Nearly every big legal question that affects our nation's students and educators eventually makes its way to the Supreme Court. It's essential that we know any new Justice will protect students, and stand up for public education. But Neil Gorsuch, President Trump's nominee, has a track record that suggests he'll be dangerous for students and educators. With everything that's at stake, we must stop Gorsuch. Sign the petition. Tell your senators to vote no on Gorsuch.  Gorsuch is wrong for students, wrong for educators, and wrong for the Supreme Court. Add your name, and demand your senators vote no on Gorsuch. Alice O'Brien NEA General Counsel

ENDS FRIDAY $25 RESTAURANT CERTIFICATE FOR $4 Members exclusively get $25 restaurant certificates for $4  (endsFriday). Certificates never expire, so don't forget to take advantage of this limited time member pricing. View some of the most popular cuisines available below. View Restaurants near Grand Haven >

Website         About Us          Leadership          Chapters         Calendar          FAQ February 2017 MEA-Retired News OUR WEBSITE HAS BEEN REMODELED! TAKE A PEEK:  CLICK HERE TO GO TO WWW.MEA-RETIRED.ORG. CONTACT STATE REPS TO OPPOSE INCOME TAX ROLLBACK While MEA is glad to see lawmakers included a "hold harmless" provision for the School Aid Fund in proposed income tax legislation HB 4001, that doesn't solve the long-term problems caused by eliminating a major revenue stream for our state to proide essential services to its citizens. Police and fire. Children's health care. Safe roads and water. These are all things that the state needs to pay for to ensure students - and everyone who calls Michigan home - have the quality of life we need to have a thriving state. Incrementally rolling back the income tax over the next four decades creates a 40-yr path to the bottom of a very deep budget hole. Both community colleges and universities would likely see funding cuts due to an income tax phase out. And eventually the lack of state revenue would cause cuts to K-12 schools when the money simply isn't there anymore to hold them harmless. That's why MEA is joining many other groups in asking our members to call and email state representatives and ask them to vote NO on HB 4001. Leaders in the House are pushing for a vote quickly on this legislation, perhaps as early as today.  Voters deserve to know now from lawmakers what they intend to cut in order to balance the budget - not a reverse IOU where a small tax cut costs midle class and working families the public services they need to keep their families safe, healthy, educated, and happy. Just look at what happened in Kansas when Republicans there pushed through a similar income tax cut, with the same promises that reducing taxes would stimulate economic growth and spur job creation. Crain's Detroit Business laid out the catastrophic results in a recent article:      "From the end of 2012 to early 2016, Kansas' GDP grew at less than half the national rate. Cuts in state revenue forced K-12 schools to close early and led to funding reductions for universities. To balance the budget, Kansas Gov Sam Brownback siphoned hundreds of millions of dollars from state highway funds. Moody's twice downgraded the state's bond rating. As of November, Kansas was still laboring to close a $345 million budget hole." Please take a few minutes today to contact your state representative and urge him/her to vote no on HB 4001.   MEA OPPOSES PROVISIONS IN COMMON CORE BILL  A bill to repeal the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in Michigan also would allow parents to opt their students out of anay school activity - including classroom tests and assignments - among a number of poorly-designed provisions in the proposal.  No educator voices were included in discussions of what should replace the CCSS under a repeal. House Bill 4192, proposed by Rep. Gary Glenn (R-Midland) would adopt Massachusetts state standards from 2009 - before that state opted to switch to the Common Core. Michigan school districts would be allowed to vary from the standards, based on local school board decisions about curricula, yet educators would still be held accountable for student performance on standardized state assessments - which would change to tests used by Massachusetts prior to 2010. At a House committee hearing last week, speakers noted that the higher performance of Massachusetts students on standardized tests could be related to the fact that that state spends $1 billion more on educating approximately 3 million fewer students than Michigan.  