MEA Voice Magazine - December 2022 Issue

Thank you — and let’s get to work

On Nov. 8, Michigan went to the polls and elected lawmakers willing to do the litany of work needed to deliver the quality public education every student needs and deserves.

The wins on Election Day were resounding.

Re‑electing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. Installing pro‑public education majorities in the state House and Senate. Defeating hundreds of school board candidates bent on dividing — not uniting — parents and educators.

These wins would not have hap pened without the hard work of our members, leaders and staff.

Every voter we talked with about the value of public education and the stakes of this election — at a door, on the phone, through a text, over a fence, around a kitchen table or at a worksite — helped to deliver friends of public education to office.

Thank you for everything you did in Election 2022. Now, the work begins to turn those election victories into better education policy for our students and

the members who meet their educa tional needs every day.

Adequate and equitable school funding. Meeting student and educator mental health needs. Recruiting and retaining excellent educators to deliver an excellent education. Restoring members’ voices to their working conditions — which are our students’ learning conditions.

As we enter 2023, many priorities need to be addressed in Lansing, and MEA will be engaged in that work, mobilizing the same resources we used to win at the ballot box to win at the Capitol with lawmakers from both parties.

As this is written, MEA members, leaders and staff are developing policy proposals to make good on the prom ise of public education and the plan to champion those proposals with a new majority of state policymakers who will finally listen and act on what educators know our students need.

We will push to advance policy changes needed to keep our schools and communities safe, a promise we made following the horrific events of Nov. 30, 2021 in Oxford, where gun violence in the halls of the high school

killed four, injured eight, and changed lives in the community forever.

Read more in this issue about healing and activism in the tragedy’s wake, including a powerful first‑person account of ongoing effects by MEA member Molly Darnell, who was injured by gunfire that day.

We owe our commitment and work to Oxford’s students, educators, parents and families.

Commonsense gun safety laws such as safe storage requirements, background checks and red flag laws. Mental health services to help those who need it before they do harm. Appropriate school safety measures that keep our students and educators safe without turning our schools into prisons.

From Oxford to Uvalde to Parkland to Sandy Hook, we must see these critical steps through.

Now we are better positioned to press for these priorities and more — thanks to the relentless effort we’ve put forth together to elect policymakers who support the vital work of building the future that happens in our public schools every day. v

President

Paula J. Herbart

Chandra A. Madafferi Vice President

Brett R. Smith Secretary‑Treasurer

Oxford at one year, page 10. State ESP of the Year, page 20.

Member Spotlight, page 26.

On the cover: By applying to programs like the NEA Global Fellowship, MEA member Matt Cottone has traveled the world for free to bring lessons back to his students. Read more, page 17. Photo by Matt Cottone.

More inside: My View on self‑empowerment, page 9.

Injured Oxford teacher speaks out, page 14. Election 2022, page 16. Rural education, page 23.

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: 108,265

The first co‑presidents of the Grosse Pointe Education Association are listening and building relationships to find innovative solutions for members, page 22.

Interim Executive Director Earl Wiman Director of Public Affairs Doug Pratt Editor Brenda Ortega

Staff Photographer Miriam Garcia Publications Specialist Shantell Crispin

news & notes

Editor’s Notebook

MEA member Justine Galbraith has been teaching for 18 years, including six years as a middle school English teacher in Troy. Growing up in school, her generation never knew the term “school shooting,” and she laments how young people now live in its terrifying shadow.

So she does what she can to make change.

Since 2016 Galbraith has volunteered with the Michigan chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. In 2019 she was appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to the state’s School Safety Commission, and most recently she joined MEA’s new Protect Our Schools Action Team.

She volunteers on political campaigns to help elect candidates who sup port commonsense gun safety measures, and much of her year‑round work has focused on a firearm safety program offered through Everytown for Gun Safety, the parent organization of Moms Demand.

Called Be Smart for Kids, the safety campaign provides information about secure firearm storage and free gun locks at community events. Since the Oxford school shooting, the goal also has included getting school boards across the state to adopt a Secure Storage Resolution.

The resolution commits the school district to sending home information about what safe gun storage looks like, which Galbraith points out: “That doesn’t mean sticking your firearm in a drawer or a higher shelf. It means locking up your firearm unloaded and separate from ammunition every time.”

Making schools a conduit for safety information, giving families the resources to know where to buy gun safes or locks or how to get them free or at a discount, can save lives, she says. In the past year, nine school districts in Oakland County and 13 statewide have adopted the resolution.

As in the Oxford case, “When school shootings happen, more than half the time it’s a student who brings the firearm to school, and in 80% of those cases they get the firearm at home.”

Since Oxford, the Moms Demand group has tripled its membership, she notes. “It came really close to home, and parents are scared.”

One of those new members is her good friend and teaching partner, Audrey Wright, whose children attend Oxford Community Schools and whose daughter was in the building at the time of the shooting last year. Read about Wright and others who have turned tragedy into activism starting on page 10.

“It’s bittersweet,” she says of the exponential growth in gun safety activism in Michigan. “We are always happy to have more people join our efforts, but you know why they’re here — because these are people who are maybe physically wounded but definitely emotionally wounded. It’s a painful win.”

— Brenda Ortega, editor

The statewide winning percentage in races where MEA members made candidate recommendations for friends of public education. This includes winning more than 260 school board races across Michigan.

QUOTABLES

Dr. David Arsen, professor of education policy at Michigan State University and lead researcher of a new three‑year study examining the effects of state policies on public schools in rural Michigan. The study found school reforms favored by lawmakers over the past 20 years — test‑based accountability and school choice — have largely ignored the needs of rural school districts. Read more on page 23.

“All Michigan rural communities need to spur sustained growth is good schools and good broadband access.”

news & notes

Above and Beyond

As a leader of MEA’s Aspiring Educators of Michigan (AEM), Maya Murray says she’s seen how bringing people together can build powerful movements. On Election Day, Nov. 8, the Michigan State University junior and AEM president witnessed that strength on a large scale. Murray, an elementary education major, answered a 6 p.m. call for help at a campus polling place where hundreds of students waited in line to register and vote. When she arrived at MSU’s Brody Hall, the line of students stretched for hours. “It was just amazing to see and it’s something I’ll always remember,” she said. Murray did whatever was needed — sharing a QR code for registering online, switching to paper registration when the online system stopped responding, and handing out pizza. Lots of pizza. She worked alongside many other young people who were helping to hand out snacks, water, phone chargers — anything voters needed to stay in line. And she met lots of volunteers her age who told her of working on various races and political campaigns all year long. “It really inspired me to think about in the next election what more I could do,” she said. “It was so great to see such a student‑led effort on both sides, whether it was volunteering or standing in line for four hours to get a vote in. We hear all the time, ‘Your vote matters,’ and it did.”

ICYMI

Applications for $10,000 scholarships for up to 2,500 future Michigan educators and $9,600 payments for student teachers opened on Oct. 31.

The innovative programs, included in the state education budget signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in July, aim to lower the cost of higher education so the state can train and hire more qualified teachers to address the educator shortage.

For full eligibility requirements and to apply visit michigan.gov/ mistudentaid.

The historic bipartisan 2023 state education budget also included the highest state per‑student investment in Michigan history and record investments in school infrastructure, mental health, and school safety.

QUOTABLES

16.

“Michiganders sent a clear message this election by rejecting extremism and instead voting for leaders who will work with educators — not against us.”

