MEA VOICE MAGAZINE - April 2019 Issue

INSIDE: April 2019 | Vol. 96 | Issue 4 | mea.org

FUND OUR SCHOOLS

LETTER TO MEMBERS

We Have a Lot to Talk About There is much to discuss in this issue of MEA Voice magazine.

Let’s start with the cover story on teacher evaluation, which begins on page 11 and details one of our members’ biggest concerns. From every corner of the state, we hear about problems with the system overhaul of teacher tenure and evaluation which began in 2011.

The changes have created a fearful climate that discourages collaboration and rewards compliance. By tying layoffs and recalls to ratings and teacher scores, the system now skews toward punishing rather than developing educators.

State-mandated observation tools have reduced the complex art of teaching to a one-size-fits-all checklist. Burdensome paperwork has added to already heavy educator workloads—without improving teaching and learning, according to member surveys (including one on page 9).

And standardized test scores carry too much weight in educators’ evaluations, especially given that creativity, problem-solving, communication and collaboration are skills and qualities our students most need to develop for the future. None of that is covered on a bubble test.

Paula J. Herbart President 2 APRIL 2019

Educators want to reflect on practice and seek ways to improve their craft.

But if threats and checklists from the state offered a magical solution to challenging issues, our work would be done and student achievement would be improving. Neither half of that sentence is true.

When we consider this punitive treatment of educators along with the well-documented failures of policymakers to adequately fund public education in Michigan, it’s not hard to see why we’re facing a teacher shortage in this state and across the U.S. Educators have seen their pay cut, health care and pension benefits cut, supply budgets cut—all while class sizes have ballooned and the bar for what we expect students to achieve has continually been raised.

That is why we must act now to build grassroots support for rebuilding our system of public education. Our plan is laid out in articles explaining Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s budget proposal and MEA’s organizing initiative around it, starting on page 22.

We need activism on the ground to press lawmakers to do the right thing, just as we needed you to get involved in efforts to elect politicians who will listen to the experts working in our schools. Develop a plan at the local level, and clear

Chandra A. Madafferi Vice President

your schedule to attend a rally at the Capitol in June.

We know the great work you are doing, and we celebrate it in this issue. Read about MEA award winners lifting up student voices and supporting our most vulnerable children—whether it’s on the bus or in the classroom—on page 28.

Learn about the links between career and technical education at the K-12 and post-secondary levels in a Member Voices piece from a Mott Community College member on page 7. The CTE component also would get a boost in Whitmer’s education plan.

Marvel at an innovative new class taught by three MEA members at Novi High School, which turns students into entrepreneurs, on page 18. And get inspired to start a journey to become the best educator you can be with a member-developed, member-led NEA training on page 26.

As we write this letter to you, the governor has just announced the formation of an Educator Advisory Council to provide expert feedback on policy changes and priorities.

There is reason to hope, but we must act to turn possibility into promise. Let’s join together and make it happen. ■

Brett R. Smith Secretary-Treasurer Find additional content online at mea.org/voice.

CONTENTS

4 Editor’s Notebook A classroom memory 21 Issues & Advocacy K-3 reading update 30 Strength in Union ESP Statewide Conference 31 MEA elections NEA Board candidates 34 Member Spotlight Teach-in for freedom On the cover: Educators have identified broad concerns about large-scale changes made to Michigan’s system of teacher evaluation over the past several years. Read the stories, pages 9-17.

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 September, 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: 112,988

7—MEMBER VOICES: We need to make students better aware of CTE’s life-changing opportunities.

18—MEMBERS AT WORK: Future entrepreneurs are nurtured in Novi High School’s new Incubator class.

22—ISSUES & ADVOCACY: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer spent March traveling the state to sell her budget plan, which includes increased education spending.

Let’s join the fight. Read our plans, and get involved.

26—LEADING CHANGE: A National Board Certified Teacher in Ann Arbor wants to help others.

34—AWARDS & HONORS: A bus driver and two teachers won MEA awards for excellence and advocacy.

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NEWS & NOTES

QUOTABLES

Editor’s Notebook In my third year of teaching in 1999, I felt confident enough in my classroom management skills—and inspired by reading and learning I did at an amazing four-week summer institute I attended—that I decided to try something new. It did not go well.

In fact, that initiative failed so badly on its first day that I referred a couple of my eighth graders to the dean of students for repeated misbehavior. They received lunch detention.

I cried after school, convinced I would never become the teacher I wished to be. What saved me that day was the kindness, friendship and professionalism of three department colleagues, who reinforced my wounded confidence and gave me ideas for how to restructure and try again.

Later I ran into the principal, who’d heard about the referrals and asked, “What happened?”

I told her. I hadn’t provided enough structure to the activity to avoid off-task behavior. Today after additional years of teaching, I have a much more nuanced sense of what went wrong. But she met me where I was and encouraged me in my reflection.

The point is I wasn’t afraid in that environment to talk about struggles.

I was lifted up.

My coworkers and I were friends who brainstormed and commiserated and shared materials with each other. My building administrator was an adept instructional leader who understood that good teaching evolves from strong relationships, careful thought, discovery, and revision.

Over my teaching career, not every administrator I encountered possessed her skill set. But I share that memory to say I’m not sure how comfortable I would be if placed back in that same situation under conditions prevalent in today’s schools in Michigan.

This month’s cover story reveals some effects of fundamental legislative changes made to teacher tenure and evaluation over the past eight years.

Since 2011, state lawmakers have created a system that pits teachers against each other and makes evaluation as much a weapon as a tool.

In a few school districts and ISD’s, professional learning groups have been created to improve the one-size-fits-all observation tools mandated by the state. But those efforts are scattered and do not address all of the problems.

Too many educators report the system has reduced collaboration and lowered morale. Many say the changes have done harm and worsened Michigan’s teacher losses. Even research funded by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) has called the changes into question.

“The system is clearly broken,” concluded one MDE grant-funded study published in October 2017 by researchers at Northern Michigan University, whose survey included administrators.

Politicians like to talk about “accountability” for schools and educators without taking much stock of their own. They need to listen to understand how to fix the mess they created.

4 APRIL 2019

—Brenda Ortega, editor

“That doesn’t fix the problem.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, speaking about third-grade retention at an M-Live Citizen Roundtable in March after submitting her budget proposal to the Legislature. Read more about Whitmer’s plan to deliver additional resources to public schools in Michigan, starting on page 22.

14M

Number of students who attend schools staffed with police but no counselor, nurse, psychologist, or social worker, according to a study released in March by the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU report noted research has shown school-based mental health services improve attendance, graduation rates, and academic achievement, while data suggest police presence in schools lowers test scores and college enrollment rates and increases middle school discipline rates.

QUOTABLES

“It just seems like emotional and financial burnout are inevitable.”

Unnamed Michigan educator in the 2019 Launch Michigan Statewide Educator Survey conducted in January. Read more about findings from the survey of nearly 17,000 school employees and administrators starting on page 9.

NEWS & NOTES

ICYMI An Education Policy Report produced by researchers at Michigan State University, “Michigan School Finance at the Crossroads: a Quarter Century of State Control,” found that education spending in Michigan has dropped more in the past 25 years than in any other state in the country.

Read more about how you can learn the facts and get involved in MEA’s grassroots organizing initiative to push for increased funding for public education, starting on page 23.

Above and Beyond This year’s winner of “Best in Show” at the 55th Annual MEA/ MAEA Art Acquisitions Purchase Exhibition is an artist and teacher who exemplifies the circle of life in art education. Josh Gove, a firstyear elementary art teacher in St. Johns, says he credits educators from his youth for his love of art and desire to teach. “Art is connected to everything I enjoy about life—travel, culture, language,” he said. Now he’s fostering his students’ creativity in the district where he grew up, after earning a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from Alma College and K-12 certification from Central Michigan University. Gove’s piece, “Reliquia,” demonstrated “true mastery” of intaglio printmaking, according

to juror Dr. Michelle Duran, an assistant professor of Art history in Ball State University’s School of Art. The printmaking process uses designs on metal plates, ink, and an acid dip to create the image on

paper. The two central figures on the throne represent his grandparents, who lived next door and helped raise him, Gove said. “They were role models I looked up to, and they were figureheads in my family.”

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NEWS & NOTES

UPCOMING EVENTS MAY 7 Teacher Day/School Family Day Nationwide/Statewide Each year schools and communities observe Teacher Day/School Family Day during National Teacher Appreciation Week with local celebrations that pay tribute to the contributions all school employees make to our communities and society.

MAY 10-11 MEA Representative Assembly Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center, East Lansing MEA’s highest governing body, the RA will consider the organization’s policy matters for the upcoming year. Delegates are elected from locals around the state.

JULY 2-7 NEA Representative Assembly Houston, TX The NEA RA, consisting of 8,000 delegates from across the U.S., adopts the strategic plan and budget, resolutions, the Legislative Program, and other policies of the Association.

JULY 30–AUGUST 1 MEA Summer Leadership Conference Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center, East Lansing 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 2019

MEA Scholarship Fund Golf Outing It’s never too early to start thinking about golf! The 19th Annual MEA Scholarship Fund Golf Outing is scheduled for June 17 at the Forest Akers Golf Course in Lansing. The outing raises funds for scholarships given to college-bound students from Michigan public schools.

Your participation will raise funds for this worthwhile program. Since 1997, more than $655,000 in scholarships have been awarded to deserving public school students throughout Michigan.

Golfers will have a shotgun start at 9 a.m. in a four-player scramble format. A continental breakfast will be served prior to play, and lunch will be provided on the course. A prize drawing and dinner buffet will highlight the program that follows play.

