle and joint aches, possible mild vaccine side effects, he said: “Then I fully believed I got the vaccine—my brain can’t concoct that strong of a placebo effect!”

When Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and health officials prioritized school employees for vaccine in January, Hudson called into the study site and was told by a doctor who “un-blinded” him that he had, in fact, already received vaccine.

Meanwhile, at school Hudson has been doing his best to reach both in-person and remote students.

To help, he’s used video performances and music software that automates feedback.

A cellist in the Holland Symphony Orchestra, Hudson teaches orchestra in grades 7-12 and leads middle and high school alternative orchestras before and after school. The Anything But Classical orchestra plays non-traditional music such as rock, bluegrass, Celtic, and more.

Eric Hudson

The pandemic canceled a scheduled trip to Ireland with his young musicians last spring, but now he’s looking forward to getting students fully back into music class—the place where Hudson and so many others have developed a sense of identity and belonging.

“That’s the dream I’m holding onto.

I can’t say when, but it’s going to get better; I know it is.”

COVID

What it’s Like

Vignettes

Sally Purchase: ‘Art is a little bit like a relief’ The pandemic hit MEA member Sally Purchase’s AP art students in Muskegon especially hard as they were interrupted by the sudden closure of buildings last March in the final stretch of completing a multi-media art exploration on a personal theme.

“We didn’t know they weren’t coming back, so here are these kids in their homes and no artwork, no art supplies,” Purchase recalled.

She had been working all year with students—about half of 18 seniors in Advanced Placement— bringing pieces forward for AP testing in May. Suddenly she was retrieving in-progress projects and art supplies from school, which she loaded in her car, drove, and dropped at homes.

She critiqued work via photographs and walked students through a difficult digital submission process, instead of the usual—packing the objects in a portfolio box and shipping them to Utah. “It was super rough, but eight of the nine kids passed the AP exam, and I was so proud of all of them for working it out.”

Purchase didn’t have time to rest on those laurels over summer. She served as the lone union negotiator of return to learn plans, consulting with the bargaining team but developing specifics one-on-one with the superintendent. “There were so many details to work out at three different building levels. But

the schedule we came up with was innovative, and I think we did well.”

Muskegon had enough Chromebooks to sign out a device to each student. Ensuring all students had access to the internet was trickier, involving home and school hotspots.

To limit daily screen time at the high school, students took accelerated versions of half the normal number of classes—to focus on fewer subjects. Buses ran daily routes in the afternoons so students could come to buildings for tutoring or broadband internet access when needed.

Children learned remotely through winter until some elected a phased-in return to buildings starting in mid-February. In-person learning did not resume until staff at each site had been vaccinated.

Staff and families both have expressed appreciation for the focus on safety, Purchase said. However, it’s been hard to get to know students virtually this year when many did not turn on cameras.

She learned personalities in the chat and connected through art.

She demonstrated techniques and recorded the live feed so students could follow along and play it back later to try again—“like Bob Ross,” she quipped. It could be hard to tell if anyone was listening.

Sally Purchase

term of endearment meaning “auntie.” Another called her “mom.”

And Purchase continued packing and delivering art supplies to homes of students and picking up their finished works, which were even more thoughtful than in normal times and showed that students were, in fact, listening all along, she said.

“I’ve had kids tell me, ‘This is the class I really look forward to.’ I think they’re happy to have a non-core class that has a different vibe to it. It’s a change of pace and a little bit like a relief. Right now, art is really needed.”

But one girl in comments referred to Purchase as “titi”—a Spanish

MEA VOICE 25

STRENGTH IN UNION

Aspiring Educators Build ‘Empowering’ Movement

A group of aspiring educators from Michigan State University hopes strength in numbers will help to amplify their message of concern about the equity, accessibility, and sustainability of MSU’s fifth-year internship program for gaining teacher certification.

The members of MEA’s aspiring educator wing—Aspiring Educators of Michigan (AEM)—have organized a movement, Empowering Spartan Educators, to press for action from university leaders on an issue long discussed as a barrier into the profession for less advantaged students.

“It’s not about changing this program for me or for one of us,” said Olivia Gundrum, an MSU senior and one of the organizers of a petition drive around the issue. “We’ve got to make this better for everyone else or we’re going to keep losing teachers.”

Gundrum must decide whether to add more student debt to an already heavy load to complete the fifth-year internship or find another way to become certified as a secondary English teacher. She began the campaign with Julia Alvarez, a fifthyear intern this year in Chicago Public Schools.