MEA President Paula Herbart in a statement following wins by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other friends of public education in the Nov. 8 General Election. Read more about the historic election on page

news & notes

Save the dates

Feb. 2‑3 (Rescheduled)

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 2

Read Across America

Nationwide

Educators will be celebrating a nation of diverse readers. Visit nea.org/ readacross to find a calendar with monthly book recommendations for various grade levels plus quality lessons and activities for all year long.

March 25

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.

June 23‑24

ESP Statewide 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.

Nominations Sought for ESP Caucus Executive Board

Nominations are being accepted for three positions on the MEA ESP Caucus Executive Board.

Openings for three‑year terms on the Board beginning Sep. 1, 2023 — Aug. 31, 2026:

Director by classification — one position each: ⎕ Office Personnel ⎕ Transportation ⎕ Maintenance

Elections to the ESP Board will take place at the MEA Spring Representative Assembly in East Lansing on April 21, 2023. If declared candidates run unopposed, they may be elected by acclamation on that day. If two or more candidates are running for a position, a ballot election will take place on April 22, 2023.

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

Candidates must be members in good standing of MEA/NEA. If you are interested in running for any of these positions, please send an email to ESP Caucus elections chairperson, Jim Sparapani at jsparapani@att.net.

Additional nominations will be accepted from the floor at the MEA/ESP Caucus meeting on Friday, April 21, 2023 and those names will be added to the ballot. Candidates will be given up to three minutes to address delegates.

A table will be provided outside the ESP Caucus RA meeting room where candidates may place a brief biographical sketch for distribution before the meeting starts. Campaign materials may not be distributed or worn inside of the MEA ESP Caucus RA meeting room.

Questions should be directed to Jim Sparapani, ESP Caucus elections chairperson, at 906‑779‑1984 or via email to jsparapani@att.net v

THE FUTURE IS NOW

MEA expands to support aspiring educators in high school

MEA member Kate Singer’s journey to becoming a first‑grade teacher in the Pontiac School District began not in college but during high school in Lake Orion, where she completed a program that introduces students to a career in education through hands‑on experiences.

Currently teaching her first year at Rogers Elementary School, Singer says thanks to her high school’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) offerings, including the local Educators Rising chapter, she got to see classrooms in action early on.

“This helped me enter my univer sity knowing that teaching was for me,” said Singer, who went on to earn her teaching degree at Central Michigan University and served as secretary‑treasurer of MEA’s Aspiring Educators of Michigan (AEM) while in college.

“It also helped me to build connec tions with my like‑minded peers and educators in my community. This was something I was able to lean back on after graduation. I reached out to the educators I had worked with during my time in Educators Rising to find interview and job opportunities.”

Now MEA is newly extending its work to address the educator short age and support aspiring educators by serving as State Coordinator for Educators Rising, following the lead of NEA at the national level.

Educators Rising is a career and technical student organization (CTSO) with learning opportunities integrated into existing education and training programs. Middle and high schools can create local chapters connected to Teacher Cadet, CTE programs, or future educator clubs.

MEA will partner with educators across the state who work with middle and high school students interested in education careers. These students will join our collegiate‑level Aspiring Educators of Michigan as part of our commitment to educators from aspiring through retiring.

As part of its role, MEA will plan state conferences and competitions which can lead to National Conference opportunities where members, teacher leaders, and educators from around the nation come together to show case skills and knowledge gained in their programs.

Students in education‑related CTE programs work under the guidance of a mentor teacher. The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) has supported agreements for students to receive credit with teacher prep programs in the state and also offers credentials that students can obtain.

Many high schools and intermedi ate school districts across Michigan are offering or starting up programs, including the Macomb County ISD, which placed high school students in elementary summer school programs in 2021 and 2022. Programs in the thumb area (Huron, Tuscola) are producing early childhood workers in their rural areas.

Rochester Community Schools offers a course called Education Careers where high school students spend part of their week with MEA member Sarah Millard in classroom instruction, glimpsing the complexities of the profession. The rest of the week students get experience working with children alongside amazing profession als in elementary classrooms.

“I am proud of Rochester Community Schools for supporting the importance of beginning teacher training before students even enter college teacher training programs” Millard said.

MEA is hoping to support member educators as they continue to grow their programs and connect them with other educators engaged in this important work.

If you or someone you know is currently teaching or planning to start a CTE or elective future educators program or club, please reach out to Annette Christiansen at achristiansen@mea.org to help MEA develop a program that supports you and your students. v

instagram.com/aspiringedofmichigan twitter.com/AspiringEdOfMI facebook.com/aspiringedofmichigan

instagram.com/mineweducators twitter.com/mineweducators facebook.com/mineweducators soundcloud

MESSA Diabetes Case Management a ‘godsend’

Program provides one‑on‑one support at no charge

Before William Mahaney had a MESSA health plan, he struggled managing his diabetes because his previous health plan and health care provider didn’t offer him much guidance.

“At first, I didn’t know where to turn,” said Mahaney, a salesman in Edwardsburg. His wife, Amy Jo, is a librarian for Edwardsburg High School. “I was kind of lost. I was with another doctor and a different insur ance plan. They were like, ‘Here’s your medication, now go about your way.’”

About five years ago, that all changed when Mahaney, 62, joined Amy Jo’s MESSA plan as a dependent.

One day, she gave him a MESSA DiscoverYou newsletter that contained an article about MESSA’s Diabetes Case Management program. MESSA members and their dependents can get personal help through the program, including one‑on‑one coaching and nutrition strategies. The program supports members living with Type 1, Type 2 and gestational diabetes.

Mahaney enrolled immediately.

“It was a godsend,” said Mahaney, who’s had diabetes for almost 10 years. “It gave me somebody to talk to and to help manage it.”

Rachelle Twichell, R.N., MESSA’s diabetes nurse educator for the case management program, provides infor mation and guidance to help members reach their health goals and manage their diabetes.

“For many people, the one‑on‑one support is beneficial because it gives them someone to talk to about their diabetes and share concerns, frustra tions and triumphs,” Twichell said.

Diabetes is a chronic health condi tion that affects how your body turns

food into energy. The disease prevents the body from either not making enough insulin or not using it as well as it should, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. When there isn’t enough insulin or if cells stop responding to insulin, too much blood sugar stays in the bloodstream. Over time, that can cause serious health problems, such as heart disease, vision loss and kidney disease.

More than 37 million adults in the U.S. have diabetes, and 1 in 5 of them don’t know they have it. It is the seventh leading cause of death in the country. While there isn’t a cure, losing weight, having a healthy diet and being active can help manage the illness.

Mahaney and Twichell speak almost every Friday about his glucose level, diet and exercise.

“It’s huge to have her,” Mahaney said. “I can pick up the phone and call her and say I’m having a problem with this or that, and she will have an answer or get an answer. The support system is phenomenal.” v

Diabetes support

To learn more, visit messa.org/Diabetes or call 800‑336‑0022, prompt 3.

Self‑empowerment as an Antidote to Burnout

By Shana Saddler

When my third‑hour class behaved badly with a substitute teacher, I was extremely disappointed in my student leaders. The next day, I approached “Maya” (a spirited, driven, yet funny student) and said, “Maya, why did you not step up as a leader and try to positively influence student misbehavior?”

Maya replied, “Mrs. Saddler, when a boat is already rowing, it makes no sense to throw in the anchor!”

At times I have witnessed the same philosophy of not throwing in the anchor from educators adopting silence in this post COVID‑19 school climate. They believe if they stay neu tral, the problem will dissipate, but we know that if anything, it gets worse.

In this historical moment, educators are facing unprecedented challenges which include school staffing short ages, safety concerns, school violence, low pay, burnout, and lack of respect for the profession, among others.

