My GHEA Rocks!

Can't see the images? View as webpage   Forward March 2, 2018 MEA members, Throughout the day, MEA has been monitoring the situation around the shooting at Central Michigan University that locked down that campus and the surrounding K-12 school systems. While the shooter has not been apprehended as of this writing, we know that law enforcement has been helping to ensure that the students and employees of both the university and the surrounding school districts are safe and are getting home to their families.  We know today has been a terrifying and trying experience for both our members and students, but we believe all are safe, which is the most important thing. Earlier, I emailed our members affected by today’s events and offered whatever assistance they and their students need moving forward.  We’re asking members who need help, either for their students or themselves, to reach out and let us know how we can be of service – if we don’t have the resources they need, we will do everything we can to help find them. NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia contacted me earlier today and committed whatever help our national affiliate can provide as well. For starters, NEA has resources available for all members online at www.nea.org/safeschools to help in talking with students about the all-too-common instances of school violence we’ve been experiencing. If there are things our members across the state can do to help our colleagues in the Mt. Pleasant area, we will let you know. As I told our local members earlier, there aren’t words to express the sadness that I and others feel when these violent events happen at places dedicated to student learning.  Together, we will work to bring an end to these school shootings – but for now, our attention is firmly on what our colleagues and their students need...and we are deeply thankful they are safe. In solidarity, Paula Herbart MEA President   Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram

Can't see the images? View as webpage   MEA will be lining up charter buses for interested members to attend the March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C. on March 24, a rally for sensible gun laws organized by Parkland, Fla. students in the wake of a deadly school shooting on Feb. 14. Join us in the movement to protect kids, not guns! Sign up now to reserve your seats!  MEA and MEA-Retired members in good standing can ride on the buses for free. In addition, each member is allowed to bring one guest for $50. A guest who is a minor must be the member’s own child, and a waiver will need to be on file before Friday, March 23. Student organizers and supporters of March For Our Lives say the event is meant to pressure lawmakers to make student lives and school safety a priority. The rally for comprehensive gun reform in Washington, D.C. will be echoed in similar events happening that day across the U.S. Buses will leave from Grand Rapids, East Lansing, and Lathrup Village at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, March 23, and will return to Michigan the morning of Sunday, March 25. Questions, concerns? Contact Kari Guy at kguy@mea.org. Learn more about the national event at www.MarchForOurLives.com. Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram

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Can't see the images? View as webpage   Forward February 28, 2018 MEA members, Following on President Trump’s call to arm teachers, some Michigan lawmakers are crafting legislation that would allow guns in schools. Instead of listening to countless educators who’ve said they need to be armed with real solutions – not guns – at least two Michigan representatives, Jim Runestad (R-White Lake) and Gary Glenn (R-Midland), are working on legislation to allow guns in schools.  Before these bills get introduced – on top of the ones already in the House to allow concealed weapons in schools – MEA members need to make their voices heard that more guns in school isn’t a solution to keep our students safe. Please add your name today to the thousands who’ve already signed our petition – and share your thoughts about what you do need to be armed with to help students. Educators are experts at meeting individual students’ needs – not in identifying and taking down an active shooter in a hallway.  There are experts who know how to handle that situation: law enforcement professionals...that’s why they’re the only ones who should have a gun in a school. Unfortunately, according to the Detroit Free Press, Runestad and Glenn have other ideas:   State Rep. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, will schedule hearings this spring on a bill that he’s drafting that will allow school districts to provide access to guns in locked, undisclosed locations in school buildings to teachers who volunteer and who are trained in firearm use. The teachers would have to go through 80 hours of training on how to shoot a gun, gun safety, how to engage with an active shooter and tactics to de-escalate a dangerous situation. The guns would be hidden in locked compartments that would only be accessible through the thumbprint of approved school employees.   “There are some teachers who I wouldn’t feel safe around if they had a butter knife,” Runestad said. “But this is something that will make a difference.” Two other bills that are being developed by Rep. Gary Glenn, R-Williams Township, take two approaches to guns in schools: One would let local school districts allow employees with concealed carry weapons permits and extra training to carry guns in schools, the other would have the state mandate that school employees with CCWs be allowed to bring their guns to schools. Now is the time to stand against these efforts that won’t keep our students and school employees safe.  Sign the petition today – and encourage others to do the same! In solidarity, Doug Pratt MEA Director of Public Affairs   Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram

February 22, 2018 Dear Friend, In case you missed it, President Trump yesterday floated the idea of arming teachers as a solution to school violence.  While many across the country scorned the idea – and rightly so – we know here in Michigan that he’s not alone in his thinking. Last year, just days after the Texas church shootings that killed 26, the State Senate passed SBs 584-586, that would allow concealed handguns into gun-free zones like schools and churches, regardless of whether a community approved or not. Arming teachers and allowing school visitors to carry concealed weapons will not make students safer.  As an educator, my expertise is helping students learn – not identifying who should or shouldn’t have a weapon and accurately firing on an active shooter.  That expertise belongs to trained law enforcement officers, which is why they should be the only people with a gun in a school. In talking with MEA members, I’ve found the vast majority agree that guns have no place in our schools – which is why we’ve launched this petition so we can share that widely-held belief with lawmakers in Lansing. Educators don’t need to be armed with guns – we need to be armed with smaller class sizes, adequate supplies, more school counselors and social workers, and other common-sense solutions. Please sign the petition – and share it with others so they can sign as well.  When you do, be sure to leave your comments about what real solutions you want to be armed with to ensure students have a safe learning environment. In solidarity, Paula Herbart MEA President

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