26 APRIL–MAY 2021

Alvarez said the past year has been especially stressful, dealing with a pandemic, a divisive national election, and nationwide protests for racial justice while navigating fulltime student teaching, graduate-level coursework, and the stress of trying to pay for rent, food, and transportation—all while being unable to work a job for pay.

Rising costs and stress levels from the program drive future educators away, the group said.

“We can say up and down all we want, ‘Black Lives Matter,’ and this and that,” Alvarez said. “But it’s not enough to say it if we’re not doing it.

The words mean nothing if the time for action comes and we do nothing.”

The two friends first issued a survey to some current students in the College of Education. When they quickly received 150 responses echoing their concerns, the pair developed a petition calling on MSU to find solutions. They tapped networks to garner more than 600 signatures.

Children benefit academically by having teachers from diverse backgrounds, said AEM President Brittany Perreault, a senior at MSU

who is also deciding whether to complete a fifth-year internship to become a special education teacher.

“Failure to recruit and support MSU students of color to the program fails to live up to the MSU Trustees’ own statement of diversity and inclusion which states, ‘Our commitment to inclusion means we embrace access to success for all,’” Perreault said in testimony March 4 at the General Assembly of Associated Students of MSU (ASMSU), the university’s student government.

MSU is not alone in having a fifth-year certification program, but the university considered to be the number-one education program in the nation could influence change at other institutions by taking the lead to make teacher certification more accessible, the aspiring educators said.

A bill in support of the group’s petition—introduced by AEM member Aaron Iturralde, a senior who represents education students on the student government— recently passed the ASMSU General Assembly following testimony from a number of aspiring educators.

“This petition and our movement, Empowering Spartan Educators, is about acknowledging that unpaid internships are just plainly exploitative. But also it’s about the fact that throughout the past year, we have seen just how essential educators truly are.”

Olivia Gundrum, senior Aspiring secondary English teacher

“Our program is currently structured in a way that pushes students out, specifically students of color and lowincome students. I have known multiple brilliant, amazing future teachers who have been unable— not unwilling—but unable to complete their fifth year due to financial inability. This is an issue of equity.”

Julia Alvarez, fifth-year intern Aspiring elementary teacher

“As the top-ranked Teacher Preparation Program in the nation, we should be moving forward to find new ways to inspire students to become educators, and that means creating concrete solutions to the financial hardship of this program as well as finding ways to support the diversity that is desperately needed among Michigan educators.”

Brittany Perreault, senior Aspiring special education teacher

Problems with Fifth-Year Internships Earlier this month, the Associated Students of MSU (ASMSU) General Assembly passed a bill in support of aspiring educators’ petition calling for the university to address barriers to entry into the teaching profession. AEM members presented a petition outlining concerns about the university’s fifth-year internship and certification program:

 The unpaid fifth-year internship creates a financial hardship on low-income students, including many students of color. The cost to complete the program exceeds the annual salary of many first-year teachers.  The program requires students to take additional classes that do not count toward their master’s degree, while their graduate student

status precludes them from financial aid and grants.  The difficulty and time commitment of the fifthyear internship makes working a paying job nearly impossible, and the program discourages students from seeking outside employment, while offering no compensation or tuition relief.

MEA VOICE 27

NEWS & NOTES

Check out the new MEA.org New Members-Only area makes what you need easier to find Have you visited the redesigned MEA.org website yet?

MEA.org and MEA’s social media pages on Facebook and Twitter.

Featuring a streamlined login process and new members-only tools, the updated site makes it easier to find the content you’re looking for.

The site’s login procedures are easier than ever, allowing members to access exclusive content, discounts and tools, including a new Member Portal that allows members to update their information and manage their dues payments easily in one location.

The latest news and information about the education profession.

Calls to action from the Capitol in Lansing. Professional development opportunities, like the Center for Leadership & Learning’s new book studies and webinars. Legal and advocacy updates for MEA members. Whatever your interests, you can stay up to date by visiting 28 APRIL–MAY 2021

Looking to save money? Try out our MEA Advantage Discounts powered by Access, as well as our members-only discounts through Staples, NEA Member Benefits and MEA Financial Services.

MEA is also updating our smartphone app—search for “Michigan Education Association” on your Apple or Android app store to download it to your device.