Asked by Rep. Abdullah Hammoud (D-Dearborn) if a high school would be required to award diplomas to students who opted out of classroom tests and exams, Glenn could not provide an answer. The Detroit Free Press called the plan "madness" in a column after the hearing. MEA opposes making rushed changes to standards after educators have spent countless hours working on implementation, and more than $250 million has been spent on materials and training related to the CCSS, a set of rigorous expectations adopted by more than 40 states in recent years. HB 4192 would not allow further changes to the standards for five years. Under the bill, school districts could adopt curricula that differ from the standards. Districts would be required to develop a curriculum plan by grade level and make it available for public review and comment. "This is a complex issue that imposes changes to standards which do not carefully address the needs of Michigan's students and educators," MEA Lobbyist David Michelson said.   5 NAMES POLITICIANS USE TO SELL PRIVATE-SCHOOL VOUCHER SCHEMES TO PARENTS www.EdVotes.org Our new Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has been called a "four-star general in the privatization movement." One of the most destructive weapons this general has in her arsenal to use against public schools is voucher schemes. Voucher proponents like DeVos almost never call them vouchers. Instead, they attempt to mislead parents, taxpayers, and voters by re-branding these plots to drain and defund public education with some pleasant-sounding, flowery name plucked from the school-choice lexicon - BEWARE of: 1. Opportunity Scholarships 2. Parental Choice Scholarships 3. Tuition Tax Credits 4. Education Savings Accounts 5. Charitable Tax Credit  READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE - CLICK HERE. CLICK HERE for another article from EdVotes.org: Senate confirms DeVos; educators vow to continue historic advocacy, accountability DeVos: Critics want to "make my life a living hell" Washington Post, 2/17/17 In her first full week as U.S. education secretary, Betsy DeVos wasted no time in getting to work to try to explain her vision for education and the U.S. Education Department - and to go after her critics, saying they want to make her life "a living hell." She also said she has identified people in the department who want her to fail, but vowed not to let them. Her nomination by President Trump sparked an unprecedented backlash, and she was confirmed on Feb. 7 in the Senate only after Vice President Pence cast the first-ever vote to break a tie for a Cabinet nominee. Her backers see her as a champion of school choice and alternatives to traditional public schools, while opponents say her decades of advocacy work show that she wants to privatize the public education system. CLICK HERE for the complete article. Secretary Betsy DeVos on first school visit: "Teachers are waiting to be told what they have to do"  Sarah Darville  CHALKBEAT, 2/17/17 Here's how Sec DeVos described the discussion she had with teachers during her one of her first school visits in Washington, D.C: "I visited a school on Friday and met with some wonderful, genuine, sincere teachers who pour their heart and soul into their classrooms and their students and our conversation was not long enough to draw out of them what is limiting them from being even more success[ful] from what they are currently. But I can tell the attitude is more of a 'receive mode.' They're waiting to be told what they have to do, and that's not going to bring success to an individual child. You have to have teachers who are empowered to facilitate great teaching."   CLICK HERE for the rest of the article .  Download the February 17, 2017 Friday Alert from the Alliance for Retired Americans - CLICK HERE.    Thank you for your continued support of MEA-Retired!  from MEA-Retired leadership Pres. Judy Foster, VP Kay Walker, Sec/Treas. Dan Rudd, & MEA's Lisa Andros Visit Our Website!

February 21, 2017 NEA MEMBER BENEFITS NEA TOOLS AND IDEAS MEMBERS AND EDUCATORS HOME Secure A Teaching Job for 2017-2018 - We'll Show You How. It's about that time when most teachers begin thinking about the upcoming school year. Whether you're just beginning your career or looking to make a change, you're invited to a free online job fair brought to you by Education Week's TopSchoolJobs. Register Today Why Join This Upcoming Online Job Fair? Loads of Opportunities. From Social Studies to STEM to Language Arts, hiring staff from across the nation will be in attendance looking to fill thousands of positions in grades K-12. You can expect to see recruiters from districts large and small, public and private, and rural and urban areas (plus, everything in between!) New York City DoE, Milwaukee Public Schools, Boston Public Schools, Oakland City Schools, Hawaii DoE, and many more will be in attendance!Tons of Flexibility.  As a teacher, we know that your schedule is demanding and time away from the classroom is limited. The good news is that you can have 1:1 conversations with recruiters from anywhere - your office, home, or even your phone if you're on the go. Now that's an efficient way to network! And Convenience. Our free job fair takes place from 10 AM and lasts until 6 PM. Join during your lunch break, after work - whenever your schedule allows.[The Details] Thursday, March 2 10 AM - 6 PM ET - join anytime! Secure your spot - - register now. Register Today Prepare for the career fair by joining our free webinar titled, How to Find the Right Teaching Job taking place on Tuesday, 2/28 at 2 PM. Register now.