At the same time educators are called upon to quickly address learning gaps driven by the COVID‑19 pandemic while simultaneously tending to students’ precarious sense of well‑being and mental health left behind in its wake.

Educators are stressed, and some feel powerless to truly make a differ ence in these difficult times, but I pro pose self‑empowerment as an antidote to burnout. What does this mean?

Transformative leaders shape schools into places where every

student can equip themselves to fully participate in an ever changing global society and educators feel satisfied in the important work they do. Each of us — in our own realms — can be transformative leaders in a renewed conversation about what best serves the public good.

That means in our classrooms, break rooms, department meetings, and administrative offices, we should ask the question: What implicit or explicit message am I sending if I choose to remain silent?

Does my silence perpetuate the status quo of “quiet” work dissatis faction that has led to the early mass exodus of so many educators?

We need educator voices and energy to fill the spaces of our schools. We are best positioned to know what policies and systems are necessary to better support us, and we can advocate for changes and improvements as profes sionals and union colleagues.

The opportunities are many, and yours may vary, but a few stand out among my interests:

Building Relationships With Families / Family‑school part nerships create teamwork between parents and educators. For example, I’ve heard of districts having volunteer parent liaisons to help weave strong community relationships.

What could be done better to create this strong foundation in your class room, building or district?

Professional Development / I believe professional development is key to creating and maintaining a school culture aligned with an orga nization’s shared vision. Great PD ben efits student learning and empowers educators to meet growing academic and social‑emotional demands.

What PD would benefit educators of all kinds in your school district and who could deliver it?

Restorative Practices / Michigan law requires that public schools use RP in discipline practices to help students develop conflict resolution skills. I encourage educators to learn about and use available support services in your district or to raise the issue if exist ing programming isn’t working well.

How can we be strengthened and better equipped to collaboratively resolve issues and move forward?

It takes time and intentionality to foster a positive school climate and more supportive systems. As this hol iday season approaches, take time to reflect, recharge, and choose self‑em powerment as the antidote to burnout. Throw in your anchor!

Shana Saddler is a veteran Farmington Hills teacher. For comments or questions, reach her at shana.saddler@fpsk12.net

Oxford Strong: One Year In

In the months after a troubled student opened fire with a semiautomatic weapon in the hallways of Oxford High School a little more than one year ago, destroying lives and devastating the community, the long process of grieving and healing began. It will continue over many years ahead.

In the next several pages, read the stories of educators and students attempting to find their way along that path — a journey that looks different for everyone. Ongoing trauma therapy and counseling. Ups and downs. Political activism. Energy and exhaustion. Community service. Sadness and hope.

staff and students would be invited into the building to put up holiday lights and decorations — “to just completely and totally deck out the halls and class rooms,” he added.

“Kids love lights, and we’re trying to give them something to look forward to when they come back from Thanksgiving.”

At 12:51 on Nov. 30, Oxford residents were asked to observe a moment of silence to mark when the first shots were fired in 2021. In addition, 20,000 battery‑operated luminary lights in white bags had been distributed to fam ilies for a 7 p.m. porch‑lit remembrance all across the town.

‘It’s harder this year than last year’

Jim Gibbons could talk for hours about all of the good things happening at Oxford High School, but one year after a horrific school shooting killed four students and injured eight other people, the local union president admits nothing has gotten easier.

teacher, as someone who leads kids every day. It’s harder this year than it was last year.”

As the Nov. 30 one‑year mark approached, the weight of the trag edy felt more and more present, said Gibbons, who served on two commit tees planning how the district should acknowledge the date and address kids’ needs during that week.

After first discussing the possibility of initiating a day of service of some kind, the decision was made instead to close the district on that day — a Wednesday — and to incorporate social‑emotional lessons in classes to help students process difficult emotions on the days before and after.

“Some people may not be able to get out of bed that day, and there may be some people who need to go and vol unteer their time because they need to do something,” he said in an interview in late October.

“We’re not going to do anything to make the kids think more or less about the shooting,” Gibbons said. “It’s on their mind most of every day. Every kid coming back to school after Thanksgiving, on Monday the 28th and Tuesday the 29th, knows that a year earlier those were the last normal days they had in their lives.”

Last year 15‑year‑old Ethan Crumbley wrecked a swath of destruc tion in the building, firing a 9 millimeter semiautomatic handgun purchased for him by his parents four days earlier. This year, on Oct. 25, he pleaded guilty to 24 counts, including first‑degree murder and terrorism. He faces life in prison at sentencing in February.

His parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, are charged with involuntary manslaughter for allegedly ignoring clear warnings about their son’s deterio rating mental health and instead buying him a gun with money supplied by the boy. They head to trial in January.

“Our students and our staff are resilient as all get‑out,” he said. “We cel ebrate it — in small ways we slowly take back the school life and the community life. But here’s the one thing I see as a

“The common refrain is nobody’s going to know until they get to that day.”

Over the long Thanksgiving weekend leading up to it, all of the high school’s

In a statement after the teen’s guilty plea, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer thanked the Legislature for collaborating on bipartisan legislation to help Oxford Community Schools hire mental health professionals, enhance security,

Jim Gibbons:

Stories by Brenda Ortega, MEA Voice Editor

Killed in the shooting were Hana St. Juliana, 14, Tate Myre, 15, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Justin Shilling, 17. Seven other students were injured, along with MEA member Molly Darnell, an English Language Arts teacher who shares her story publicly for the first time on page 14.

Jim Gibbons (center)

and offer additional learning time to students.

“As Michiganders we must do more to protect each other from gun violence,” Whitmer added. “Let’s work together on background checks, secure storage and red flag laws — common sense gun violence prevention mea sures to keep our communities safe.”

Two weeks later, Whitmer won re‑election to a second four‑year term

in a General Election that also flipped both the state House and Senate to Democratic control for the first time in 40 years.

As gun violence has mounted across the country, in 2020 firearm‑related injuries overtook motor vehicle crashes to become the leading cause of death for American children.

Meanwhile, a number of gun safety measures with broad public support

have been introduced in the state Legislature but have languished without a hearing.

In the past year, MEA has committed to working alongside other groups pressing for change with the forma tion of a new Protect Our Schools Action Team.

To join the effort, go to mea.org/ gunsafety

Back in May, when 19 fourth graders and two teachers were murdered by an 18‑year‑old gunman at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, Oxford High School junior Megan Pavlock felt “overwhelming sadness” that gun violence somehow keeps happening in schools and no one stops it.

Pavlock and her classmates in the International Baccalaureate programme had lost their friend, 17‑year‑old Justin Shilling, in the Oxford school shooting. “Justin was a year above us, and we only shared one class, but I always remember he was such a bright person, always cracking jokes. Really awesome.”

She and the rest of her IB cohort decided to form an official school organization they could pass down to future IB students. The Oxford Legacy Organization will support other students across the country who experience the terrible trauma of gun violence at school.

Their first project over the summer became creating 1,200 tie blankets made from a dozen pallets of fleece fabric donated by Joann Fabrics. They planned to deliver the blankets in person to every student in Uvalde, thanks to free miles donated by American Airlines.

The group joined their cause with an event planned for Uvalde survi vors by Zoe Touray, who graduated from Oxford High School last year and launched an initiative, Survivors Embracing Each Other, with a Nov. 19 fun day open to all in the Uvalde com munity (related story, page 12).

“Every single week, all summer, we would meet up at least one or two days and spend at least five hours cutting and tying fabric,” said Pavlock, now a senior looking forward to a future career in international relations or business.

“It really helps us to direct our energy towards something good, and we grew closer as a cohort. The 18 of us are like family now.”