Visit MEA.org and Win! Check out the redesigned MEA website and you could win a $10 coupon for MEA‑branded merchandise from our new online store. Visit www.mea.org/webquiz—the first 100 members who answer the questions correctly win!

MEA ELECTIONS In MEA elections at the Representative Assembly April 23-24, delegates will select candidates to fill two full-term positions for the NEA Board of Directors (9/1/21-8/31/21); one partial term (immediately-8/31/23); and two alternates (9/1/21-8/31/24). The four declared candidates as of press time, including which position each is running for, are listed below.

Jon Fielbrandt, alternate Marcia Mackey, full term Anthony Pennock, partial term Alfonso Salais, Jr., full term

Jon Fielbrandt Alternate Jon Fielbrandt is currently in his 24th year in education, having spent 18 years teaching chemistry, math and web design at Sterling Heights High School in the Warren Consolidated Schools. Interrupting those 15 years, Jon spent 5.5 years as the release-time president of the Warren Education Association. Jon currently serves on MEA Board of Directors, MEA Executive Committee, and as a current Alternate NEA Directors he is serving as an Interim Director. He has been appointed to the Staff Retirement Plan Board, the Long Range Planning Committee, State Crisis Assistance Program Committee, and is the Vice Chairperson of the Coalition of Local

Option Units. Jon has previously served on the Long Range Planning Committee, Budget and Finance Committee, Social Justice Committee, Art Acquisition Committee, and the Human Relations Commission. At the Region level, Jon serves as the Region 6 treasurer and MEA Caucus Co-Chair. On the local level, Jon serves as a member of the bargaining team and as a MEA and NEA RA delegate.

Candidate Statement I would like to thank you for the trust you have shown me in the past by electing me to this position of Alternate NEA Director from Michigan. I am humbled by the confidence you have shown in me and I am asking for your continued support as I seek re-election at this year’s Spring Representative Assembly.

My service to my local association and the MEA includes serving for 19 years on the MEA Board of Directors and 12 years on the MEA Executive Committee. Though this

service, as well as my past service on the MEA-PAC Governing Board, MEA-PAC Council, my local and county PACs, and as an Officer-atLarge of the Michigan Democratic Party, I have the experience necessary to continue to represent you in Washington D.C.—to be your advocate, your voice.

The pandemic has doubled the challenges we already faced in education.

All of us deserve to be respected and given the tools and support necessary to be successful in these unprecedented times. Michigan’s voice in Washington must continue to be strong as we tireless advocate for the recourses to provide a safe and excellent Public Education for every student. I ask you to allow me to continue to be your voice in Washington D.C. as an Alternate NEA Director from Michigan.

Please cast your vote for proven leadership and experience. Vote for Jon Fielbrandt for Alternate NEA Director from Michigan. Thank you!

MEA VOICE 29

MEA ELECTIONS

Candidate Statement

Marcia Mackey Full Term Marcia Mackey, Ph.D., is a faculty member of the Central Michigan University Department of Physical Education & Sport, currently teaching aquatics and sport management while serving as the Graduate Coordinator for the department. In her 25 years at CMU, she has served on university, college and department committees, as well as the CMU Faculty Association Board of Directors. Mackey is currently president of the Michigan Association of Higher Education Board of Directors. She holds elected and appointed positions at the local, Region, Coordinating Council, state and national levels, including MEA Board of Directors.

At the national level, Mackey has served on the NEA Board of Directors and as secretary of the National Council for Higher Education. She has taught at all levels of education, in swimming pools, classrooms, and gymnasiums.

Anthony Pennock Partial Term Anthony Pennock is a special education teacher at WK Kellogg Preparatory High School in Battle Creek Public Schools. He is the president of the Battle

30 APRIL–MAY 2021

I am Marcia Mackey, a candidate for re-election as NEA Director and a proud union member. Thank you so very much for allowing me to serve as a Michigan NEA Director for the past 2.5 years. I would like to thank each one of you, for all you do for public education. We are a family.

Involvement in MEA and NEA is critical, and I am willing to continue my commitment to advocate for public education.

