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Legal Questions

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Educators and Immigration Advocacy

All students have the right to a free public education in this country regardless of their immigration status. With new emphasis on immigration policy enforcement, students are understandably and justifiably anxious. It is essential that all schools provide a welcoming and supportive environment. If you choose to be an educator-advocate for immigrant student rights, you […]
Pedagogy

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Assessment Literacy Is a Necessary Skill for Today’s Educator

Dawn Pipkin is an instructional resource teacher and National Board Certified Teacher at Leonardtown Middle School in St. Mary’s County. She represents MSEA on MSDE’s Professional Standards in Teacher Education Board and serves as its vice-chair. Educators are harnessing the power of technology each day in order to facilitate quality instruction and assess student learning. […]
Testing

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YOU DID IT!

It’s one of the biggest wins for public education in years — passage of the Protect Our Schools Act means Maryland is standing up to the Hogan/DeVos/Trump privatization agenda. There’s more: passage of the More Learning, Less Testing Act means educators will have time to nurture creativity and help students develop the higher-level critical thinking skills they […]
Racial and Social Justice

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Update: Supporting Our LGBTQ Students

When President Obama issued a directive last May protecting the right of transgender students to use the restrooms and lockers that match their gender identities, many students and their allies felt some sense of relief and acknowledgement. MSDE followed that up with guidelines that allow students to use the facilities they choose and that policy […]
Education Support Professionals

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My Turn: Meet Janice McRae — An Activist on Many Fronts

Janice McRae is a special education paraeducator at Sussex Elementary School in Baltimore County. She is a member of the Educational Support Professionals of Baltimore County (ESPBC). First and foremost, I’m passionate about working with special needs children. It’s a joy, a privilege, and my pleasure to work and interact with these amazing learners. It’s my […]
Union Updates

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Newly-Elected MSEA Leaders to Focus on the 2017–2018 Educators’ Agenda

When MSEA’s Board of Directors meets in September to discuss the 2017–2018 Educators’ Agenda, five new faces will be seated at the table, the largest turnover in many years. Newcomers Erika Strauss Chavarria, Howard, and Brian Donoughe, Howard, were elected to the NEA and MSEA boards of directors. They will join Russell Leone, Anne Arundel, […]
Testing

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Betty Weller: We Should All Be Proud

Betty Weller, MSEA President What a great General Assembly session! First, we passed the Protect Our Schools Act that gives Maryland a school accountability system that truly invests in and improves our schools by placing less emphasis on standardized testing and broadening the focus of what’s needed to create a great school — closing opportunity gaps, increasing […]
Teacher Toolkit

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“Mrs. Fitzsimmons, We Need You in Room 113, Please.”

Meet Sarah Fitzsimmons, a licensed clinical professional counselor and National Board Certified Counselor at Carroll Manor Elementary in Baltimore County. Carroll Manor is recognized as an American School Counselor Association Model Program. WALKIE TALKIE My walkie is a toolkit must! The administration and school secretaries can communicate with me about a classroom I need to […]
Testing

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“With More Time to Teach, We’d Visit Museums, Galleries, Archives, and Battlefields …”

The Less Testing More Learning Act of 2017 is the real deal, and with two-thirds of senators signed on as co-sponsors this year (it passed the House of Delegates unanimously last year), hopes are high among parents and educators. The legislation calls for a reduction in mandated standardized tests that would limit elementary and middle […]
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