In the wake of the Oxford shooting, MEA formed a new Protect Our Schools Action Team to press elected officials for action on hugely popular gun safety proposals. The team is led by MEA organizer Mark Hoffman, a former longtime educator and union leader in Trenton.

“Now that the election is over, we’d like to bring together a lot of people and groups that have been working separately on this issue and unite together to do something concerted and move things forward,” Hoffman said.

To join the effort, go to mea.org/gunsafety

Megan Pavlock: ‘It helps to direct our energy towards good’

Megan Pavlock (front center)

Zoe Touray: ‘They

Zoe Touray’s first solo trip away from home after she graduated from Oxford High School last spring took her to Washington, D.C. in June to speak at a Moms Demand Action rally before hundreds of people on a stage next to U.S. senators and congresspeople.

There she met other young activ ists from the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida and began to overcome her shyness and lack of confidence to tell her story, she said. Touray was interviewed by The Washington Post and appeared on numerous news outlets, including NBC.

The shooting at her school took her innocence. But speaking up about the experience of climbing out a school window and running for her life – of losing friends and classmates whose names she wears on her shirt at rallies – has also made her stronger. Touray

alone’

attended a White House celebration of the first bipartisan package of federal gun measures to pass in 30 years.

Bonding there with a young survivor from Uvalde, she was inspired to create an organization, Survivors Embracing Each Other, and an event to support the Texas community. Her idea — the Survivors United Play Day — happened in Uvalde last month.

Along with Touray, a contingent of Oxford High School students flew down for the day of fun, food and games for Robb Elementary students and their fam ilies, including 18 current Oxford seniors who made blankets for the Uvalde survivors (related story page 11).

“When Uvalde happened, it was so frustrating to deal with another big loss, especially with it being kids who were so much younger than us going through it,”

Audrey Wright: ‘We don’t have to live like this’

At Thanksgiving dinner one year ago, MEA member Audrey Wright sat with a family member who witnessed the school shooting in Parkland, Florida in 2018. Little did Wright know, within a few days her own daughter would become a survivor, too.

A 26‑year English teacher in nearby Troy, Wright has three children who all have attended Oxford Community Schools from kindergarten. Her middle child, daughter Norah, was a junior at Oxford high school when a student gunman opened fire in the building on Nov. 30, 2021.

“There’s no longer six degrees of sep aration when it comes to gun violence,” Wright said. “When you can have two school shooting survivors from two com pletely different states sitting together at one meal, it’s too much. It’s too often. It’s too many kids.”

She remembers when the word “shooting” flashed in a text from her daughter. Wright’s fifth‑hour class was working on an assignment. She fearfully locked eyes with an eighth‑grade student. Told the girl, “I think something’s going on in my daughter’s school.” The student urged her, “Go. Just run.”

She did run — to her administrator’s office, where the office secretary drove Wright to Oxford with the administrator following behind.

Since then Wright has channeled her outrage into activism via a local Moms Demand Action group to help elect supportive candidates, push for com monsense gun laws, and educate people about safe gun storage. She has been undeterred by unresponsive legislators.

“We don’t have to live like this. We are the majority, and we have to keep fighting

Touray said. “It’s been really awesome to connect with them and almost be a role model for them, so they don’t have to go through it alone.”

and spreading that message. If we don’t, then we’ve given up — and teachers and moms don’t give up when it comes to their kids.”

don’t have to go through it

“We can’t continue to put teachers in these unreasonable situations with unreasonable expectations. We’re still losing them and having trouble bringing new ones in, and that’s heartbreaking to me because I think teaching is the best job in the whole world — and the most important.”

Zoe Touray (right)

Audrey Wright (right)

Lauren Jasinski: ‘It’s

A public policy nerd since college, Lauren Jasinski always expected to expand her career beyond a high school classroom. But the devastating shooting at Oxford High School sped up her departure from teaching civics, world history, and AP Comparative Government.

“I love working with high school stu dents; I think I’m good at it. I’m incred ibly passionate about the skills taught in social studies classrooms — they’re so important right now. But between COVID and things happening in schools at a cultural level, and then the shooting, it changed my timing.”

The 10‑year teaching veteran finished out last school year, but around spring break she gave notice she would not return. “It was a decision I didn’t take lightly, and it’s still the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

On the day of the shooting, Jasinski was about to start a freshman world history class in a room so close to where the gunman opened fire it smelled of fireworks after the first few pops of noise. A student from the class, 14‑year‑old

hardest thing I’ve ever done’

Hana St. Juliana, was among four young people killed in the attack.

“Nothing could have prepared me for the amount of loss we’ve experienced, or for how non‑linear the process is of working through it,” she said. “It’s just a lot of layers of trauma, layers of heartbreak.”

Over the summer Jasinski ran for school board in Royal Oak on a platform of school safety and educator retention. She won her race on Nov. 8, arguing for educator voice in policymaking.

“We can’t continue to put teachers in these unreasonable situations with unreasonable expectations. We’re still losing them and having trouble bringing new ones in, and that’s heartbreaking to me because I think teaching is the best job in the whole world — and the most important.”

Jasinski has continued working with Oxford students who launched a nonprofit with her assistance, No Future Without Today (related story, below). She also joined the steering committee of MEA’s new Protect Our Schools Action Team.

Activism around gun violence is not new to her. She began her career in the year 20 children and six adults were killed in Newtown, Connecticut, and ended it after 19 fourth graders and two teachers were murdered last May in Uvalde, Texas.

“This is a cause I’ve always felt strongly about. It’s just that now the universe has given me something more to say about it, so if people are listening: We have to do something.”

Dylan Morris: ‘We’re making connections and meeting with people’

One of the first people to call Dylan Morris for a check‑in after he’d fled Oxford High School following a deadly shooting last year was U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin. Then a junior, Morris knew the congresswoman from his work as chairman of the Michigan High School Democrats.

“She was asking me if I was OK, if I was in school that day, and if I needed anything from her,” he said. “I was so disoriented at that point I did not know how to type or text.”

Pushed further into political activism after the horrific school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, last May, Dylan and friends Maddie Johnson and Reina St. Juliana — whose sister Hana died in the Oxford attack — launched a non‑profit organization, No Future Without Today.

The student leaders organized a March for Our Lives rally in Oxford in June, traveled to Washington, D.C. in September for a national rally and meetings with Congressional lawmakers, and recently interviewed state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D‑Royal Oak) for a new podcast.

“We’re making connections and meeting with people from the local level all the way up to the federal level to make the changes that we need,” he said, adding the group is working to expand NFWT to schools outside of Oxford and surrounding communities.

Morris first became interested in poli tics as a fifth grader volunteering to hand out bottled water amid the Flint water crisis, shocked to learn the government had so badly failed its citizens. “To see the residents there without access to

clean water was eye‑opening to me, and it got me started in activism. I want to make sure government is not overlook ing what the people need.” v

the

Lauren Jasinski

Dylan Morris

Teacher Injured in Oxford School Shares Story of Trauma and

Last year I woke up on the morning of Nov. 30 as a wife, mother, educator, friend and colleague. By the time I would come home, three unrecognizable labels had been given to me: victim, wounded, and survivor. It would take me almost a full year to accept them as part of my life story, and in doing so the past roles I was proud to wear reshaped themselves.

I will refrain from telling you all of it, but there are parts you should know to understand the impact this has had on my life. There are other things I want you to know because they are details that need to be spoken.

I was alone in my room when a commotion in the hall started. Within seconds I heard an announcement, doors slamming and three pops. They were so close together it was difficult for me to distinguish which came first or which came last, but without the former I could have easily mistaken those pops for lockers slamming.