The golf fee is $120 per person and a portion of the fee is tax-deductible. In addition to golf, donations can be made for hole sponsorships, prizes or directly to the MEA Scholarship Fund. The entire amount of these donations is tax-deductible.

Please secure your spot on the green today! Registration forms are available at mea.org/golfouting or by contacting Barb Hitchcock at bhitchcock@mea.org. Forms must be accompanied by entry fees. For questions regarding the MEA Scholarship Fund Golf Outing, please contact Barb Hitchcock at 517-333-6276 or bhitchcock@mea.org.

Retiring? Join MEA‑Retired!

If you’re retiring, don’t lose access to MEA and NEA Member Benefits you’ve enjoyed—join MEA-Retired and continue in the fight to preserve public education, ensure school employees’ rights, and protect the retirement benefits you worked hard to earn. You may already be a member if you paid into the All-Inclusive Membership program (AIM) during your active teaching years. For information, contact Lisa Andros at landros@mea.org. ■

MEMBER VOICES

Helping Students See CTE Possibilities

By Madonna Jackson, EdD Disadvantaged/LEP Coordinator Mott Community College Treasurer, Professional Technical Unit (Pro-Tech) It is wonderful to hear policymakers such as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer echoing what individuals working within career technical education have known for a long time—opportunity abounds for people who complete quality job skills training through degree and certificate programs.

Students, both secondary and post-secondary, do not always know about educational opportunities that may lead to a high-wage, high-demand, high-skill career.

Some students do have awareness of possibilities but might not possess the knowledge, confidence or support to take advantage of those opportunities.

Everyone knows students who are capable of succeeding but face barriers that block their road to success. CTE teachers, faculty, staff and administrators are showing students what lies beyond the hurdles, teaching them there are ways around the roadblocks.

Students do not always understand the possibilities that career technical education can offer. students about degree pathways at Mott. There was a health science information night open to the public, classroom presentations, women in STEM day, and a public screening of the movie Hidden Figures.

February was national CTE Month®, and Mott Community College participated in the campaign through the MCC President’s Mini Grant program.

Employers nationwide are worried about a shortage of skilled labor.

Many students are amazed to learn they can make $50,000 or more with a two-year degree in a CTE program.

Some examples of careers include health sciences; computer science; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning; electrical; electronics and technology; manufacturing; automotive; computer-aided design; culinary arts; and more.

To bring awareness to Career Technical Education, weekly events were held in collaboration with multiple divisions, departments, secondary schools and community members. Events included awareness hubs around campus to talk to

Even students with aspirations of obtaining advanced degrees—future lawyers and doctors—often don’t have a plan to live and pay for many years of schooling required to get them to their dream career. But a degree or certificate in a CTE program

can lead them to a good-paying job, working in the field that they aspire to continue to pursue while making a livable wage.

For anyone interested in learning more about Career Technical Education, I encourage educators to attend the annual statewide conference of the Michigan Occupational Special Populations Association (MOSPA) May 1-3 in Boyne Falls.

MOSPA brings together K-12 and post-secondary educators and state liaisons to discuss best practices for serving CTE students and helping them transition from secondary to post-secondary education and ultimately enter the workforce.

All of us at every level play an important role in helping our students find an educational path that leads to a good-paying career. That kind of future can transform lives and our state. ■ MEA VOICE 7

for recharging your batteries this summer The summer months can be a great time for teachers and education support professionals to renew and refresh. Here are a few ideas for doing just that, courtesy of Rhonda Jones, a registered nurse and MESSA’s health promotions consultant:

3

Get adequate sleep. Insufficient sleep is linked to the development and management of a number of chronic diseases and conditions, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity and depression. The summer months can provide the time you need to catch up on sleep and re‑establish good sleep habits.

1

Schedule your annual health maintenance exam.

This preventive checkup will help identify high-risk behaviors and screen for chronic or life-threatening diseases. All MESSA health plans include an annual preventive care checkup with an in‑network provider at no cost to the member.

While you’re scheduling your checkup, also schedule dental and vision exams.

2

Increase physical activity.

For important health benefits, adults need at least 150 minutes of moderate‑intensive aerobic activity every week and muscle‑strengthening activities on two or more days a week that work all major muscle groups.

It’s best to talk with your health care provider before you begin

8 APRIL 2019

a physical activity routine. Ask your doctor about what’s appropriate for you.

4 5

Eat healthfully. Summer may provide you with the time you need to prepare and eat healthy meals. You also might take some time to make a plan for maintaining healthy eating choices when school is back in session this fall.

Take a few deep breaths.

Sign up for a yoga class. Connect with a friend. These are simple ideas to help you manage stress. High levels of stress over time can lead to serious health problems, so find ways to effectively manage stress now— and when school resumes. ■

MESSA can help with worksite wellness If you’d like to arrange a wellness session at your workplace, contact Rhonda Jones at healthpromotions@messa.org.

Upon request, and at no cost to you or your employer, Jones will come to your workplace and help: ▶ Design or strengthen a worksite wellness program. ▶ Consult with new or existing wellness teams. ▶ Craft customized activities such as physical activity challenges, healthy eating workshops, steps competitions, health education webinars, professional development presentations, stress management workshops, healthy lifestyle workshops and more. ▶ Provide wellness survey tools and follow-up analysis.

ISSUES & ADVOCACY

Only 25 percent of all Michigan educators—and just 20 percent of teachers—would recommend a career in education to a young person they know, according to results from Launch Michigan’s 2019 Statewide Educator Survey.

The top driver of dissatisfaction in their profession? Seventy-two percent say it’s “lack of support from policy-makers and politicians.”

“Teaching is a calling and a noble profession,” one survey participant said in an open-ended response.

“The constant criticism from media and politicians is difficult. Not appreciated, valued or respected.”

About 12 percent of nearly 17,000 educators who completed the online survey in February say they will exit the profession in the next two to three years—in addition to another 10 percent preparing to retire. Large class sizes, constraints on professional autonomy, and lack of appreciation most influence people’s desire to leave.

“I can’t emphasize enough the reason I will probably leave the field of education (the only thing I ever wanted to do) is more paperwork, less pay, less support,” one respondent said.

“I’ve never before dreaded each day!”

Launch Michigan conducted the survey to inform its efforts to improve education in the state. MEA President Paula Herbart is a co-chair of the diverse group of education, labor, business, philanthropy and civic leaders attempting to find consensus for change.

Survey respondents included teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, counselors, media specialists, other professional ancillary staff, and education support professionals such as custodians, lunch monitors, and secretaries.

After many years of declining state funding, educators see many priorities for improvement. The top three include reducing class sizes, increasing access to quality pre-school, and providing more funding to areas with the greatest student need.

Drill down into the survey’s findings, and it’s easy to see why educators are unhappy, even though a majority report neutral or positive perceptions of the climate at their own school.

Too much is invested in state standardized testing. Only one in five educators says the information received from state assessments is worth the cost in time and effort. One in four administrators feels the same way.

Asked about the M-STEP in particular, twice as many educators say it is not useful as say it is useful—and among administrators that ratio is three-to-one.

Professional development opportunities get poor marks. Just 43 percent of educators report receiving professional learning suggestions tailored to them.

A majority called for better quality and quantity of professional development offerings across the board, with larger needs reported for training to meet the needs of all learners and to adMEA VOICE 9

ISSUES & ADVOCACY

Would you recommend education as a career field for young people you know?

Yes 25%

No 75% Source: Launch Michigan 2019 Statewide Educator Survey

dress behavioral and socio-emotional development issues.

Elementary reading mandates have been unsupported. One in four say their school district is not prepared to provide supports to students retained under the third grade reading law. Only one in five believe their district is ready with “substantial” support.

10 APRIL 2019

Among educators who work in urban districts—particularly those with high poverty and low per-pupil spending—40 percent say their districts are not prepared to address additional state mandates regarding retention of students next school year.

The evaluation system for educators is unfair and unhelpful.

Fewer than half believe in the

fairness of tools used to assess their job performance, and just 30 percent of teachers said the new evaluation system adopted in 2015 has helped student learning.

The full results of the survey can be read at launchmichigan.org/news. ■

COVER COVER STORY STORY

A Look into Michigan’s Punishing Teacher Evaluation Experiment

Stories by Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor

kids stop by my classroom at lunch and they have something tough going on at home, they need to talk.

That’s something I never expected to enjoy, but it’s great to be a sounding board for them.”

A few years ago, however, everything changed in a series of events that plunged O’Bryan into what he describes as “a very challenging and dark time.”

MEA member Corey O’Bryan never planned to be a teacher.

A self-proclaimed nerd in high school, he entered Western Michigan University to study engineering— until discovering he wanted to share his love of math and science more than he wished to pursue his childhood dream of designing robotics for military applications.

What he didn’t realize then was how much he would come to love working with young people in his role as a math teacher at Loy Norrix High School in Kalamazoo.

“I really fell for the idea of getting to know these kids and learning about their lives, learning what they enjoy, talking about their sports,” the 11‑year veteran now says. “When

After eight years of positive job performance evaluations, he received a rating of “minimally effective” in 2016 under the supervision of a new school administrator wielding a new scoring tool implemented in the wake of a sweeping new state law to appraise teacher performance.

“It was devastating,” he said. “I was told I’m not a good teacher, I’m failing my kids, and it broke me. People I know might not say this to my face, but a lot of them would probably say I’m not the same person I was five years ago—not as positive, not as happy or cheerful.”

O’Bryan submitted a written response to the negative evaluation with evidence to dispute several aspects of his rating. For example, he received a score of zero in “content knowledge,” despite his work as the

lead teacher on a team that rewrote the district’s Algebra I curriculum.

