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Racial and Social Justice

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Teaching while Black

Jason Fahie is a physical education teacher at Harper’s Choice Middle School in Howard County. (Photo © Stephen Cherry) When I moved to Maryland 11 years ago, I was the only Black male teacher in my building. I had to learn to navigate a new environment while, once again, being an ambassador for my commu­nity. I […]
Union Updates

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“Colleagues, It’s Been an Honor”

MSEA President Betty Weller Colleagues — it’s been an honor. It’s been an honor to have been your president over the last six years. I’m so proud of the work we’ve done togeth­er — with our students, with our communities, and with our voices. We’ve had tough conversations — whether on improving the faulty implemen­tation of new standards and testing, how underfunding […]
Racial and Social Justice

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The Racial Bias in You

Personal racial bias comes in so many forms that it feels almost too overwhelming — and complicated — to talk about. For educators it means unambiguously confronting personal obstacles to reaching and teaching every student. It means having the often painful and painfully honest conversations with yourself and your colleagues to discover and realize that deeply rooted biases indeed […]
Racial and Social Justice

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“We are desperate to be understood.”

    Katherine Bonilla Gutierrez is a 2018 graduate of Frederick High School in Frederick County. Katherine traveled alone from El Salvador to Frederick to be with her mother, who left her country for the U.S. when Katherine was six.   Katherine Bonilla Gutierrez is a 2018 graduate of Frederick High School, Frederick County. Katherine […]
Educator Voice

Latest Updates

Gov. Hogan: Educators Shouldn’t Have a Voice on the State Board of Education

The day before the Memorial Day holiday, Gov. Hogan vetoed bipartisan legislation that would have added two current teachers to the State Board of Education. He claimed that the bill would “move Maryland in exactly the wrong direction.” Hogan said that teachers on the State Board would be “special interest group representatives” whose participation would […]
Union Updates

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SLC ’18: Tackling Issues with Union Values

We’ve said it before, it’s an unprecedented time for public education in Maryland and the country. The Janus Supreme Court case is unleashing anti-union attacks that threaten employees’ seat at the table; the Betsy DeVos agenda to privatize and monetize public schools has found an ally in our governor; and we’re campaigning for our endorsed […]
Union Updates

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Inside MSEA: Thank You, Betty

Six years ago, when you elected Betty Weller to lead MSEA, our public schools were feeling the brunt of the recession. School employment levels were at post-recession lows and many school systems were freezing step movement and salary levels. These post-recession years have been characterized by flat state and local funding, making the work of […]
Legal Questions

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An FMLA Tutorial

The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that provides job-protected, unpaid leave under certain circumstances. Who is eligible for FMLA? Government and private sector employees qualify for FMLA if their employer has at least 50 employees and they have worked for 12 months and 1,250 hours. Ten-month certificated educators in the public […]
Racial and Social Justice

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“There Is the Racial Conversation Which We Need to Dive into, Right?”

José Vilson is a New York City middle school math teacher and author of This Is Not A Test: A New Narrative on Race, Class, and the Future of Education,(Haymarket Books, 2014). He’s also the founder of EduColor, a coalition of teachers, parents, and other concerned citizens dedicated to the uplift of people of color in education. […]
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