Action Alert / Call your State Rep

Member Login Directions At the top right hand corner of the website there are two gray boxed - username and password. Members can login with these credentials:  Example a Thomas Smith would login as follows: Username: (first letter of his first name + last name  = tsmith Password: (last four digits of his Social Security Number) If you have any login problems please send an email to the email address at the bottom. Visit Our Website!

New MEA-Retired Website Launches   We would like to invite all Michigan Public School retirees to click on and explore our newly designed website, www.mea-retired.org.   The new design is optimized for tablets and smart phones.  About 60 percent of our emails are opened by tablets/smartphones.  You will find a reorganized and attractive website that focuses on information that is important to public school retirees.  The first thing you will notice is the announcementssection which draws attention to pictures of member activity and features an article of current interest and importance to retired school employees.   The GRAY-COLORED DROP DOWN MENU  at the top of the page is a navigation pathway to information about the workings of our organization.  Here you will find archived copies of MEA-Retired publications such as the quarterly Michigan Retirement Report and monthly Tribune newsletter.  Click on CHAPTERS to find our 38 local chapters around the state, some of which have their own websites.  Under the MEMBERSHIP tab you will find information on how to become a lifetime member, how the AIM membership program works, and the importance of becoming a lifetime member of MEA-Retired.    The RESOURCES tab found both on the top right side of the home page as well on the far left is perhaps the most useful to members.  Here you will find the updated and current publications from MPSERS (Michigan Public School Employee Retirement System) and our insurance providers.  We have posted links to MPSERS charts which allow retirees to easily compare the differences in coverage and out-of-pocket costs among the five health care providers from which we can choose.  There are 14 links under the insurance tab alone including the insurance rates of BCBS and other information. We included phone numbers and links to all of our providers.  The RESOURCES tab also is an important gateway to information about Social Security and Medicare.   If you are a lifetime NEA/MEA member, you need to log in at the top right of the website.  Once you log in, an additional blue colored drop down menuappears.  Here you can explore menu items just for members such as Leadership, Documents and Forms, Governance, Committees, and Political Information.  Directions for explaining how members can log in are written in an accompanying article found below.   Whether you are a lifetime member or not, we hope MEA retirees find our website useful and informative.     Member Login Directions At the top right hand corner of the website there are two gray boxed - username and password. Members can login with these credentials:  Example a Thomas Smith would login as follows: Username: (first letter of his first name + last name  = tsmith Password: (last four digits of his Social Security Number) If you have any login problems please send an email to the email address at the bottom. Visit Our Website!

13 easy ways you can stymie Trump-DeVos, advocate for students, public schools You called, emailed, marched and told everyone on Facebook how much you care about public education. Now it's time to take that energy/frustration/inspiration and stand up for your local public school! Iowa lawmakers side with the Kochs and ALEC, vote to silence educators, public workers On Thursday, Iowa's Republican Senate and House majority passed a bill that strips educators, nurses, firefighters and other public service workers of their right to negotiate collectively for better learning environments for students, better working conditions and the ability to earn a living that supports their families. Three more states propose balancing budgets on the backs of students Judging by the budgets and bills being proposed by governors and state legislatures, austere conditions will remain in many public schools for the foreseeable future. I went to Rep. Chaffetz's town hall and I was not alone Utah Education Association member Chelsie Acosta shares her experience attending Rep. Chaffetz's recent town hall, which made national news headlines. Action of the Week Educate Betsy DeVos about the importance of public schools! Stay up to date through social media! Get real-time updates on all the latest political and education news by following us on Facebook and Twitter.    Featured Media Share the We've Just Begun graphic on Facebook Share on Twitter Share the Facebook Live graphic on Facebook Share on Twitter  Share the PA Gov. Tom Wolf graphic on Facebook  Share the VA Gov. Terry McAuliffe graphic on Facebook  Share the WA Gov. Jay Inslee graphic on Facebook  Share the MN Gov. Mark Dayton graphic on Facebook