My 39-years of experiences in the classrooms/gyms/swimming pools spans all levels of education, thereby providing me with a unique lens through which to view the interconnection between the various components of MEA. The needs and expectations of MEA members vary, yet the link is our desire for the best in public education. As a product of public education, I completed an undergraduate degree, a master’s degree, and a Ph.D. I studied law, interned at an aquatic law firm, served as an expert witness for legal cases, and currently I teach law and governance courses. I use my experiences in organizational law, governance, and policy interpretation to representing Michigan at

Creek Education Association, where he has also served as a building representative. Pennock serves on the Region 4 Council and the Region 4 Screening & Recommendations Committee. At the state level, he is currently an elected MEA RA delegate and serves on the MEA Legislative Commission. At the national level, Pennock is currently serving as an NEA RA delegate.

Candidate Statement As the son of a union crane operator, I learned the power and strength of labor from an early age. As a local

the national level. I advocate of all of us: emerging leaders, ESP, K-12, Higher Ed, and retired members.

Understanding the legal process and being involved on Capitol Hill is a key responsibility of an NEA Director and matches perfectly with my professional experiences. Over the past 28 years, I have held a variety of union leadership positions at every level, from the local through national. In this era of uncertainty for public education and the recent changes on the Supreme Court bench, tough decisions are required for NEA and MEA. I am willing to be at the table, to participate in the dialog, and make the tough decisions.

As a NEA Director for Michigan, I will continue do all I can for MEA education professionals and public education at the state and national level. Consistency and stability are important; therefore, I am running for re-election.

Thank you. I am Marcia Mackey and I ask for your vote for re-election as a NEA Director.

leader, I have seen the power of educators to show compassion and determination, voice and collaboration, unity and solidarity. These help us to grow as educators, mentors, and leaders within our schools and communities for our students. We know the power of our collective voice can get the job done. Let’s work together to lift the voices of members and students who need it most and build a more equitable working and learning environment for public education.

Candidate Statement I am pleased and honored to announce my candidacy for re-election as an NEA Board of Director to represent and advocate for YOU and ALL educators of the MEA!

Alfonso Salais, Jr. Full Term Alfonso Salais, Jr. is an International Baccalaureate Spanish Teacher at Lansing Eastern High School. He has enjoyed the opportunity to contribute to the community where he grew up and where his work is needed. Salais has held a number of elected offices, including Vice-President of LSEA and MEA Board of Directors. Salais has held appointment on numerous MEA committees, including, ELL, Social Justice, 31G Minority Affairs, Long Range Planning, and MEA NEA RA Strategy committees. At the national level, he has served as an NEA State Director, on NEA’s ESP Career Committee, as NEA’s Hispanic Caucus Midwest Director, and as a task force member of NEA’s Racial Justice in Education Policy Statement. He currently serves as Secretary/Treasurer for the National Council of Urban Education Associations.

During my 26 years as an educator, I’ve made it a goal to teach and advocate for public education. I’ve been lucky to have the opportunity to contribute to the community in which I grew up in, and to be a part of an urban setting where I am desperately needed.

My purpose as a professional is to help, to serve, and to improve others, unconditionally and positively, without regard. My work at the national level has included advocacy for public education and social justice issues for both women and people of color.

My heart and passion for advocacy for this great organization has never faltered! I have been very fortunate to have served as an NEA BOD and it would be an honor to continue serving ALL educators at the national level once again!

At the National level, I have served on the NEA’s Resolution Committee,

been appointed to serve as a task force member on NEA’s Racial Justice in Education Policy statement, and served as the Ethnic Minority Director for the National Council of Urban Education Associations (NCUEA) as well as the NEA’s Hispanic Caucus Midwest Director. I also have an extensive background in service to our organization both at the State and Local level. Currently, I serve as NCUEA’s Secretary/Treasurer.

I feel it is important to be a champion advocate for our profession and for those that are major contributors to our field of work. Those contributors are the glue that help and hold our schools and districts together, they are our ESP members--both K-12 and Higher Ed! Recently, I have been selected to represent our ESP members nationally as a member of the NEA ESP Career Committee.

It is with the same confidence and commitment that has been bestowed in me by this fabulous organization that I ask the same vote of confidence for re-election from you in MEA today as your NEA Director!

MEA VOICE 31

Free MESSA conference to focus on mental wellness At MESSA, we understand that your overall health is directly related to your mental wellness.

That’s why we expanded our MESSA Wellness program over the past year to help address the extraordinary pressures that educators and support staff have faced during the pandemic. MESSA Health Promotion Consultant Rhonda Jones heard from members who were struggling, so she convened wellness experts to deliver timely and relevant information to our members via Zoom.

On April 30, Jones is again bringing together a stellar lineup of wellness experts for the virtual Spring Worksite Wellness Conference with the theme of “Springing Forward in 2021.”