That zero and others he questioned with supporting documentation came two months before he was granted a Master’s degree in mathematics education from WMU with a 3.5 grade-point average.

“I presented the information to my administrator, and I received an email saying it was reviewed by Human Resources as well, but no scores were changed,” he said.

The next year he was labeled “ineffective,” the lowest score in the evaluation tool’s range. The year after that, he moved back up one step to “minimally effective,” and the district asked him to resign in exchange for a neutral letter of recommendation, he said.

He thought about leaving the teaching profession but hung on with the support of union leaders and staff, colleagues, and students. “I declined their offer, stuck it out and—well, I’m still here.”

At the time of his low ratings, O’Bryan was teaching the most at-risk freshmen taking the lowestlevel math courses, including repeat Algebra I classes. Entering students tested below grade level, with some several years behind.

MEA VOICE 11

COVER STORY

MEA Legal Update: Evaluations and Due Process It’s not over yet, but a seven-year court battle by MEA over a tenured teacher’s termination has so far provided some clarity in what’s required of school districts before they make a layoff decision based on an educator’s evaluation.

In March, the Michigan Supreme Court affirmed a lower court ruling that the case of Summer v. Southfield could go forward.

In June 2012, MEA member Meredith Summer was laid off from her job teaching middle school social studies after 13 years with Southfield Public Schools.

The lawsuit brought by MEA alleges her “minimally effective” evaluation was tainted by the evaluator’s personal bias against her for filing a harassment complaint against a co-worker. The suit also alleges the district violated state law by not sharing timely feedback and providing opportunity to improve.

The court found Summer’s layoff to be “arbitrary, capricious, and in bad faith” in contrast to state mandates requiring placements, layoffs and recalls to be based on an evaluation system that is “rigorous, transparent and fair.” “(A) system that observes teachers but gives no feedback and no opportunity to cure any deficiencies clearly fails to abide by these statutory requirements,” the unanimous Appeals Court panel said in its first ruling.

The case has been remanded to the Circuit Court, which had dismissed it twice on a technicality.

For Summer, the past seven years have felt like an unending ride on a merry-goround. She now teaches fifth grade in Detroit Community School District, where a decision this year to give teachers steps on the salary schedule based on experience has helped to stabilize her financially.

But she has suffered as a result of the unfair layoff. Unemployed for a year, she filed for bankruptcy and suffered mental and emotional harm. “It can destroy lives,” she said. “Hopefully this (court) decision helps other teachers in the state.”

Documenting her work and actions has helped her to advocate for herself, she said.

“I know I’m a good teacher. This is not how it should be.”

In another win for teachers, a U.S. District Court judge in Michigan found teachers have a property interest in their evaluation ratings and status as effective teachers.

The ruling followed a lawsuit filed by MEA on behalf of six member plaintiffs from the Southfield Education Association.

In his ruling, Judge David Lawson said because of their property interest, teachers in the state have a constitutional right to due process in personnel decisions involving reductions in force—meaning an adequate hearing is required before a school board makes a personnel decision.

The case involved six teachers laid off after the district consolidated two high schools into one. The six teachers applied for positions in the consolidated school but were not awarded positions despite having evaluation ratings higher than some of the retained teachers.

“It was an innovative legal strategy to go into federal court and make this argument that these individuals were deprived of a property right without due process of law,” said MEA General Counsel Lisa Harrison. “It’s another opportunity we have for advocacy.”

12 APRIL 2019

He worked hard, often with the help of a special education co-teacher in the room, he said. Together they sorted students into variable small groupings based on individual needs.

He spent hours grading students’ work on a daily basis to assess understanding and engagement.

He developed a spreadsheet to track student grades and shared it with other teachers who wanted to use it. And he saw some kids increase two grade levels in math in one 12-week semester, including some who reached grade level.

He believes standardized test scores played an outsized role in his evaluations. “Because of the low pass rate in our most at-risk student population for math, I assume that is the administration’s primary cause for focusing on my evaluation and my teaching.”

He doesn’t claim to be perfect. Like most educators, O’Bryan wants to develop new and better strategies for engaging students who are disinterested or discouraged in his subject, who are often dealing with other struggles in their lives.

He’s made changes in behavior management at his supervisor’s recommendation, which haven’t moved the needle on his score. “I feel like our current system is all about identifying failings versus building on successes.”

Now he’s sharing his story—despite fears about doing so—to try to right a wrong. “I think my anxiety is not as big of a concern as fixing this problem that we have with this current evaluation system,” he said.

DEEP DISSATISFACTION with the four-year-old statewide teacher evaluation system in Michigan

COVER STORY

crosses geographic and socioeconomic lines.

Interviews with two dozen educators who agreed to talk for this story, plus opinion surveys and conversations among MEA leaders and members over three years, reveal an evaluation system that has lowered morale and raised fears without improving teaching and learning.

School districts span a continuum in approaches to the system’s mandates—and in their willingness or capacity to address issues arising from its implementation in 2015. However, repeated educator perceptions of the changes echo across the state.

Unfair. Arbitrary. Subjective. Demoralizing. Destructive.

be accurate because I’m evaluated against standards that I can’t achieve,” Reid told the governor.

“That hurts my standing in the district for things I have no control over.”

Seated nearby, 20-year elementary teacher Jennifer Thayer agreed. “We wouldn’t label our students ineffective or minimally effective to help them learn and grow. It breaks your spirit, and yet we come in every day and give 110 percent to our children.”

Reid added that other new educators who recently graduated from university with her are voicing the same complaints about evaluations.

“I think it deters a lot of new teachers from coming into the profession, and it also contributes to the high rate of younger teachers quitting.”

“Older ones, too,” a colleague remarked.

A more experienced special education teacher joined in to say she received a “minimally effective” rating in her 24th year of teaching after building-wide student test scores were included in her evaluation for youngsters she doesn’t even teach.

“That was quite a shock,” she said.

MEA member Claire Reid, a firstyear special education teacher, raised the issue with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at a meet-and-greet event at her elementary school in Grand Rapids last month, and she received backup from co-workers in the room.

Reid teaches in a self-contained K-3 classroom for students with emotional impairments, but she’s judged on the same rubric used to evaluate someone teaching high school physics or middle school language arts.

“Evaluations are so important, and I want to grow and become better, but I feel frustrated that it might not

Another long-time teacher echoed the others: “This evaluation system is not accurately reflecting the very hard work we are doing. I think it’s such a significant piece of what’s happening in this state right now with people leaving the classroom.

It’s scary, and we need to fix it.”

Whitmer listened to the concerns and responded, “It’s clear that for a number of years now the philosophy in Lansing has been punitive and undermining and not supportive, for political reasons and not necessarily for what’s in the best interest of our kids.”

“I really do love my job, but the paperwork and the stigma placed upon our profession by legislators is hard to handle. I hope that someday society will return the honorable mantle that was once bestowed upon our profession.

I don’t want to be society’s scapegoat any longer.”

Anonymous, middle school science teacher, 18 years

We have a lot of work to do on a number of fronts, Whitmer said, adding it will be a challenge to solve every problem in divided government.

“But there’s no doubt that building up morale is critically important among the ranks of our educators.”

As Whitmer prepared to appoint a council of educators to offer expert insight on policy matters, Republicans control the state House and Senate. However, the party split narrowed to three votes in both chambers and several educators won seats in last November’s General Election.

BACK IN 2011, a GOP-dominated Legislature passed and Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law PA 173, which made it easier to dismiss teachers and barred school districts from making seniority or tenure status a main factor in layoff decisions.

PA 173 mandated that school districts base personnel decisions on retaining effective teachers and required annual evaluations for all educators, although it was not entirely clear how the new system would work.

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COVER STORY

Veteran Teacher: ‘At the wrong place at the wrong time’ Jason Stidham has lived every educator’s nightmare. A high school English teacher for 20 years, he was laid off last June—despite his “Effective” rating— when his Michigan district needed to make staffing cuts.

His evaluation score was two-one-hundredths of a point lower than a newer, younger colleague, and suddenly, “My district was no longer obligated to honor the commitment it made to me, although I had honored mine since 1998.”

He had done everything right—earned a Master’s degree, continued developing professionally, applied what he learned to help his students—but it hadn’t made a difference. “I was teaching at the wrong place at the wrong time,” he wrote in an essay about the experience.

Stidham believes the subjectivity of the state-required evaluation tool cost him his job. For example, his planning score dropped from 4 (highly effective) to 2 (minimally effective) in one year.

“What happened between those two scores? I have no idea. There was no conversation.”

He knows administrators have struggled to find time to fulfill the many requirements of the system mandated by law in 2015. But the lack of feedback was extremely frustrating, he said.

He could have gone in and pressed the issue, but “I didn’t want to be the squeaky wheel. I didn’t want to be the person arguing over a point, and unfortunately that backfired on me.”

Stidham applied for dozens of jobs over several months before accepting a position teaching in a STEM program with an emergency certificate while he works on a permanent credential.

Read Stidham’s moving essay about his struggles, and his plea to lawmakers to “ensure the consequences of their decisions are beneficial rather than crippling,” at mea.org/jason-stidham.

A commission was established to make recommendations on a system that would incorporate student growth as a measure. That report led to an evaluation law passed in 2015 which mandated requirements and penalties of a statewide system for rating teachers’ effectiveness.

Under the 2015 evaluation law, starting in 2015-16, school administrators were required to choose one of four state-approved observation tools and to make student growth measures account for 25 percent of 14 APRIL 2019

a teacher’s score, a figure that rose to 40 percent this year.

