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MEA VOICE
MESSA Pullout Section Inside!
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Editor’s Notebook
Change is possible
News & Notes
Remote teaching PD
Election 2020
Fire DeVos
Special Report
Virtual schools
Special Report
Higher ed unions
Special Report
Midland flood
Member Spotlight
An unexpected role
8—MEMBER VOICES: Being an educator means taking advantage of teachable moments. 17—SPECIAL REPORT: Educators across Michigan are engaging in racial justice activism.
Executive Director ......................Michael Shoudy Director of Public Affairs ................... Doug Pratt Editor ................................................ Brenda Ortega Staff Photographer .........................Miriam Garcia Publications Specialist ............... Shantell Crispin
The MEA Voice ISSN 1077-4564 is an official publication of the Michigan Education Association, 1216 Kendale Blvd., East Lansing, MI 48823. Opinions stated in the MEA Voice do not necessarily reflect the official position of the MEA unless so identified. Published by Michigan Education Association, Box 2573, East Lansing, MI 48826-2573. Periodicals postage paid at East Lansing and additional mailing offices. Payment of the active membership fee entitles a member to receive the MEA Voice. Of each annual fee whether for active or affiliate membership, $12.93 is for a year’s subscription. Frequency of issue is October, December, February, April and August. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the MEA Voice, Box 2573, East Lansing, MI 48826-2573 or via email at webmaster@mea.org. Allow at least three weeks for change of address to take effect. MEA Voice telephone: 517-332-6551 or 800-292-1934. Circulation this issue: 113,519 9—SPECIAL REPORT: Follow a timeline of our surreal spring, starting with school building closures, to a stressed summer of debating how to safely deliver education to students this fall.
22—ELECTION 2020: U.S. Sen. Gary
Peters has been a vocal critic of
Betsy DeVos.
30—SPECIAL REPORT: Some MEA members are serving two vital roles in the pandemic.
Editor’s Notebook
The Associated Press writing style guide has updated its policy on the word “Black” to capitalize the letter B when referring to people in a racial, ethnic or cultural context. Black activists had long called for the change, which you will notice on these pages. The AP Stylebook shift happened—fittingly—on June 19, also known as Juneteenth, an annual commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. The AP’s move conveys a “shared sense of history, identity and community among people who identify as Black, including those in the African diaspora and within Africa,” John Daniszewski, AP’s vice president of standards, said. “The lowercase black is a color, not a person.” The AP’s move followed the videotaped police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May, but it had been debated by AP style gurus, journalists, and academicians for years. It got me thinking about change and how we all perceive what is possible. Images of Floyd’s shocking murder sparked prolonged protests around the world. But more than that, the terrible cruelty of those nine‑plus minutes moved hearts and minds. Polling soon after found a stunning shift in public opinion, with 69 percent of Americans saying Floyd’s killing represents a larger problem in law enforcement—up from 43 percent in 2014. The era of videotaped police brutality against Black Americans began nearly 30 years ago when a bystander captured footage of the beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles. Since then we’ve seen too many Black people die at the hands of police. Breonna Taylor, Philando Castille, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, Stephon Clark. To name just a few of the many. Black activists have engaged in this struggle for decades. The fight is not over, but others are joining the cause and some change is happening. Cities are banning chokeholds and no-knock warrants. Americans are expressing desire to shift money from policing and incarceration to education and supports. It gives me hope for the success of other struggles that feel like David vs. Goliath matchups—such as education unions vs. Betsy DeVos and other billionaire school privatizers, for example. DeVos has used her money and influence to undermine public education for years—especially now as U.S. Education Secretary during a global pandemic. But we have never stopped pushing back, and Americans see DeVos for who and what she is. They’re not buying what she’s selling. So join the struggle. Get involved in your local. Volunteer for a political campaign. Help get out the vote. Give to MEA-PAC. Vote. The struggle has been long, and we’re tired, but at last perhaps the tipping point is here.
—Brenda Ortega, editor Number of years that the West Ottawa Education Association has been operating a summer Bookmobile—a library on wheels to bring reading to kids. This year, the program got a new bus, thanks to fundraising, community sponsors, and school district support. Members of the local union gave 1,000 hours of labor to sand, paint, and install bookshelves, enough to hold 4,500 books. A grant from NEA purchased books for socialemotional learning. Read the story at mea.org/45-years-of-books.
QUOTABLES
MEA member Anthony
Barnes, an early-career Kalamazoo special education teacher who served as a panelist on an MEA-sponsored webinar about systemic racism organized by Aspiring Educators of Michigan. Read Barnes’ essay on living life as an educator on page 8.
Above and Beyond
MEA member Ben Henri teaches his vocal music and Quiz Bowl students in Grosse Pointe to celebrate each other’s successes, because “It makes everything that much sweeter,” he says. Last month his lesson came full circle when a group of his students held a watch party to see him compete—and win the $100,000 grand prize—in the Teachers Tournament on the quiz show Jeopardy! They sent him a video of their “post-game freakout.” One boy said he and friends had to walk around the block to release adrenaline. “He said, ‘Mr. Henri, we’ve done concerts and shows, but my heart has never been racing like this before,’” the 2020 Teachers Tournament champion said. Henri grew up watching the show in a family of trivia buffs—his brother was a two-day champion in 2013. Remarkably, 14 of the 15 educator contestants from the tournament remain in touch, and Henri is glad for the extended support system. The global pandemic has revealed the consequences of steadily declining taxes and spending on public services, and he worries about the future of education, he says: “I’m confident in the abilities and stick-to-itiveness of my colleagues. But if teacher compensation isn’t adequate, and if the resources aren’t there for us to reinvent our job in the space of weeks, then it makes it difficult to recruit people and to do our jobs.” Read the story at mea.org/ henri-wins-jeopardy.