As I raced to shut my door, I grabbed the Nightlock on the wall. Through my peripheral vision, I noticed movement in the glass window that runs floor to ceiling on the left side of my door. I locked eyes with a student I did not know. I watched as he raised his gun to me. My reaction to move right, and the door between us, saved my life. It allowed only one of the three shots fired to enter and exit my upper left arm, missing my heart by 6 inches.

By Molly Darnell

For 20 minutes, I stayed barricaded in my room before alerting anyone that I was struck. By then, I had used my cardigan as a tourniquet, and I had called my husband, whispering every word. I was not critically wounded. I waited for that deafening silence to change while I lied to myself and others that I was safe.

when I left for work that morning was taken. The life I had the life I knew was stolen.

Robbed of my sense of security and my ability to navigate the world with the same confidence and understand ing, I have withdrawn from my old life. Through months of trauma therapy,

When the sounds outside my door seemed to shift, I texted the colleague next door to me who alerted the police and administration that I was injured. By the time law enforcement extracted me from my room, shock had taken over. My entire being went into emo tional overload; I was left emotionless.

My husband took me home from the hospital in clothing that felt uncom fortable and unfamiliar. What I had put on that morning was removed by the hospital staff and taken as evidence. In every way possible, the person I was

such as EMDR, and practicing expo sure therapy in places that I no longer felt secure, I learned I could do really hard things. I don’t just visit fear, shame, anger and sadness; I sit with it.

Following months of quiet medita tion, writing to process my changing emotions, reading about trauma, and trying to understand who I am now, I realized I needed a new set of chal lenges. In August I made the necessary decision to leave the high school. A home I have known for over 20 years. I remain in Oxford as a teacher

In every way possible, the person I was when I left for work that morning was taken. The life I had — the life I knew — was stolen.

School Shooting and Change

at Oxford Virtual Academy. I’m happy and sad all at the same time.

As an educator, I trusted that the families we serve are part of a recip rocal relationship. That trust was betrayed not only on November 30th but every single day leading up to it. The parents’ decision to not get their son help, but rather to purchase him a high‑capacity weapon that was left accessible to him according to his own admission of guilt, brought dev astation to an entire community. I’m angry. Angry at their selfish decisions. Angry for what they did not do. Angry for their disregard for our community.

What I experienced in the months that followed was kindness and generosity from people within and well beyond the borders of Oxford. I needed that. But I also need change.

If you have spent enough time in education, you have been witness to loss and heartache. The most painful lesson I have learned this year is that the greatest loss is your own. Once you know that pain, it changes you. You no longer witness it, you feel it in every corner of your body when it happens to someone else.

Schools are sacred spaces where students can thrive if they feel safe. Our greatest strength is in our collective voices to advocate for safety and security of ourselves, our students, and the communities we serve. I encourage you to examine your needs and use your voice. v

Since joining Oxford Community Schools in 1998, Molly Darnell has been a high school English Language Arts teacher and secondary ELA coach, in addition to coordinator of the Middle Years Programme of the district’s International Baccaulareate programme.

Over the years Darnell has served as student council advisor, adventure club sponsor, a mentor teacher, and a board member of the International Baccaulareate Schools of Michigan.

She was named Oxford High School’s Teacher of the Year in 2003 and 2011.

Pro‑Education Candidates Surf the Blue Wave

Educators Win Legislative Seats to Clinch Democratic Majority

By Zach Crim MEA Public Affairs

When Jaime Churches’ alarm went off at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 9, in many ways it was just another day preparing to teach her fifth‑grade class in Gross Ile. But the hundreds of notifications on her phone betrayed the climactic events of the previous day and night.

Rather than the unbridled joy most candidates experience after a win, Rep.‑elect Churches felt conflicted. Her thoughts went to her students and what her life would be like without seeing them each morning. She needed time to grieve that loss.

Churches knew to plan ahead, as she expected to be physically and emo tionally drained after months on the campaign trail. She also knew an elec tion win would mean explaining what it meant and the plan for transitioning a new teacher into their classroom.

That morning in school, she sat in a child‑sized chair at the front of her class and greeted her students with her usual “buenos dias, boys and girls.” She told them she won the election, then above the applause of small hands, she added: “I want to tell you what is going to happen next.”

Churches’ victory was emblematic of a groundswell of pro‑education candi dates winning office across Michigan. Both the Michigan Senate and House flipped from Red to Blue and would be led by a Democratic majority for the first time since 1983.

Board of Trustees, University of Michigan Board of Regents, and Wayne State University Board of Governors. Both Proposal 1 and Proposal 2 passed with flying colors.

Perhaps the biggest victories came in some of the smallest races across the state. MEA locals endorsed a record number of candidates for local school boards: 355, double the number recommended last election cycle. Of those recommended candidates, nearly 75% won.

Communities across Michigan stood together and stopped in its tracks a coordinated effort for a far‑right takeover of our schools. It’s hard to overstate the impact these victories will have on the day‑to‑day lives of our members and the students they serve.

She had just been elected State Representative in Michigan’s 27th District, one of several educators elected to state office. Churches’ race had been called only an hour earlier, at 5 a.m., as one of the final seats to clinch a historic Democratic majority in both chambers of the Legislature.

Public school supporters Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson all won re‑election, with Whitmer’s opponent’s partnership with Betsy DeVos mobilizing education advocates across the state.

MEA‑recommended candidates swept races for State Board of Education, Michigan State University

Thanks to the tireless efforts of MEA members and friends of education across the state, MEA‑recommended educators like Jaime Churches will not stand alone at the Capitol. She will be joined by Sen. Erika Geiss, Sen.‑elect Darrin Camilleri, Sen. Dayna Polehanki, Rep. Regina Weiss, Rep. Lori Stone, Rep. Matt Koleszar, Rep.‑elect Jason Morgan, Rep.‑elect Dylan Wegela, and Rep. Nate Shannon — all current or former educators fighting for our neighborhood schools and supporting one another through their bittersweet transition out of the classroom.

They can take solace in knowing that their days of serving students are far from over — they’ll now simply support them from the Capitol instead of the classroom. v

Jaime Churches

You can travel the world for free and bring it back for your students

By Matt Cottone

Heart pounding, barely able to catch my breath, I quickly realized the infamous altitude of Peru at 14,000 feet wasn’t a joke. But I didn’t mind the struggle — with every gulp of air, I surveyed one of the Seven Wonders of the World in all its splendor.

I had arrived at the zenith of four years’ preparation, adversity, and struggle to gaze at the spectacular vision of Machu Picchu nestled in a plateau surrounded by peaks and ridges atop the Andes Mountains.

As a boy, looking with awe at photos of the ancient ruins of the Incan Empire in my textbook or talking about it with my dad, who also taught sixth‑grade world geography, I never imagined I would someday see it for myself — and I almost didn’t.

Just one hour prior, I was informed that my ticket to the site mistakenly had not been purchased. As friends who had journeyed with me through several years

of roller‑coaster emotions were whisked away on a bus without me, I tried to collect my thoughts from despair.

Fortunately I had assistance from our guide, Victor, who stayed back to help me. “We should run,” he said.

With little discussion we began sprinting down cobblestone streets and through back alleys past restaurants, bars, and hotels built into the surrounding hillside — everything a blur except for my faith in Victor’s ability to get me to this most sacred site.

I will never forget the feeling of literally chasing my dream. I got to live that vivid experience because I never gave up on my pursuit of free global learning opportunities that allow me to bring the world to my middle school students in Rochester Hills.

I highly recommend others do it, too. Experience the world! That is the creed that guides me in my World Studies class room at Van Hoosen Middle School — and in my life.