By 2016, 44 states across the country had implemented similar high-stakes teacher evaluation reforms—many mixing complicated calculations of student test score data, along with ratings from observation rubrics, into evaluation scores.

Since then, several states have moved away from using student test scores to rank educator effectiveness out of concern over the data’s reliability. In January, new Demo-

cratic majorities in the New York Legislature made the use of state test scores in evaluations optional, following several years of public backlash.

On a much larger scale, widespread research in recent years has questioned the efficacy of the new systems overall. In fact, last June the foundation driving the changes since 2009 released findings from a six-year study showing little evidence of improvements to teaching and learning.

By last October, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation—which funded nearly 40 percent of that $575 million teacher evaluation experiment in three large school districts and a charter school consortium—announced it was moving on to different education-related priorities.

Matt Kraft, a Brown University researcher who has studied teacher evaluation, told Chalkbeat the districts involved in the Gates Foundation study “were very well poised to have high-quality implementation.

That speaks to the actual package of reforms being limited in its potential.”

Kraft was lead researcher in a study released in 2018 which found the supply of new teachers was reduced in states that eliminated tenure protections and adopted high-stakes evaluation systems, aggravating shortages in hard-to-staff subject areas and urban and rural schools.

“In our effort to move towards a better direction, were the costs larger than the benefits? That’s quite possible,” Kraft told Chalkbeat.

FEAR REIGNS as the overriding effect of Michigan’s changes to teacher evaluation, especially because PA 173 removed educator voices from the process by making

COVER STORY

procedures for hiring, evaluation, layoff, recall, and discipline prohibited subjects of bargaining, educators say.

Many of those interviewed said the resulting imbalance of power has made teachers subject to the whims of administrators free to demand extra unpaid duties and to define the particulars of what good teaching practice looks like.

From his conversations with MEA leaders across the state, Rick Vincent—president of the Reeths-Puffer Education Association in Muskegon—considers the changes to teacher tenure and evaluation a major cause of Michigan’s higher-than-average teacher attrition rate.

“I cannot tell you the feeling of fear that people have when the handle of their classroom door rattles, and they think, Oh, no—somebody is coming in to do that evaluation thing to me,” Vincent said.

It’s not surprising, he added, given that a 25-year career in education can be ended by an evaluation score less than one point lower than a colleague’s rating—even if both teachers are labeled “effective.”

“If that happens to me, I lose my house,” Vincent said. “It’s crushing to people.”

In addition to educators leaving the field, the number of new teaching credentials issued in Michigan dropped by 62 percent from 20042016, and enrollment in teacher preparation programs dropped 40 percent from 2011-2015.

Vincent attributes the problems to “insidious job creep,” which he defines as the loss of educator autonomy, increased workloads, and dismissal of educators’ high level of knowledge and skill. For that reason, he and others say they’re compelled to speak out in defense of their profession.

“The number-one question teachers are asking other teachers across the state is ‘When can you go?’ As in—When can you retire and hopefully still have some of yourself left?” Vincent said.

This year’s increase in the percentage of student test scores in teacher evaluations—from 25 to 40—has further ratcheted up the tension among educators.

MEA member Ellissa Lauer laments the time she must spend teaching her Wyoming kindergarteners how to use a computer and type on a keyboard to complete online math testing three times per year.

The youngsters are just learning numbers and counting, she said.

Many speak English as a second language. She has found her students score markedly better taking the same test with paper and pencil.

“They’re going to tell me I’m a bad teacher because this data that I have no control over is ineffective? It doesn’t guide my instruction. It’s strictly for evaluation purposes.”

“You feel like a constant failure, like nothing you do is enough, that you will never be a stellar teacher in anybody else’s eyes because it’s unattainable.

But even though you feel downtrodden and beaten, you still get up every morning and you put on that teacher face, because you have 25 souls in front of you for whom you are their hope.”

Ellissa Lauer, kindergarten teacher, 25 years

Issues around testing do not disappear as students get older, many teachers point out. Students in grades 3-11 are required to undergo M-STEP testing that many educators consider flawed and grade-inappropriate. And the consequences for results only apply to teachers—not test takers.

One MEA leader from an economically disadvantaged area said eighthgrade teachers in his district collected their own data over the past two years—marking the time taken by each student on various sections of the M-STEP test, which spreads over many hours across several days.

Their findings, along with a survey of student attitudes, documented the significant number of students who completed sections of the state

MEA VOICE 15

COVER STORY

Find Help from MEA MEA tools and training can assist members in navigating the teacher evaluation system.

A training cadre is available to visit local associations to deliver the latest information about the law’s requirements and specific state-approved tools used by local districts, and to provide access to Michigan Department of Education resources related to evaluation.

The training includes methods for educators to take ownership of their evaluations and ensure they are utilizing and documenting best practices in their classrooms.

“It’s become apparent that the teacher has to be proactive in ensuring they can demonstrate and document good practice, because it isn’t something that necessarily will be observed in the 10 minutes that the administrator is in the room,” said UniServ Director Tammy Daenzer, the lead trainer in the cadre.

In addition, the training emphasizes the need for union leaders and members to establish a collaborative work group or professional issues committee that brings both sides together for dialogue between teachers and administrators.

“A professional issues committee gives teachers a voice in the process to make the system more transparent and consistent,” Daenzer said.

In Romeo, the local union has created a new position of “Evaluation Liaison” to mediate communication between educators and district administration, said Jen Raicevich, a math and science teacher and building representative who has taken on the role.

“My main job is to make sure the communication between administration and staff is clear and not interpreted… in any way that is different than intended,” Raicevich said. “I have helped teachers feel empowered to have a dialogue about evaluations with their evaluator.”

For more information or to schedule an evaluation training, contact your local MEA field office. assessments in a fraction of time allotted or admitted skipping the five-paragraph essay.

“We have so little control over external factors,” said the teacher, who asked not to be identified. “My job is about more than a test score.”

OBSERVATION TOOLS approved for use by the state have created their own concerns among educators, especially their tendency to reduce complex pedagogy to a checklist removed from meaningful context and open to subjectivity in ratings from one administrator to another.

16 APRIL 2019

The art of teaching does not lend itself to one-size-fits-all measurements, said MEA member Bill Julian, who teaches business and social studies and serves as a Google-certified technology consultant for Traverse City Area Public Schools.

“The evaluators are looking at their computer and whether they can check a box or not, and if those things aren’t apparent at the exact time someone’s evaluating, you’re not going to get credit for it,” Julian said.

“It’s frustrating, because you’re doing other good things in the classroom which may not be on the checklist, and we also don’t get credit for that.”

Time spent planning to meet dozens of criteria on a checklist in two 20-minute observations and various unannounced visits per year shifts teachers’ thinking away from improvement goals rooted in content and students’ needs, said Farmington High School English teacher Megan Ake. Additional hours are required to gather student data and fill out paperwork to document work, she said.

“We go from ‘Here’s what I need to do to drive instruction,’ to ‘How is this going to look on my evaluation?’

It doesn’t feel organic.”

Plymouth High School chemistry teacher Scott Milam agrees. The MEA member was named 2018 Michigan Science Teacher of the

“We don’t need to think about this every day. We need to think about our content. We need to think about kids. That’s where our energies should be spent. We’ve got to stand up to legislators and say, ‘You need to listen, because this is hurting kids.’”

Bill Julian, business/social studies teacher and technology consultant, 15 years

COVER STORY

Year, but he has not yet achieved “Highly Effective” status in his district.

The inflexibility of the system’s goal-setting and observation tools do not nurture true reflection, he said. Teaching a high school advanced science class requires different approaches than a middle school required core class, or music class, physical education, or special education.

“There’s so much discrepancy when I look at the rubric, I often think, This isn’t actually appropriate for my class. This doesn’t fit.”

The observation tool turns teachers into “point chasers,” Milam said, a quality most educators discourage in students because it takes focus away from learning. “I don’t know any of my colleagues who say this has helped them become a better teacher. It’s just really frustrating.”

Many of those interviewed said a big problem lies in the dichotomy between the stated intent of evaluations—to coach teachers in the challenges of developing a highly complex craft—versus using evaluations to sort and rank employees for disciplinary and job placement purposes.

For that reason, the system ultimately rewards compliance and discourages risk-taking to the detriment of innovation and growth, educators say.

“Staff is reluctant to try new things, disagree with the principal, ask a question or make a move that might count against them,” said Lisa Sutton, an instructional coach and Kalkaska Education Association President. “How do you improve when you’re running scared?”

Absent tenure protections and bargaining and grievance rights, the system also discourages teacher

collaboration—which research shows actually does help educators to grow in their practice, along with high-quality, targeted professional development.

Even Charlotte Danielson, whose research on teacher effectiveness evolved into an eponymous evaluation tool used in Michigan and other states, has questioned the distilling of professional craft to “numbers, ratings, and rankings” as evaluation reform has done nationwide.

“I’m deeply troubled by the transformation of teaching from a complex profession requiring nuanced judgment to the performance of certain behaviors that can be ticked off on a checklist,” the author of Framework for Teaching wrote in Education Week.

“In fact, I (and many others in the academic and policy communities) believe it’s time for a major rethinking of how we structure teacher evaluation to ensure that teachers, as professionals, can benefit from numerous opportunities to continually refine their craft.”

Danielson’s critical commentary appeared in April 2016—a few weeks before Kalamazoo’s Corey O’Bryan received his first negative evaluation, which was formulated using the

“I would like to see conversations where there’s time given to teachers to be able to make improvements without fear of losing their job. I want teachers to feel like they have the time and the permission to work hard and make mistakes and try again.