Issue #254 | February 17, 2017 Response to DeVos nomination shows a nation committed to public education Voucher advocate Betsy DeVos was narrowly voted in as secretary of education, but not before a historic public outcry resulted in more than one million letters and over 80,000 phone calls to Senators in opposition. All Democrats and two Republicans, Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME), stood up for public education and voted against DeVos, leading to a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Mike Pence. Educators played a leadership role in the broad-based, bipartisan challenge to a nominee who spent a career supporting vouchers and other forms of privatization. Commenting on the vote, NEA President Lily Eskelsen García said that the outcome "marks only the beginning of the resistance. Students, educators, parents, civil rights and special education advocates-along with millions of Americans-are speaking loud and clear: we are here to stay...we will protect public education." Eskelsen García added that: "We are going to watch what Betsy DeVos does.  And we are going to hold her accountable for the actions and decisions she makes on behalf of the more than 50 million students in our nation's public schools." DeVos signals scaled-back consolidated state plan template In her first major announcement since confirmation, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos encouraged states to continue their work under the current April 3 and September 18 state plan submission guidelines, but indicated that submission requirements may be modified by March 13, 2017. In a February 10 letter to chief state school officers, DeVos said that the Department of Education (ED) was reviewing the consolidated state plan template to ensure that its requirements are consistent with an ESEA provision that only allows ED to require consolidated plan information that is "absolutely necessary." DeVos explained in the letter that ED: ... in consultation with SEAs as well as other State and local stakeholders, will develop a revised template for consolidated State plans that meets the "absolutely necessary" requirement by March 13, 2017. The Department may also consider allowing a State or group of States to work together to develop a consolidated State plan template that meets the Department's identified requirements through the Council of Chief State School Officers. DeVos said that states could look to the current guidance until the revisions are announced, since ED would not be adding additional requirements. ED releases accountability FAQs ED released 58 pages of FAQs on accountability in the final days of John King's tenure as secretary of education. The detailed FAQs focus on the state accountability system, the accountability indicators, annual meaningful differentiation of schools, and identification of schools. The FAQs add to substantial guidance previously issued by ED on how to comply with its final rule on accountability and state plans, including the consolidated state plan template and the consolidated state plan template guidance. An example of an accountability FAQ involves the definition of "consistently underperforming" subgroups. ED's proposed accountability rule was widely criticized for saying that "consistently" meant two years in a row since ESSA states, in an apparent effort to move past the federally prescribed two-year requirement in NCLB, that the definition of "consistently underperforming" must be state determined. The final rule modified ED's original proposal, to a degree, stating that "consistently" means two years unless the state can demonstrate to ED that it has a better alternative. ED uses the FAQ on "consistently underperforming" to again argue against anything more than two years, and reminds states that they "must make the required demonstration" if they want to use a different period of time. Ohio online charter faces penalties for inflated enrollment claims Charter accountability legislation successfully advocated by the Ohio Education Association, NEA's state affiliate, has led to a state audit finding that the state's largest online charter operator, the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT), inflated its student attendance to secure $106 million in taxpayer funds. ECOT claimed enrollment of more than 15,000 students in 2016, but the audit found that only 40 percent of its students met the full-time enrollment requirements necessary for state funding. ECOT faces penalties of more than $60 million, pending the outcome of an appeal. The Columbus Dispatch conducted a random sample of 699 ECOT students and found that for the 2015-16 school year the majority logged in so infrequently they would qualify as truant under Ohio law. According to the Dispatch, while 2,674 enrolled ECOT students graduated last spring, 3,252 dropped out. ECOT's graduation rate of 39 percent was less than half the state's 83 percent rate and far lower than any of Ohio's six largest urban public school districts. One of six dropouts in Ohio is an ECOT student. To put the $106 million of Ohio taxpayer dollars going to ECOT in perspective, the governor's proposed increase in funding for all of Ohio's 610 school districts for next year is $64.4 million, and $106 million would fund approximately half the yearly cost of offering universal kindergarten statewide. For more on the ECOT controversy, read this story in NEA Today. ED details state requirements for English learners On January 18, ED released detailed guidance for states on the sections of the final accountability rule impacting English learners. The guidance, titled Resource Guide: Accountability for English Learners under the ESEA, covers state goals and measurements of interim progress, progress in achieving the English language proficiency indicator, English learners with disabilities, recently arrived English learners, and former English learners. Take Action Tell Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos that parents, students and educators need answers about her commitment to public education. Add your name here to NEA President Lily Eskelsen García's letter asking the secretary for answers to four critical questions about her plans that were not addressed substantively at the nomination hearings.