ICYMI
MEA member Owen Bondono pledged to spend his time as the newest Michigan Teacher of the Year (MTOY) lifting up marginalized voices and working to ensure no children get left behind as schools face the unique challenges of operating amid a global pandemic. Bondono, a ninth-grade English Language Arts teacher from Oak Park’s Freshman Institute, was named the 2020-21 MTOY during a virtual ceremony in July. He is the first known transgender person to hold the title, and Bondono told Chalkbeat he’s hearing that he might be the first in the nation. “Personally my area of focus is always to uplift marginalized voices in our community, both as teachers and for our students,” he said. “As a queer person I know firsthand the harm that can come to marginalized students in schools, and as someone who has made a career now of teaching Black and brown children, I know the harm that they come to every day.” Bondono has led training and organization within his building and district to improve climate and culture surrounding issues of equality and is a facilitator for LGBTQ Student Safe Spaces. He is also a member of the AntiRacist Leadership Institute and Resource Coordination Team. Learn more about Bondono at mea.org/oak-park-mtoy.
QUOTABLES
MEA member Tonya Lambert, a middle school English teacher in Midland, whose quad-level home suffered water damage on three of four floors in May following a dam collapse. Read more about how our union family came together in the aftermath of historic flooding amid a global pandemic, starting on page 28.
UPCOMING EVENTS
EDITOR’S NOTE: MEA events planned for this school year are subject to change depending on the latest information regarding public health. Watch mea.org and the MEA Facebook page for the latest information.
OCTOBER 23 Higher Education Conference
Virtual The conference features sessions covering trends in online learning, intellectual property, higher education funding, member engagement, bargaining, and strategies to help leaders strengthen their local associations.
FEBRUARY 11-12 MEA Winter Conference
Marriott Renaissance Center, Detroit At MEA’s biggest conference of the year, members and leaders network and attend training sessions in bargaining, organizing, member advocacy, political action, communications, classroom best practices, and more.
MARCH 20 MEA Conference for Aspiring and Early Career Educators
MEA Headquarters, East Lansing Aspiring and early career educators will gather to network and train on topics such as classroom management, high-leverage best practices, legal issues, work-life balance, and union involvement.
MARCH 26-27 ESP Conference
MEA Headquarters, East Lansing Education support professionals will gather to network and train on topics such as legal issues, ESP certification, privatization, school violence, and member engagement.
On the Passing of Former MEA President Steven Cook
Former MEA President Steven Cook passed away in May after battling a non-COVID-19 illness. He was 63. The longest-serving officer of any NEA state affiliate, Cook was the first education support professional to serve as president of the Michigan’s largest school employee union, serving in that role from 2011-2017. Prior to that, Cook served as the union’s secretary-treasurer and later vice president, totaling 26 years of leadership of MEA and Michigan’s educators. A community-school liaison for the Lansing Public Schools, Cook served as the local president of the Lansing Educational Assistants prior to becoming an MEA state officer. “Steve was a fierce believer in the collective power of both public education and unions to change lives,” said MEA President Paula Herbart. “He was a resolute leader who always stood up for what he believed was right for school employees and students. His loyalty—to both his union and to those lucky enough to call him a friend—was his trademark.”
“The labor movement and the cause of public education are both worse off today for losing a champion in Steve Cook.” Cook is survived by his wife, Sarah, and son, Wayne.
Sign up for Free MEA Training on Distance Learning
Members in good standing still may be able to sign up for the second half of a summer webinar series on best practices for delivering remote learning opportunities to students. Developed by members in the Ann Arbor Education Association, these colleagueto-colleague sessions feature timely and specific resources that participants will be able to put to immediate use. SCECHs are available for all sessions. Topics include how to effectively use Google classroom, teach math at a distance, differentiate instruction, provide accommodations, and plan a week of remote instruction, among others. This member-led training is brought to you by the MEA Center for Leadership & Learning. To view remaining sessions and register, go to tinyurl.com/MEA-SummerWebinars-2020.
Skip the trip to the pharmacy with Rx home delivery
As a MESSA member, you have access to the Express Scripts pharmacy for convenient home delivery of the medications you take regularly, letting you skip a trip to the pharmacy. The benefits of using Express Scripts include home delivery of a threemonth supply of your long-term medications, free standard shipping and 24/7 access to a pharmacist from the privacy of your home.
3 steps to get started with home delivery
1. 2. Log in to your MyMESSA member account. Click the “Rx home delivery” link to register, transfer eligible prescriptions to home
delivery and order refills.
Contact your doctor. Call your doctor to obtain a new prescription for a 90-day supply of your long-term medications. 3. Register adults covered by your plan. Dependents over 18 need to register with Express Scripts separately at express-scripts. com, and they need to authorize you to view and order prescriptions for them, if desired. Just like at a retail pharmacy, your standard copayments and deductibles apply. Please note that shortterm medications such as antibiotics must be filled by a local retail pharmacy, and specialty medications must be filled through your local pharmacy or through AllianceRx Walgreens Prime, a specialty home-delivery pharmacy. For questions specific to Express Scripts’ delivery service, call Express Scripts at 800.903.8346 (TTY: 800.876.1089). For any other questions, call our Member Service Center at 800.336.0013 or connect with us online. We’re happy to help.