We don’t feel like we have that. It’s do it this way, or you’re done.”

Lisa Sutton, instructional coach and teacher, 18 years

Charlotte Danielson Framework for Teaching. Three years later, he’s still rebuilding his confidence.

“I hear from some of the union reps that my story is empowering and helping out other people dealing with similar circumstances,” he said.

“If I can help someone else stick with teaching because that’s what they love to do, then I made the right choice by pushing through.” ■

Act Now to Change Student Growth Percentage MEA lobbyists have been pushing for changes to the state’s evaluation law for more than a year. As of press time, House Bill 4221 and Senate Bill 122 were under consideration in the state Legislature. The measures would return the percentage of an educator’s annual evaluation that is tied to student growth measures to 25 percent from 40 percent. Please take time to contact your lawmakers and urge them to pass this long overdue legislation, using our convenient Action Network page at tinyurl.com/eval-letters.

MEA VOICE 17

MEMBERS AT WORK

‘Incubator’ Class Nur allowing them to be worn together, called “On Purpose”; and “Quest,” a social awareness brand of sweatshirts, t-shirts and long-sleeved shirts.

Ten percent of Quest’s proceeds will go to help fund a similar class in another school district, “so wearing Quest says that you promote students being innovative, creative, and thinking outside of the box,” Franchi said.

By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor When MEA members Hattie Maguire, Kristin Franchi, and Jodi Forster—along with Assistant Superintendent Dr. RJ Webber—started an innovative new class at Novi High School last fall, they expected to figure things out as they went.

They just didn’t know how much they would learn—or how quickly.

The educators leading a new “Incubator” course­—combining product development and entrepreneurship—learned in mid-September of an exciting opportunity. Macy’s department store wanted to partner with the class.

The retail giant was offering Novi students a chance to pitch ideas to a team of executives. One product might be chosen to be sold in the Market @ Macy’s—a section of the store featuring limited-sale products and emerging brands.

18 APRIL 2019

The problem was the new class had only three weeks to prepare group presentations on five products from their own imaginations. Three weeks to create products, prepare a rough business plan including manufacturing costs, and design a pitch.

“Going in we didn’t realize how big it was going to be,” Maguire said.

“Everything was happening so fast in the beginning of the school year—it was crazy.”

Despite the strain, students from the class did not disappoint when dropped into a real-world equivalent of the television show Shark Tank.

“That was hands-down one of my proudest moments as a teacher,” Maguire said.

The Macy’s executives were so impressed they picked two of the students’ products to sell in the Market at Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi—one of 12 such “pop-up marketplaces” that exist in Macy’s stores across the country.

The products chosen for launch were a set of mismatched socks, designed with colors and patterns

The news was thrilling. Macy’s even doubled its start-up investment, having originally offered $4,000 to get one product off the ground. The company now committed $8,000, along with $6,000 to create a makerspace and audio room with recording equipment.

But the students’ success also meant they would face additional pressures. Now working in two large groups, their task turned to figuring out how to manufacture, package, and deliver their products for a February launch date.

“We could have never come up with a case study of ‘Pretend you’re a businessperson’ that had so many real-world experiences,” said Franchi. “We didn’t anticipate all of the things that would continuously come up that they had to problem-solve.”

For example, the mismatched sock makers had to decide where to manufacture based on their budget.

Students researched and called companies in the U.S. and China to ask questions.

“I remember thinking, I wonder how to make sure there’s no child labor or bad business practices,” said Maguire.

“So I go over to raise that question with the group, sure I was about to throw them a giant loop. They just rolled their eyes like, ‘It’s all we argued about yesterday.’”

MEMBERS AT WORK

tures Entrepreneurs

The stakes were high, students said. Senior Leon Chen said his team had to negotiate what custom touches they wanted in their Quest products and what could be sacrificed—without decreasing product value—to ensure the goods arrived in time for launch.

Zoe Ling said the experience confirmed her interest in becoming a business person someday, even after she discovered how challenging it was. “I had trouble adjusting to sudden changes, but that’s something that happens in the business world so I have that experience now.”

Time management became an important skill to develop, student Marina Ackerman said. “All of us took on big roles to get this project done, and we had to balance other classes, homework, sports and extra-curriculars.”

or directions. “You can’t procrastinate in the business world, especially if you have partners and relationships. The moment something comes up, you have to work on it.”

said, laughing. Fortunately, she added, “The kids knew what they wanted.”

In addition, Macy’s needed the students to determine pricing and draw up product display options, plus produce a training video for sales staff to know how to sell the products.

Snow and cold days off from school were harder to manage, the teachers said. The cold snap that led the governor to declare a state of emergency happened in the week before the ribbon-cutting and opening day of sales. School was closed for three days that week in Novi.

“We were kind of dropped in the corporate world head first,” Maguire

Meanwhile, hundreds of boxes of socks arrived at the school needing

Classmate Evan Wang had to pay attention to time zones to know when to call manufacturers with questions

MEA VOICE 19

MEMBERS AT WORK

Students are assigned an industry expert who can offer advice and feedback. Business teacher Jodi Forster helps connect students with mentors and monitor how it’s going. So far it hasn’t been difficult to plug students into resources, the teachers said.

“A lot of people in the outside world are eager to be a part of something like this,” Franchi said. “It’s all been volunteer, so some of the most powerful things the kids have exposure to are free.”

Hattie Maguire and Kristin Franchi to be sorted, folded, and packaged.

It turned into an after-hours labor of love, with family members pitching in, they said.

Not only did the fully packaged products make it to the store on time, they broke Market @ Macy’s records—racking up $16,000 in sales in February. That includes $5,000 in profit, plus the original $8,000 in seed money, which returns to support the Incubator class in the future.

“It was truly a breathtaking moment when they cut the ribbon and people were picking things up and trying on sizes,” Franchi said. “Everyone had a lot of tears.”

Student Nisarg Dharia said that moment made him realize how much

Watch for similar stories of MEA members driving innovation in public education in upcoming issues of MEA Voice magazine.

20 APRIL 2019

he’d learned in a few months. “Meeting the demands of entrepreneurship makes you think more critically on your feet, and that makes you more prepared for what’s going to come in college and life beyond that.”

The Macy’s project dominated the first semester of the class, but it was not the only work that Incubator students were doing.

In addition to the group products, each student has been working on an individual “passion project.” By March, a few were ready to apply for patents. Others were busily creating and producing. Some were making and testing prototypes.

Student projects include apps to help relatives monitor elderly patients taking medications; metal water bottles and massaging devices that use physics to stay hot or cold; podcasts on personal and political issues; a stress ball that uses light therapy to reduce anxiety; and more.

Maguire, an English teacher, and Franchi, a coding teacher, guide the students in the process of learning and discovery without having to know the answer to everything, they said.

The Incubator class has evolved since Webber first proposed a class to combine business and STEM concepts with a makerspace.

Students broadened the vision to include development of music, writing, legislation.

“I appreciate the emphasis on innovation and valuing student voices,” said student Chris Oshana, whose individual project has been to design a better case to hold retainers for teeth. “This gives us space to explore ourselves and to accomplish whatever we want to with our passion.”

Before Macy’s came along, the teachers planned to have students develop a “moon shot” project to work on together—a big-picture aim they will continue to refine as they learn what is possible.

Their next big goal is to spread the class to other, less advantaged school districts.

“Dr. Webber often says that ideas are equal, but opportunities are not,” Franchi said. “If we can make the opportunities more equal, that’s going to be our moonshot.”

The students’ creativity and accomplishments have exceeded any expectations, Webber said. “I am absolutely overjoyed with our incredible teachers who have launched the class with a fire and verve that makes me proud to be a public educator.” ■

ISSUES & ADVOCACY

Reading Law Moves Toward Retention Incoming third graders next fall will be the first group whose spring test scores will be used to determine if they move on to fourth grade or not, under requirements of the third grade reading law passed by state lawmakers in 2016.

Many questions remain about how the law’s mandates will work in practice.

One looming issue surrounds the state’s standardized assessment for third graders, M-STEP, which does not determine a child’s reading level by grade. Instead, results come in the form of one of four labels from “not proficient” to “advanced.”

Meanwhile, the law requires students who test “one year or more” behind grade level to be retained in third grade. School districts are awaiting guidance from the Michigan Department of Education to clarify how to determine which students are “one year or more” behind.

In addition, the law allows for exemptions from retention, but students who advance to fourth grade through one of the loopholes will have to spend a greater portion of their day in literacy activities—calling into question what changes will happen to fourth-grade classrooms in 2020.

Now in its third year of implementation, the law has been viewed by many educators as heavy on paperwork and mandates and light on funding and resources.

In a recent statewide survey of educators, one-quarter said their district is not prepared to provide support to retained students. That number rises to 40 percent in high-poverty urban districts with low per-pupil spending.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer reads to youngsters during March is Reading Month.

Requirements to test, diagnose, and write Individual Reading Improvement Plans (IRIPs) three times per year for every K-3 child deemed “deficient” have drained time away from teaching and intervention— especially in areas with too-large class sizes, educators say.

Fewer than half of the state’s third graders scored proficient or above last spring on the M-STEP English Language Arts assessment, which replaced the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) in 2015.

MEA lobbyist Dr. David Michelson spent several months last year gathering feedback on the law’s implementation from members who participated in focus groups across the state. MEA member recommendations have been shared with lawmakers in an effort to improve the law.