Victor and I clutched our sides as we made it to the ticket booth and he discussed our plight in Spanish. We hurriedly filled out paperwork and mirac ulously secured a spot on a bus to the top.

With barely an hour before the bus would arrive back at the stop, and knowing all of our problems had not been resolved, our race through the small town of Aguas Calientes — better known as Machu Picchu Town — began anew.

We had transportation but no entrance ticket. Arriving at the stop, Victor found a Spanish‑speaking local guide and the pair decided we would each refresh our phones every ten seconds, hoping to snare a cancellation. Soon Victor and the local guide shrieked — they had secured tickets. The bus arrived, Victor and I embraced, and we hopped aboard for the ride to the top.

I completed this unforgettable trip as part of an NEA Global Learning Fellowship this past summer after two years of cancellations and disappoint ment due to COVID. It was more than worth the wait.

However, I can trace the beginning of my journey to Machu Picchu all the way back to 2015, the year I completed my first international learning fellow ship with the Transatlantic Outreach Program, which allowed me to study for 15 days in Germany.

What felt like a career epiphany from that experience continues to shape not only my professional career but my life. I developed a voracious appetite for more, and to this day I continually look for new adventures to bring to my classroom and my community.

My fellowship application process for Peru with the NEA Global Learning Fellowship began in 2015 when I applied unsuccessfully. I applied for three more years, and finally in 2019 I achieved my dream of joining the fellowship.

Fellows from all 50 states spend a year in an online course and attend in‑person professional development in Washington, D.C. Upon completion, my fellows and I were beyond excited to travel to Peru in 2020, but then COVID happened.

First our trip was postponed to 2021, but as that summer rolled around COVID was still raging in the world, especially in Peru. We were told — to our deep sadness — the trip to Peru was indefinitely canceled and our fellowship had concluded.

For educators looking to pursue similar learning experiences, you can visit my educational travel blog, cottonetravel.weebly.com, where I’ve documented my experiences with videos, pictures, stories, and background information (including links to apply) on each of my fellowships.

Prime application period begins in January for the following summer’s fellowships, including for the 2024 cohort of the NEA Global Learning Fellowship. May your journey be as fulfilling as mine has been and may you help students to “experience the world”!

Each fall, I am consumed with researching opportunities and applying for summer fellowships. As my grant writing has improved, more of my appli cations have succeeded.

Procuring several fellowships enabled me to study at the San Diego Zoo, partic ipate in the Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms in Indonesia, work with T.E.A.C.H. Bahrain, train with the Korea War Legacy Foundation, and learn with the Echoes and Reflections program in Israel. Each of these programs left an indelible impact on my life and journey as an educator.

Although I’ve had many successes in applying, there have been far more failures. I implore anyone thinking of trying to get a fellowship to do so and never give up.

It was a shock and thrill several months later when the NEA Foundation informed us the program to Peru would go on in 2022!

One of the greatest aspects of travel ing in NEA’s Global Learning Fellowship is the relationships with people you meet along the way. Generally one person from every state is selected, each bringing diverse perspectives, and friendships endure.

It is truly humbling to travel with some of the most incredibly talented teachers in the U.S., and I keep in touch with the three educators I became closest to during the NEA fellowship, Andi Webb, Mary Richichi, and Sam Northern.

Our journey started in the capital city of Lima where we visited an archaeologi cal site, Huaca Huallamarca — an adobe pyramid dating back to 200 BC now

surrounded by a residential neighbor hood in the heart of the city.

The tour of Lima also took us to a school, a chocolate factory, and catacombs buried under a church. Next we journeyed to the city of Cusco in the Andean mountains.

The sites and culture of Peru were on full display as we witnessed an extravagant parade, dined on alpaca and guinea pig, visited the Incan site of Sacsayhuaman, and traveled to a remote village to participate in a service learning project for the Sacred Valley Project.

The rural village we visited, Misminay, was 90 minutes outside of Cusco where residents of the community — mostly farmers — demonstrated indigenous weaving techniques, taught us about local customs, and even got us all to dance with them.

About 120 families live in the commu nity preserving their ancestral traditions, sacredly linked with nature and their world view. Thanks to effort and team work with the community, tourism has become an additional income to agriculture and positively impacted their quality of life.

One day during lunch, I enjoyed meeting a boy from the village and using my very limited Spanish skills to carry on a rudimentary conversation with him as we sat on a rock overlooking a mountain.

Somehow we were able to commu nicate, and he was so excited to tell stories about his school and education. It reminded me that kids are kids. They all get excited over normal kid things, and they communicate with a smile.

After that, our service project involved us helping to build a dorm for indigenous

girls from rural regions to access second ary schools located far from their actual homes. My job was splitting boulders with a broken, worn sledgehammer to make way for a garden.

I alternated use of the hammer with a local man in his 50s, who was built of solid muscle, while I felt like I was dying after about 10 swings! But again we were able to communicate and laugh as we built a pile of rocks that would be used to build the wall of a gate.

I share all of this new knowledge and understanding with my students back home, along with photos, videos and souvenirs, to bring their curriculum to life — with the hope that my passion for travel and learning about other cultures will rub off on them.

My sixth graders’ eyes widen when I tell them stories about the people I meet, or talking with the president of Indonesia at a shopping mall, or standing where Judaism, Christianity, and Islam were created in Jerusalem, or visiting the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.

My amazing NEA Global Learning fellowship wrapped up with Machu Picchu. Leaving without seeing it would have left a giant hole in my heart, but thanks to Victor that didn’t happen. After the bus ride to the top, we hurriedly hiked switchbacks to the walking entrance.

I struggled to regulate my breathing for the entire forty‑five minutes at Machu Picchu. Hiking past alpaca and chinchillas, experiencing the culmination of years of anticipation, I stared in awe at a civilization’s legacy reaching across the ages.

I didn’t think my trip could grow even sweeter, but it did as I gazed at Machu Picchu in the distance and spotted my three friends. They believed I was left behind and missing the experience, so when I shouted to them, elation beamed on our all our faces.

We met back up for one last journey, fittingly, together. v

Matt Cottone teaches sixth‑grade world studies at Van Hoosen Middle School in Rochester.

Saline paraeducator named MI Education Support Staff Professional of the Year

By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor

As a sign language interpreter, MEA member Heather Dew was taught to think of herself as the unseen part of a communication triangle: A speaks to B and B speaks to A, while she serves as “the invisible C” facilitating the exchange.

Dew brought that same sensibility to her work as a paraeducator when she transitioned from her interpreting job to working with special education students in Saline Area Schools nine years ago, she said.

“I try to minimize my presence and not be so public, because if I can make it almost seem like students are not receiving support, then they don’t feel like the focus is on them and they can build their independence and their belief in themselves,” Dew said.

For her caring attitude and will ingness to do what it takes to deliver needed help to any and all students, Dew was named the 2022 Michigan Education Support Staff Professional of the Year by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) last month in a sur prise ceremony at Saline High School.

“Heather goes above and beyond in trying to help her students access the curriculum, and she is instrumental in helping the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community,” said Monica Ellis, the district’s assistant director for special education. “She’s helped us provide interpreter services for families at com munity events and IEP meetings, so she really goes beyond the school day.”

Dew described the experience of receiving the award — which she did not know she had been nominated for — as surreal. “It doesn’t feel like real life at the moment,” she said in an interview afterward.

“We don’t do it for recognition. We don’t come into our job thinking I’m going to be the best, and I’m going to get an award. I’m here for the students.”