Website         About Us          Leadership          Chapters         Calendar          FAQ Dear David,   Greetings! As one of more then 34,000 Lifetime Members of MEA/NEA-Retired, you have the opportunity to have your voice heard in February by exercising your right and responsibility to vote for delegates to represent you for three years at the MEA and NEA Representative Assemblies. You are welcome to contact me and, if I can do so, I will be happy to answer any questions you may have about candidates. I urge you to be part of the democratic process and vote for those you feel will best serve you, a member of this dynamic, important organization.  Dan Rudd, MEA-Retired Election Chair, papadan43@comcast.net VOTING BY PAPER BALLOT: If you are one of the over 200 members who submitted an application for a paper ballot, remember that it must be postmarked by Friday, February 17 in order to be counted. VOTING ONLINE: Although the window during which you may vote online begins February 6 and runs through February 17, I urge you to vote in the early days of the voting period in case you run into "glitches" in the voting process and need to be issued a paper ballot. VOTING IN REGIONS 3 AND 13: Region 3 members will also be electing their representative to the MEA-Retired Board of Directors. Candidates for that position are Elias Chapa and Pamela Schultz. Region 13 members will also be electing their alternate representative to the MEA-Retired Board of Directors. Candidates for that position are Robin Aslakson and Alice Cunningham ONLINE VOTING INSTRUCTIONS Beginning February 6, 2017, MEA-Retired members may cast their ballots for MEA-Retired delegates to the MEA Representative Assembly, the NEA Representative Assembly, and the NEA-Retired Annual Meeting as well as Region Directors, if needed. On-line voting will begin at 8 a.m. EST on February 6, 2017 and will continue until 4 p.m. February 17, 2017. HERE'S HOW: You can use any computer with internet access-your own computer, your neighbor's, your grandchildren's or one at your local library. 1.  Go to the MEA website at www.mymea.org/onlinevoting 2.  Follow the Login instructions: First Name (often your legal first name)          Last Name Last four digits of your social security number   3.  Click the "Login" button. 4.   If your record is found and the polls are open, your ballot will be displayed. 5.   Select the people for whom you wish to vote. Clicking the "Additional Info" link next to a ballot item will allow you to read biographical information on the candidate if it has been submitted. 6.  Once you have made your selections, click the "Confirm Ballot" button. 7.    A preview of your ballot selections will be shown. To modify any of your selections, click the "Modify Ballot" button. 8.   To cast your ballot, click the "Cast Ballot" button. Once your ballot is cast, you will see a confirmation page. Click the "Sign Out" link to log out of the system.   If you have any problems using the MEA Online Voting application, please contact the MEA IT Department at 517-337-5440 from 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday through Friday. If you call after hours, please leave a voicemail and personnel will return your message as soon as possible. Thank you voting in the MEA-Retired election!   Visit Our Website!