Those include ideas such as not requiring IRIPs for special education students who already have Individualized Education Plans (IEPs); not requiring testing in kindergarten; establishing caseload guidelines for literacy coaches; and providing paid time for teachers to complete IRIPs.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has taken a different approach to addressing literacy in the state. Her proposed budget includes boosting overall education spending with a per-pupil funding increase; adding funding to pay for more literacy coaches statewide; and providing additional funds for schools with higher numbers of at-risk students.

In a recent M-Live Citizen Roundtable, Whitmer called the third grade reading law “destructive” and questioned the retention policy. Research shows that holding children back does not improve outcomes later in their schooling.

“A child who can’t read isn’t going to become a better reader because you told them that they’re bad or you penalize them,” Whitmer said. “Their parents aren’t going to get more engaged because you made their child pay a penalty for not reading.”

Stay tuned for updates on possible changes to the law or further guidance on implementation in MEA’s e-newsletters, MEA Voice Online and Capitol Comments.

Sign up to receive them at mea.org/signup. ■ MEA VOICE 21

ISSUES & ADVOCACY

Whitmer Makes Push for Spending Plan

improve education and opportunity for every student in the state.

“No more shell games and half-measures. Here’s a real plan.” ■

By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor One morning last month, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer sat in a rocking chair to speak with a classroom of fifth graders in Jackson after reading to them from a picture book, What Do You Do with a Chance?

“Gov. Whitmer, how do you plan to give students and schools support?”

Whitmer explained she had just submitted her budget plan three days earlier, which recognized that Michigan has not adequately supported schools for too many years.

The students had conducted research on the governor before her visit, and they asked her questions about issues ranging from pothole-plagued roads, to protecting the Great Lakes and ensuring clean water in Flint and elsewhere.

“In my budget, I suggest we use the road dollars to fix the roads and we get your school dollars back into your schools,” she said. “That would mean we could increase how much we spend, so your teacher has the resources she needs and you have the opportunity in this district that kids in other states are having.”

One boy raised his hand to ask the question he’d written on a note card:

MEA member Alli Salenbien requested Whitmer’s visit to celebrate

Gov. Whitmer’s Major Education Budget Priorities Governor Whitmer presented her budget in March, which includes a much-needed increase in public education funding of $507 million.

Topline proposals include:

$180 increase in the minimum per pupil grant ($7,871)

$120 increase for schools receiving the highest grants ($8,409), up $235 million total

$120 million to increase state reimbursement for special education services, up 4%

Boosting spending on at-risk students to $619 million to provide additional supports to low-income and other disadvantaged students

$50 million to provide additional Career and Technical Education opportunities for students, doubling this funding to $109 million

3% increase in funding for universities and community colleges

Tripling the number of literacy coaches from 93 to 279

22 APRIL 2019

reading month—but also to give her students a chance to interact with a leader. “I like to advocate for students, especially in inner-city districts, because they deserve the best just like all students do,” Salenbein said.

Whitmer is grabbing hold of her chance—just like the character in the book that Salenbein had her read to the class. In more than a dozen stops around the state in March, she visited classrooms to encourage young people to find books they love and spend time reading.

At every point along the way, she also spoke with adults—educators, administrators, parents—to sell her proposal for reinvesting in the state.

She had to make difficult choices in writing the budget, she told the Jackson crowd that stayed after school to hear her ideas.

Whitmer is proposing a gas tax increase to pay for road repairs, which would be offset for lower-income

continues on p. 24

ISSUES & ADVOCACY

Together We Can Seize this Moment

By Jessica Lumbreras MEA Political Action Organizer When Gov. Gretchen Whitmer pitched her budget plan to lawmakers last month, proposing the biggest increase in public education funding in a generation, I know that many of you felt something you hadn’t experienced in a long time.

roots organizing and action around school funding.

First, though, let me tell you why I am hopeful.

Hope.

I witnessed a shift among MEA members that was sparked by the West Virginia teachers’ strike in February 2018. After years of being attacked by lawmakers in our state, Michigan school employees began to see the power of collective action.

It might have been just a glimmer.

Maybe you worried about letting it in. But as the MEA political action organizer, I am here to tell you—not only should you have the courage to be optimistic, but now you must summon the determination to be an activist.

By then you were long past the point of being ready for change. But now you saw a real opportunity to elect a governor who would understand the importance of public education, listen to the experts on the front lines, and support the work that educators do with resources.

To pass a state budget that includes more spending on education, the governor needs our help. Republican leaders in the GOP-controlled state House and Senate have criticized Whitmer’s call to raise new revenue to stop a 25-year pattern of disinvestment in roads and schools.

I spent the better part of a year asking MEA members to do the day-to-day work that would help elect Gretchen Whitmer, and I rarely heard anyone say no to me.

We have to act now to amplify our voices by joining with others—parents, civic leaders and activists—to speak out for the change we all know is desperately needed. In this space, I’ll share MEA’s plan for grass-

Across the state, you organized and joined #RedForEd walk-ins and rallies at your schools to raise awareness of the need to “Value Students, Respect Educators and Fund Our Schools.”

You donated and held drives to raise money for MEA-PAC, the fund which allows us to support candi-

Plan to attend the #RedForEd Rally at the Capitol on Tuesday, June 18, where we’ll say in one voice to lawmakers, “Value Students, Respect Educators and Fund Our Schools!”

Learn more at mea.org/RedForEd.

dates who will protect and strengthen public education. You got out the vote by showing up for phone banks and knocking on doors in your communities.

And you won a victory that was just the start of good possibilities to come.

Whitmer’s success in November advanced us to another opportunity— organizing to support her bold budget.

As MEA President Paula Herbart says, “We don’t just help get people elected, we help them lead.”

Whitmer said it herself when she visited the MEA Winter Conference a few weeks before submitting her spending blueprint. She asked attendees to re-up their commitment as she proposed a historic re-investment in public education.

“When I introduce this budget, every one of us has to put our back into it,” she told more than a thousand MEA conference-goers.

continues on p. 25 MEA VOICE 23

ISSUES & ADVOCACY

continued from p. 22 residents by increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit and eliminating the pension tax, among other strategies.

“We can fill potholes by stealing from the School Aid Fund, or we can put an honest solution on the table,” she told the audience in answer to written questions shared by Jackson Superintendent Jeff Beal.

Under her budget plan, Michigan’s K-12 public schools would receive a $120-180 per-pupil boost in funding, plus additional aid to support the costlier needs of at-risk, special education, and career/technical students.

Her plan follows recommendations of several recent studies which examined Michigan’s school funding system and found a chasm between the per-pupil foundation grant and the true costs of educating a child.

The plan Whitmer unveiled before a joint session of the state House and Senate Budget committees would increase K-12 education spending by $507 million in the next fiscal year.

In addition, the governor reaffirmed her commitment to increasing the number of residents who hold post-secondary degrees or skills certification by funding programs to retrain adult workers and to guarantee two years of debt-free community college or university for qualifying students.

The state is at a crossroads, she warned lawmakers in the opening salvo of a push to garner support for initiatives in roads, infrastructure, and education from a Republican-controlled Legislature. Education funding is the same today as in

24 APRIL 2019

2007 without any adjustments for inflation, she noted.

“We’ve all seen the headlines—our kids are falling behind, and our schools don’t have the resources they need. It’s taking a toll on our educators, who are leaving for better opportunities or who are not going into the career in the first place.

“We’ve got classrooms crammed with kids who need more face-to-face time with their teachers, and their outcomes make us less competitive.”

In addition to $235 million for the per-pupil bump, Whitmer’s proposal would increase the reimbursement to districts for federally mandated special education services ($120 million); strengthen support for disadvantaged and at-risk students ($102 million); and provide additional career and technical education opportunities for students ($50 million).

The most comprehensive study ever conducted of K-12 school financing in Michigan, released last year, found the state is not only under-funding public education by nearly $2,000 per student but neglecting the needs of English language learners,

students living in poverty, and those identified with learning challenges.

“Underfunded special education programs are forcing schools to redirect resources, and funding for at-risk students has fallen by 60 percent,” Whitmer said.

Last year’s study by the School Finance Research Collaborative was bolstered by research released in January from Michigan State University which found Michigan had implemented the steepest decline in K-12 education funding among all 50 states over the past 25 years.

“Every other state in the nation is meeting their kids’ needs better than we are,” Whitmer said. “Our goal has got to be taking Michigan from the bottom 10 in the country to the top 10 in educational outcomes for our students.”

Whitmer said the decision to be made at this crossroads is whether to continue down a path of disinvestment in infrastructure and talent, or to make “bold investments” that improve education and opportunity for every student in the state.

“No more shell games and half-measures. Here’s a real plan.” ■

ISSUES & ADVOCACY

continued from p. 23 Whitmer has been doing her part.

She criss-crossed the state throughout March visiting classrooms to celebrate reading month and staying after to speak about education priorities with school employees, administrators and parents.

In that spirit, today MEA is asking you to do what you do best: educate people.

We are asking you to use your respected educator voices to teach others in your communities what the problem is, how we got here, and how Whitmer’s budget starts to fix the problem. If enough of us reach out to build coalitions on the ground, we can make change happen.

So that is step one. Lots of people in your broader community are concerned about the state of public education in Michigan. They see

what’s been happening, and they worry about the future for their children and grandchildren. Voter polling consistently shows they are on our side.

Pull together others in your local association who want to act, and develop a plan to speak with parents, political activists, and business and civic leaders about getting involved.

Lawmakers need to hear from their constituents—the people they work for—on this issue.

To be effective, you must be armed with information, and there is plenty to choose from in two reports issued in the last year or so.

#RedForEd Spring and Summer Organizing for School Funding Gather a committee of association members who want to get involved, and divvy up tasks.