Growing up Dew helped out in her mother’s daycare, and she put herself through interpreter school doing in‑home care for students with disabili ties. Coming from a family of educators, she initially wanted to be different and pursue a career in a field outside of education.

But after working as an interpreter for four years, she was asked to interpret for a cognitively impaired student in a CI classroom and realized she wanted more.

“I realized I didn’t want to just facilitate communication from A to B; I wanted to be in there saying ‘How can we make this student more successful? How could we better address their needs? How can we reach them in a broader sense?’”

Dew’s proudest accomplishment to date has been her work with a student who has multiple impairments, whom she started assisting at age three and continued with until he started sixth grade this year, she said.

His parents had taught him a bit of sign language, but Dew expanded his ability to sign as a preschooler, then helped him learn some speech com munication, Spanish, and how to play

the string bass, among other things. She later learned the boy’s mother nomi nated her for the award.

“We learned to play the bass together, and I played the bass right along with him, and I got to be in the concerts with him,” she said, her face beaming with a smile. “That was probably my proudest moment — him playing an instrument — and seeing this little guy who has so many impairments being so successful.”

His mother, Charlotte Nickodemus, said in an interview Dew has a knack for picking up on what her son — Jeremiah — likes and then immersing herself in bringing that forward. “It fills your cup — my heart is full of joy,” Nickodemus said. “Her skill set is just amazing with many kids — not just mine — but she’s truly one of a kind.”

Jeremiah has Down syndrome, autism, hearing loss and speech delay. Dew helped him pick an instrument to learn in fifth grade, his mom said. In addition to playing alongside him to help him learn fingering, she modified his sheet music for easier visual tracking.

“The orchestra teacher said he has never seen anything like it!” Nickodemus said in her nomination letter, adding a long list of ways that Dew has supported Jeremiah and other students through afterschool programs, class trips and special modifications — even more so during the pandemic.

“She is showing the other students and their families that my son can do things — playing the bass in orchestra, being in the class play, participating in gym class and art, attending camp and

MEA member Heather Dew, this year’s MI ESP of the Year, is a paraeducator in Saline who helps students find joy in learning, pictured here with middle schooler Jeremiah Nickodemus whose mother nominated her for the award.

being a member of the community!” she wrote.

Dew says she helps any student who needs it, not only those on her caseload. Her secret is that she loves to learn: “I don’t care what it is we’re learning, we’re going to have fun learning it together and you’re going to feel good about yourself in doing so,” she said of her philosophy.

Now in her first year at the high school, Dew has a caseload of several students with a range of accommo dations in Individualized Education Program (IEP) plans. None of her current students are deaf or hard of hearing. She accompanies some in classes and works with others on life skills in a self‑contained classroom.

“The students live with me all the time in that I’m constantly thinking How can I do better; how can I be better?” she said. “The students that struggle the most are the students I think about the most. I wonder what might possibly be shutting them down and what I can do to be consistent for them.”

High school is the level where Dew hoped to land eventually, she added. “This is the age group I really love to serve because I think they’re the ones that get lost. They’re struggling the most because they’re not little and cute anymore.”

In addition to focusing on academic skills, Dew uses a trauma‑informed approach with young people who need help learning strategies to self regulate when big emotions become overwhelming, because she knows not enough mental health care exists in the community to serve every need.

“I love to think I can get them here and I can say, ‘I see you. You’re valuable; you’re reachable; you’re worth it.’ I want to draw them out and let them feel empowered to become strong citizens when they graduate.”

Now Dew is “beyond grateful” to be among the first cohort of an innovative pilot program through the Washtenaw Intermediate School District, in collabo ration with Eastern Michigan University, to send paraprofessionals in the county

back to school to become Special Education teachers.

“My goal is to add yet another class room where students feel seen for their strengths, accepted for their struggles, and encouraged to grow,” she said.

The Education Support Staff Professional of the Year award includes a $1,000 cash prize for the winner made possible through a partnership between MDE, MEA, AFT‑Michigan, and AFSCME Council 25.

MEA President Paula Herbart attended the ceremony to present the check and congratulate Dew. “Every classroom needs a qualified paraedu cator to work alongside students who need a little bit more love, a little more listening, a little more understanding, so thank you for all that you do,” Herbart said.

Winners of the state ESP award also become Michigan’s nominee for the Inspiring School Employees (RISE) Award, coordinated by the United States Department of Education. v

First‑ever co‑presidents in Grosse

Pointe deliver new benefit to members

Jackie Shelson and Taryn Loughlin have accomplished a couple of cool firsts in the Grosse Pointe Education Association they lead.

The pair became the first co‑pres idents of the GPEA in 2021, and they worked out a first‑of‑its‑kind agree ment with the district to include free professional development with the assistance of MEA UniServ Consultant Chad Williams and the Center for Leadership & Learning providing credit options for members seeking salary advancement or recertification.

“One of our big goals as co‑pres idents is to improve the culture and everyone’s overall work experience, and doing these small things to make a teacher’s job a little bit easier goes a long way,” said Shelson, a longtime math teacher in the district.

Members can now find MEA’s peer‑led webinars in KALPA, the dis trict’s management system for tracking PD hours that accumulate into credits for lane advancement on the salary schedule. The system allows those

members who choose MEA courses to easily sign up and log hours.

“Quality professional development is a win‑win for teachers and the district, and we’re looking for ways to partner on things that are good for everybody,” said Shelson, who had previously led in the union as a building rep, delegate to the Representative Assembly, and local vice president.

“Normally you need to get outside workshop hours approved by the Human Resources (HR) department. Now instead of that process, I’m getting them pre‑approved and uploaded into KALPA, and members are able to get those hours for free instead of paying for courses and credits.”

In recent years MEA has ramped up its professional development offerings delivered by accomplished classroom practitioners, especially virtual and webinar options amid the pandemic. These high‑quality courses are free to members in good standing.

“Doing a little bit of work up front with HR streamlines the process and makes it easier for the member to take advantage of those opportunities through MEA and have them count toward salary advancement,” said Loughlin, an English teacher who previously served as a building rep and vice president of negotia tions in the local union.

In addition, the co‑pres idents were able to get MEA‑delivered sessions included at the district’s annual November profes sional learning showcase — previously an in‑house training day — expanding members’ access to

information about core teaching practices, classroom management, and LGBTQ+ issues, the latter of which was facilitated by MEA UniServ Director Grat Dalton.

“We have been having a lot of conversations about the holes in our professional development, so including MEA in a cafeteria‑style PD day is a way to address those gaps for those who are interested,” Loughlin added.

Other issues they have begun to explore as leaders include making sure teachers are adequately compensated for extra duties, including substituting during prep time, serving on commit tees, running extra‑curricular clubs and coaching.

“Teacher burnout is real, and asking teachers to do more with less has been a common thread for at least 10 years,” Loughlin said.

Both busy moms of young children, the duo agreed the key to their success so far comes from listening closely to members and cultivating relationships with all levels of district administrators.

They each bring different strengths to the role of president, a full‑time release position they now split. “She is my everything when it comes to man aging the stress and the duties, because both of us put our heart and soul into making things better,” Shelson said.

Delivering great professional devel opment more efficiently and affordably to members who need it — while giving them a means to increase their compensation — is what innovative leaders do, said MEA UniServ Director Freya Weberman.

“This is a great example of how MEA is elevating the profession by helping the professionals, the kids and the communities we serve,” she said. v

Taryn Loughlin and Jackie Shelson

Study finds school reform has left rural communities behind

Education policies pursued for the past two decades in Michigan have ignored the needs of rural school districts, which has reduced opportunities of students and stymied community development in areas facing serious economic hardship, a new study has found.