While it seems that a complete return to normalcy may still be a ways off, we know that we are moving forward together every day.

By Ross Wilson, MESSA Executive Director

To learn more about the conference lineup and to register, go to messa.org/wellness.

Classified Got travel on your mind?

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32 APRIL–MAY 2021

Picture books.

“Children ages 5-8 will thoroughly enjoy Guess This Ginger Cat’s Name as they follow a ginger cat’s adventurous travels… [and] are invited to think of other rhyming names that fit the story! [This] thoroughly fun read from first page to last will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to family, elementary school, and community library picture book collections.” – Midwest Book Review. Available at tinyurl.com/Guess-Ginger-Cat.

Our advertising policies, rates and schedule can be found online at mea.org/voice.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

In college, Isaac Perry realized architecture wasn’t for him.

Instead he recalled his seventh-grade teacher saying he was a strong writer—which grew into an English teaching career.

As English department chair at Huron Valley’s Lakeland High School, he is loved by students in his… computer science classes? Wait, what?

How did computer science enter the picture? It’s kind of a funny story. In my personal life, I was famous among my friend group as the one guy who didn’t have a cell phone until maybe 2013. But several years back I read a college admissions essay from an AP Language student about how he taught himself to program. And by the time he was graduating high school, he had written some apps and made some money doing tech services. That student now, by the way, has his dream job working for Google. I talked to him, and my takeaway was, “If students are teaching themselves and getting a jumpstart on careers, why are we not teaching this?” The problem is finding teachers for it. For most people who graduate college with a computer science degree, it’s a lot more lucrative to go into private industry.

How hard was it to add computer science to your English teaching?

I was able to get a business endorsement on my teaching certificate from work that I had done in my community. And I got authorization to teach it.

So I did a summer institute with Code.org, and then I launched. The biggest thing is that I had to be willing to work at learning a skill that I had no background in, and it still requires a significant dedication of time beyond the classroom. But I’m reaping all the benefits of taking the leap.

34 APRIL–MAY 2021

What are the base skills someone needs to teach it? Patience and perseverance. At times it can be frustrating, and you’ve got to stay at it. I also had to be willing to tell students, “Yes, I am your teacher, but in many ways I am the lead learner.”

Some students probably know more than I do, but my role isn’t to be knowledge gatekeeper. I am the facilitator of learning.

No need to be a math whiz? No, not at all. You need an interest in the field, a willingness to learn alongside students, and a passion for providing really positive experiences.

I’ve got my kids programming music now.

We’re playing with

robots in this class.

We built arcade systems. The first year I taught it, we bought these desktop arcade systems and we built them from the ground up. There are resources galore for this content area.

This year the College Board gave you the AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award. How do you attract non-traditional students to the class? Code.org dedicated a segment on how to reach out to non-traditional populations, students of color and females, particularly.

But when I launched the computer science classes at Lakeland, I think what allowed me to connect with female students was the fact that I was teaching AP language and those classes tend to be a bit more female-dominated. I think a lot of students enjoyed me as an English teacher, and they wanted to have me again even if they weren’t all that interested in computer science.

By the second year, I had a ton of applicants, and I decided to keep a 50/50 male-female split.

What would you say to a teacher thinking of a similar leap? Never in a million years would I have expected to end up teaching computer science. Most people laughed when they found out that—wait, the guy who doesn’t carry a cell phone—you’re going to teach computer science? But it’s reinvigorated me as a teacher, and it’s given me a whole new set of skills. I’m getting students to sign up.

I’ve got a nice diverse group to work with. I feel like the luckiest person with this job and the decision to go down this road. I’ve just loved it.

Spring is here!

Play with the home team!

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Blue Cross Online Visits are free through Dec. 31 Because we care MESSA is fully covering medical and mental health visits through the Blue Cross Online Visits app and website through Dec. 31, at no cost to MESSA medical members and their covered dependents.

Visit a doctor or therapist on your smartphone or computer You and your covered family members can see and talk to: •

A doctor for minor illness such as a cold or sore throat.

•

A behavioral health clinician or psychiatrist to work through mental health challenges such as anxiety or depression.

Get started: Visit messa.org/onlinevisits or download the Blue Cross Online Visits app. *Virtual appointments not done through the Blue Cross Online Visits app or website are subject to your plan’s deductible, copayment or coinsurance.