Learn the facts from two major studies of education funding in Michigan: The School Finance Research Collaborative’s report, “Costing Out the Resources Needed to Meet Michigan’s Standards and Requirements”; and MSU’s “Michigan School Finance at the Crossroads.”

Build coalitions and hold #RedForEd Reality Checks—events can take many shapes to engage members in the discussion, and expand out to civic, business, and community leaders.

Tell your stories in guest editorials and letters to the editor in local newspapers to raise awareness of the need for public engagement around these issues.

Schedule a legislative council with your lawmaker through your UniServ director and MEA lobbyists to share concerns and build a relationship that allows for ongoing discussion.

One is the School Finance Research Collaborative’s study of what it costs to educate a child in Michigan, which showed our schools to be drastically underfunded. And research from Michigan State University released in January analyzes 25 years of disinvestment in education.

Next we need union members to share their stories. Guest editorials and letters to the editor provide a great way for us to spread information to our communities and illuminate the stark differences between continuing down the road we are on and charting a new course.

Lastly, schedule a Legislative Council in your area. Legislative Councils are informal meetings with lawmakers to discuss education policy.

Share the SFRC report with your lawmaker and have a discussion on the issues. Your UniServ director and MEA lobbyists can help organize.

I am not an educator. I am a product of selfless public school employees who changed my life trajectory by nurturing my love of learning from kindergarten through my bachelor’s degree. This fight is personal to me for many reasons, but today it’s for my 10-year-old son.

We must seize this moment. Suffering alone will not fix our problems.

It matters to so many that we are successful, but most importantly, it matters to our students. ■

Learn more and RSVP for the June 18 rally at mea.org/RedForEd. MEA VOICE 25

MEMBERS AT WORK

Highlighting MEA members of every stripe who step up and lead the way.

Get a ‘Jump Start’ on National Board Certification MEA member Chris Erickson remembers early in his teaching career when he was easily discouraged by defeat, because he didn’t realize change takes time and persistence is a skill.

A shift in his thinking happened when he attended NEA’s Teacher Leadership Institute (TLI), a fellowship program creating a national netNational Board Certification is a voluntary, advanced teaching credential offered by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. To date, there are more than 118,000 NBCTs across the nation. Check out the National Board website for more information at nbpts.org.

26 APRIL 2019

work of teachers to mobilize, advocate, and lead on issues concerning student learning, the profession, the association, and education policy.

Erickson credits the TLI training with launching his efforts to become a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT), a designation he achieved in 2017. Erickson works as an English teacher and coordinator in the International Baccalaureate Program at Ann Arbor’s Huron High School.

Now he wants to light a path to leadership for other educators to follow.

In this Q&A, Erickson discusses his journey and the three-day NEA-developed Jump Start training that he and a fellow NBCT will facilitate this summer in Lansing for educators wanting to pursue National Board Certification.

How did TLI lead you to become a National Board Certified Teacher?

It allowed me to see myself as a teacher-leader and develop the skills to act on goals. I worked with two colleagues on a project focused on getting our district to recognize National Board Certification in our salary schedule. We’re still working on it, and as part of that I’m now on the salary committee for my union.

That’s the long-term vision I learned through TLI. If things don’t happen immediately, it takes work. You have to try multiple angles and network with people.

I always knew I wanted to do my national boards, and when I finally took the opportunity I loved the entire process. It’s what I wish PD

MEMBERS AT WORK

[Professional Development] would be in my district because it focuses on reflection and getting the teacher to look at instructional practice.

Why is it important to get National Board Certification on the salary schedule?

Applying it to the salary schedule is part of raising the teaching profession. We are skilled at what we do, and a National Board Certified Teacher is an expert. Acknowledging that with pay is something all districts should do.

We’re also in the process of advocating for our state to pay teachers more if they’re National Board certified. Washington state does this, where teachers who get their certification are paid $5,000 more by the state for every year they’re certified, so the district doesn’t have to decide whether it can afford to support National Board certification. The state is saying we believe teachers are stronger when they’ve gone through the process, and we believe students benefit when they have National Board Certified Teachers.

Why should an educator consider National Board certification?

For teachers who want to become teacher-leaders without stepping out of the classroom to become administrators, national boards provides an avenue to ask, “What’s next?” If a teacher is feeling stuck in their instruction, or stuck in a rut in their career, national boards is a great opportunity to get a fresh perspective.

How did the process change you?

I hadn’t done video recording of myself teaching since undergrad, and it was eye-opening to see what my students see every day. This is what I sound like in terms of pacing. This is what my wait time—or lack of wait time—looks like. When you’re in front of the classroom day in and

day out, it can be easy to forget those things. Then you see it in action and either feel like, “Oh, I did that really well,” or, “Oh my gosh, I’m totally neglecting this side of the room,” or, “Look at how this student over here is disengaged.”

That’s what is so valuable about national board certification. It’s not about proving I’m an amazing teacher. It’s reflecting and being honest about things I do well but also acknowledging where I need to grow, and then reacting and changing.

That is the only way we get better.

Do you find teachers are intimidated by the National Board certification process?

Yeah. And this is a big shift that National Board has made with a revision two years ago. The old-school way of thinking was this is a hard process that you have to do all in one year that’s really intense. And the revision shifted away from that to make National Boards for everyone. So now, teachers can do it over the course of three years. It’s still four components, but the goal is for all teachers to benefit from doing it.

What happens in the threeday Jump Start training you’re offering this summer?

Jump Start has been developed

by NEA member teachers from all over the country. It walks teachers through the different components and foundations of National Board certification. We get a broad overview of what is required for each component. We also focus in so teachers have a clear sense for their content area of what the requirements are.

The goal of Jump Start is that teachers leave with a clear sense of what they need to do to be successful in those components and when they’re going to get this work done.

What do you say to teachers who might be interested in National Board certification but already feel overtaxed?

I would say to people if you’ve reached where you want to go in your career, and you feel like there has to be something else, there are other people interested in the same things in terms of honing the craft of teaching. It can be scary to take on a commitment that will require a lot of time, but that’s where Jump Start fills that gap, making it visible so teachers can see it’s not as daunting as it can appear on the surface. It’s totally doable and manageable. ■

Sign up for Summer Training in Lansing Thinking about becoming a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT)? Want to learn more about how it works and ways it could re-spark your joy?

Join NBCT Chris Erickson and Shantel VanderGalien to Jump Start the process!

A collaboration between NEA, MEA, Michigan NBCT Network, and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, Jump Start is a three-day professional development session to set up NBCT candidates for success in their National Board journey.

The 2019 Jump Start will take place August 7-9 in Lansing. Cost is $250 for MEA members in good standing and $350 for non-members.

Learn more and register at mi.jumpstart.weebly.com.

Interested in a scholarship to cover your registration? Contact Kia Hagens at khagens@mea.org.

MEA VOICE 27

AWARDS & HONORS

Inspiring Educators Win MEA

with painfully cold feet after waiting at a stop in sub-zero temperatures with no socks on.

She credited NEA and MEA leadership training for giving her the confidence to do more than cry about the sad situation. She organized a community sock drive, coordinated by school bus drivers, which brought in thousands of pairs of socks for students in need.

Marti Alvarez won the Leon A. Brunner Award for her work on behalf of students and union members in her roles as a bus driver and union leader. Alvarez makes a distinction between her job at Traverse City Area Public Schools and her reason for being.

She is employed as a driver, but she is driven by a goal to help students be successful human beings—a message she spreads to colleagues doing every type of work in schools, whether it’s serving food, running an office, cleaning classrooms, or any other task.

“It’s about empathy and higher purpose,” the 18-year veteran school bus driver says.

Last spring, when a handful of elementary students received a sixweek suspension from their morning buses for misbehavior, Alvarez proposed a solution that would keep 28 APRIL 2019

them in school. She offered to drive them separately in a TCAPS van.

Alvarez has taken advantage of many training opportunities through the union, including the Minority Women’s Conference, Emerging Leaders, Powerful Public Speaking and ACE Childhood Trauma Training.

“One fifth-grade boy came to me, practically in tears, saying ‘We’re not going to make it to middle school,’” Alvarez recalled. “These were at-risk kids, and there was nobody at home who could transport them.”

“It really started to open my eyes about the professionalism of the positions we have,” Alvarez said.

“I started to know there is a higher purpose to what I was doing than driving the bus.”

She understood the children—one as young as kindergarten—needed consequences for breaking the rules, Alvarez said. But she also knew any discipline that removes the students from school increases the likelihood they will drop out or get in more trouble in the future.

Since then, Alvarez has developed her own training—Higher Purpose: Educators Employing Empathy for At-Risk Students—which she has presented in Michigan and at NEA events around the country.

“If we can walk in the students’ shoes a little bit, we can be a part of their success story.”

Alvarez had a similar problem-solving reaction a few years ago when a kindergartener boarded the bus

She has served as TCTA secretary, union steward, MEA/NEA RA delegate, MEA/NEA board member, and Region 15A Coordinating Council Co-chair. The Brunner Award is given annually to an ESP who exemplifies outstanding commitment and significant contributions to the field.

AWARDS & HONORS

Awards

Three MEA members—a bus driver and two teachers were honored with association awards during the MEA Winter Conference in February and the MEA ESP Statewide Conference in March.

DiBella, who has been teaching for four years, believes education is a vehicle for making the world more equitable. In her class, students write their own constitution and track their progress against learning targets. Assignments and assessments involve student choice and relevance.

Renea DiBella received MEA’s Educational Excellence Award for her work as a teacher in the Individuals and Societies department at Scarlett Middle School in Ann Arbor. DiBella wrote the eighth-grade U.S. History curriculum at the Title I School, an authorized IB World School.