School reforms favored by poli cymakers over the past 20 years — test‑based accountability and school choice — have had a “decidedly urban emphasis,” according to the report issued this fall by researchers at Michigan State University.

“Meanwhile, policymakers in most states have largely ignored educational conditions in rural areas, even though these areas endure some of the coun try’s most challenging contexts,” the report says.

The three‑year study analyzed data from all Michigan rural schools and took a deeper dive into 25 diverse and geo graphically representative rural school districts through surveys, interviews and focus groups.

Led by David Arsen, an MSU professor of Education Policy, the study identified key problem areas that represent the biggest challenges for rural schools and the ways in which one‑size‑fits‑all state policies are poorly aligned to address them.

The problem areas — teacher recruit ment and retention, student mental health, broadband access, school fund ing, and state reporting requirements — were “highly problematic before the pandemic and grew more so during the pandemic,” according to the report.

Michigan’s rural school districts com prise nearly 90% of the state’s land area and two‑thirds of the school districts, yet they enroll less than one‑third of the state’s K‑12 students, said MEA Economist Tanner Delpier, a co‑author of the study.

Low and declining enrollments mean rural districts experience “diseconomies of scale,” Delpier said. “For example, if you only have 15 third graders instead of 25 third graders, you still have one class; you still have to pay the teacher.”

In addition, more students in rural districts take the school bus each day, but where suburbs and cities average 137 kids per square mile, rural districts average eight students per square mile.

The study concluded, “Unless the actual costs of educating students in rural schools are recognized in state funding, students in rural communities will not have equitable access to edu cational opportunities on par with their peers in nonrural schools.”

The report is meant to spark dialogue about how to replace one‑size‑fits‑all state policies with place‑based, rural‑conscious options with broad potential for big payoffs to the state.

“In research and policy circles, we are accustomed to thinking about how communities (e.g. families’ socioeco nomic status) affect schools. But we also need to be much more mindful of how schools affect communities,” the report concluded.

“Integrated efforts to advance educational opportunities in Michigan’s schools will spur needed development in the state’s rural communities.” v

Rural (green) school districts comprise 88% of Michigan’s land area. Read more at mea.org/msu rural ed study. (Source: MSU College of Education)

Teacher recruitment and retention — among the biggest challenges identified by 80% of rural school superintendents — is a growing issue statewide but rep resents an especially acute problem in rural districts which today “often receive few, if any, applicants for open teaching positions,” the report said.

“While Michigan was once an exporter of teachers to other states, producing far more educators than our schools needed, now the state leads the nation in the rate of decline in teacher preparation program completers.

“This decline in new teachers far outpaces the decline in Michigan’s K‑12 enrollment, which has contributed significantly to a growing statewide teacher shortage.”

MESSA gives thanks to Michigan school employees

As we all celebrate the holiday season , we at MESSA want to thank you for everything you do as school employees for our children and communities.

MESSA is a nonprofit organization created and led by education employ ees that provides quality health benefits to MEA members and their families because our mission is to make a positive impact on your lives.

We know your job is demanding and stressful. You give up personal and family time to grade papers, attend conferences and prepare lessons. You make sure our kids get to and from school safely on the bus. You prepare breakfast and lunch in the cafeteria to ensure our kids have a good, hearty meal each day.

You deserve exceptional health coverage, peace of mind and unmatched personal service that helps you navigate the complex world of health care.

Why? Because you earned it.

Our appreciation for public school educators runs deep. We have you in mind when we come to work every day to make sure we are providing you with quality service.

So, on behalf of us at MESSA, thank you for everything you do to care for our children, schools and communities. v

By Ross Wilson, MESSA Executive Director

MEA Scholarship — apply now

The 2023 MEA Scholarship application form and eligibility requirements are now available online at mea.org/mea‑scholarship. The application deadline is Feb. 23, 2023.

Eligible students include dependents of MEA and MEA‑Retired members in good standing who attend or will attend a Michigan college, university or vocational training institution.

Last year, 22 new winners and 27 returning college students were awarded scholarships totaling $56,800. For additional information, contact Barb Hitchcock at bhitchcock@mea.org.

Cleorah Scruggs‑DeBose, award‑winning longtime MEA member, saw the curriculum reflected little diversity when she began teaching in Flint in 1970, so she infused multicultural learning into lessons; led NEA to adopt National Multicultural Diversity Day; and still runs a non profit that hosts an annual event to celebrate diverse cultures.

Where did you grow up, and how did you become a teacher? I grew up in a very fun loving, church orientated home in Akron, Ohio. My family was very giving. On Sundays when my mother was preparing dinner and getting us ready for church, she would always say, “Well, I’m going to cook enough in case somebody

wants to stop by. You never know, so we’ll put one more potato in the pot.” People knew they were always welcome. I’m the oldest of five children, and Mom would have me helping the younger ones with their homework. That leadership position is how I became a teacher. I love serving and helping others.

What spurred your action when you started teaching 50 years ago? I looked over my classroom and I said, “All these beautiful multicultural children, and yet I don’t have the representation in this classroom.” When they walk in, they need to see themselves. They need to Wow, this is where I need to be. I feel . Here I was, I had been certified to teach elementary school children, but in my toolbox I didn’t have anything on multicultural diversity. So I found myself teaching in the day, and then evenings and nights doing research and trying to get something together so my students would feel the inclusivity that I knew they needed.

How did students respond as you brought more cultural perspectives into your teaching?

I saw a more positive attitude. They started looking at things differently, treating each other differently. They needed to see various cultures represented and their contributions to history, like one of my favorite quotes says: “Let’s not hesitate to appreciate because we all have done something to make America great.”

Is that what you presented in 1993 to persuade the NEA Representative Assembly to adopt the third Monday in October as National Multicultural Diversity Day? The concept in my heart then and still today is that we have to embrace inclusivity, we have to embrace equality. We have to embrace that everybody is important

and everybody should have a seat at the table. And we need to not be satisfied until that’s accomplished because we all have something to contribute given a chance.

Then you also formed a non‑profit National Multicultural Diversity Institute (NMDI), which this year celebrated the 30th annual community cultural event in Flint. What does that look like? We have good food from different cultures, and we encourage ethnic attire, but it’s just optional. We start out with workshops and displays, and we have important speakers come and talk. Our program this year and last year was centered on the horrific water crisis in Flint, with a theme of respecting clean water as a basic human and civil right. At the end we have a beautiful multicultural fashion show, and then we have a drawing of prizes from donations we get from the community. I couldn’t do it without the help of my outstanding and dedicated friend Phyllis Clark, and my husband (Paul Lawrence DeBose). My mother, who’s 93, is our spiritual advisor. We’re exhausted by the time it’s over, and we always need more money and more volunteers.

You retired from the classroom 22 years ago, and today we have politicians trying to prevent teaching about race and diversity in America. What keeps you going? Helen Keller said, “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. Because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.” Hope isn’t optional—we have to have hope. We have to have love if we’re going to make it in these tumultuous times. We have to be strong for those that are coming behind us, those that are walking beside us. As the song says, “I’ve come too far from where I started from. Nobody told me that the road would be easy, but I must keep on keeping on.” v

You deserve THE BEST

As a nonprofit founded and governed by public school employees, we at MESSA understand the challenges and stressors facing educators and school support staff — especially these days. Here’s what we’re providing to give you peace of mind:

• Excellent mental health coverage for you and your dependents.

• Complimentary access to MyStressTools to help you manage stress and anxiety.

• Free worksite wellness programs to help improve your physical and mental health. Learn about these and other member-exclusive programs at messa.org or call us at 800-336-0013. We’re here to help.