“By using connections between history and current events, I can ignite passion in my students about issues in their world,” DiBella said in her acceptance speech. “My goal has been to transform my classroom into a laboratory where students can practice using their constitutional rights, they can find out that their voices do matter, and they can get

A 17-year veteran educator, Osborne leads the district’s ELL department, including curriculum and instruction, budget, and parent outreach. She has offered programs to better connect families to the school community and organized events to encourage multicultural awareness.

Christy Osborne received MEA’s Elizabeth Siddall Human Rights Award for her work as an ESL Coordinator and K-5 teacher in Royal Oak. Her participation in a Social Justice Project cohort through Oakland Schools led her to develop a “Social Justice League” in Royal Oak.

Osborne and the Royal Oak Social Justice League developed a vision for literature to enhance diversity instruction in elementary classrooms throughout the district. A successful grant recently allowed the purchase of hundreds of books.

In her acceptance speech, Osborne told the story of a young ELL student whose life was changed when she first saw a children’s book about her native Gambia in Osborne’s

inspired towards making the world a better place.”

DiBella co-leads the Scarlett Queer Straight Alliance and helped oversee a student-led walkout against gun violence which grew organically from discussions in class. DiBella said her priority is to meet students where they are.

“I’ve had to transform my curriculum into both a mirror with which my students can see themselves and a lens with which they can see their world.”

View highlights of DiBella’s inspiring acceptance speech at tinyurl.com/dibellaaward.

classroom. The main character had the same name—Isatou—as her second grade student, Osborne said.

“Isatou had never considered that it was possible to see her life and her culture and her name as important enough to be in a book. She had never heard a story about a strong, smart, black Muslim woman who changed the world for the better.”

Seeing the book led Osborne’s young student to stop hiding from her culture and begin sharing about it: “Because of one powerful story, a seven-year-old became an active part of our district’s equity work.”

View highlights of Osborne’s moving acceptance speech at tinyurl.com/osborneaward. ■ MEA VOICE 29

STRENGTH IN UNION

Message to ESP Conference: More than ‘Justa’ Yvonne Williams wants MEA’s Education Support Professionals to banish a word from their vocabulary: “Justa.”

“It would not be unusual to hear one of our colleagues say I am justa bus driver, I’m justa secretary or I’m justa custodian,” the recently retired MEA Northern Zone Director told attendees at the ESP Statewide Conference in Port Huron in March.

“Don’t let anyone tell you or imply that your position is any less than any other position or your employment is not valuable,” Williams said

in the keynote address at the conference’s Friday night dinner. “Remember—you are more than a Justa!”

Williams began her career as a substitute bus aide, and she worked as a special education paraprofessional before earning a degree and credential to become a special education teacher. Her involvement in union leadership eventually led to professional and management roles at MEA. “Do you know what kind of power you have as an ESP?” she asked the crowd. “Do you know that it would

RETIRING? Stand with more than 200,000 public school retirees to preserve and protect: • Public Education • Retiree Benefits • Student Rights & Programs For more information on joining MEA-Retired, go to www.mea-retired.org.

30 APRIL 2019

be virtually impossible for a school district to operate without you?

Believe the work you do is imperative; it is necessary for the success of everyone involved.”

Members and leaders from all over the state attended the two-day conference to take advantage of professional development on topics ranging from leadership principles to grievance processing, CPR and first aid, MEA and NEA member benefits, and understanding laws related to school work. ■

ELECTIONS

MEA Elections Delegates to the MEA Representative Assembly (RA) in East Lansing May 10-11 will elect two members to represent Michigan on the NEA Board of Directors. These are biographies and candidate statements of the two announced candidates for those positions.

Reed Bretz

Melinda Smith

Candidate for NEA State Director

Candidate for NEA State Director

Reed Bretz is a vocal music teacher in Kenowa Hills Public Schools where he serves as a building representative and local crisis chair and RA delegate, following roles on the executive and negotiations committees. He is a former region president, vice president, secretary and NEA RA coordinator for Region 9. He currently serves on the MEA Board, where he serves on the Art Acquisition Committee, along with roles at the national level on the NEA Human Civil Rights Awards Committee and the NEA RA Board Steering Committee.

Melinda Smith works in maintenance at Van Buren Public Schools where she serves as association president and trustee, in addition to being a member of the MEA and NEA RA. She belongs to her local bargaining team and serves as a grievance chair and member of the Screening and Recommendation Committee. Melinda has served as 2E Coordinating Council vice-chair, Region 2 secretary, and as Local Option secretary treasurer. At the MEA level, she has been elected a member of the Board of Directors, the ESP Caucus Executive Board and the MEA PAC Governing Board. She has been appointed to serve as Minority Affairs chair and as a member of the Professional Development Commission and the MESSA Board. At the national level, she serves on the NEA Resolutions Committee.

Candidate Statement: Greetings MEA members! Over the past 3 years, it has been an absolute honor to serve as one of your NEA Directors. No matter whom I have met, I have always felt an immense sense of pride to say that I am from the great state of MICHIGAN! Thank you for allowing me to represent each of you at the national level. It certainly has been an honor to be a representative for each of you, and I hope you will allow me to continue in this role to represent you on the NEA Board of Directors for another 3 year term. I look forward to the opportunity to continue to represent each of you on the NEA Board of Directors.

Candidate Statement: As a Proud MEA Union member and leader, it has been my honor to advocate for MEA/NEA members, our students and public education.

I want to continue to use my experience, moving us forward as we work to educate the Whole Student, strengthen internal and external labor coalitions, and build community partnerships.

I thank you for all the support you have given me in the past and I ask that I have your continued support to the NEA Board of Directors.

MEA VOICE  31

Here are 3 reasons to try Omada

By Ross Wilson, MESSA Executive Director MESSA recently introduced a new (and free!) diabetesprevention and weight-loss program for eligible members, courtesy of Omada Health.

Here are a few of my favorite features of the Omada program:

Health coach: Omada includes your own professional coach who is there to keep you on track—on your best days and your worst. They personalize the experience to ensure you’re getting exactly what you need to be successful.

Tools and technology: Once you sign up, you’ll get a welcome kit delivered to your doorstep. It includes a wireless smart scale that’s automatically linked to your online account, making it easy to monitor your progress.

It actually works. You may have tried other programs or diets in the past, but Omada is different. The average Omada “graduate” continues to engage in the program and loses more than 10 pounds over 16 weeks.

MESSA members and their dependents can take a one-minute risk assessment today to find out if they’re eligible by visiting messa.org/ omada. ■

CLASSIFIEDS Our ad policy, rates and schedule can be found online at mea.org/voice.

The classifieds deadline for the August 2019 issue is July 12.

BOOKS Great Gift for Grandchildren.

A Rainbow for God, story/coloring book teaches kind-hearted lessons based on the rainbow’s colors.

The surprise ending delights children and celebrates their efforts. Amazon.com

32 APRIL 2019

BOOKS

TRAVEL PLANNING

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MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

A Teach-in for Freedom

By Rick Joseph Michigan Teacher of the Year 2015-16 I recently had the honor of presenting at the Teach-In for Freedom in El Paso, Texas.

As I gathered with teachers from around the country on President’s Day, I felt an immense sense of gratitude for the opportunity to share the realities of refugee youth who represent the more than 14,000 young people who have been detained in federal government facilities for the offense of exercising their right to seek asylum.

I deeply appreciate the support of the Michigan Education Association and every MEA member who made it possible for me to attend this event. I also felt the profound power and import of belonging to a teacher’s union.

The spirit of solidarity and community permeated this event as both MEA and AFT affiliates from across the country came together to rally around the common cause of supporting children in our role as mandated reporters.

Together with Dr. Amy Hewett‑Olatunde, a colleague from St. Paul, Minnesota, and Minnesota Teacher of the Year 2016, we gathered in San Jacinto Plaza in downtown El Paso to present

Find resources recommended

by Rick Joseph to learn more about child detention in the U.S. at mea.org/stark-choices.

34 APRIL 2019

Rick Joseph protested in Texas against detention of immigrant children.

a 12-minute piece entitled The Voice of Immigrant Youth. Amy teaches children each day who arrive in our country seeking asylum. They have managed to escape from situations where the threat of imminent death is very real.

Amy shared actual poems that her students, themselves refugees from El Salvador, had written as they processed the same journey represented in Somos como las nubes/We Are Like the Clouds. Watch our piece at tinyurl.com/JosephTeach-in.

Amy and I alternated reading poetry that represented the reality of life in El Salvador for thousands of people each day, who struggle to survive in the face of extortion, rape and murder. Faced with these stark choices, many choose to seek asylum in the U.S., making a long and dangerous journey with few resources and a very uncertain future.

As I reflect on what this event meant to the participants and those watching, I thought about all of you, my sister and brother educators across our state who selflessly serve children and families every day with little or no recognition. Your influence on the students you serve literally saves their lives. We hold the future in our hands each day.

My poetry came from a children’s picture book in verse by Salvadoran poet Jorge Argueta entitled Somos como las nubes/We Are Like the Clouds. I read the poems first in Spanish, then in English, which recount the steps in the journey of asylum seekers from cities and towns throughout El Salvador, through Central America, Mexico, and then the United States.

More than ever before, I feel a deeper commitment to our profession and the need to speak out at all levels. Whether I’m with my students in our fifth- and sixth-grade classroom or anywhere in the wider world, I am proud to be a teacher. I will continue to share stories of those seeking justice and advocate for the voiceless. Thank you for this profound opportunity. ■

Michelle Salazar

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