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We’re $3 Billion Behind and We’re Pushing Back

MSEA President Betty Weller introduces MSEA’s This Is Our Moment campaign at a Calvert Education Association building rep assembly October 16. Every educator has stories — the kind that give you goosebumps or bring a tear to your eye. Those are the stories that help keep educators in the classroom — but what also helps are working conditions that lead […]
School Funding

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What’s Changed Since 2002?

…but there was the Bridge to Excellence Act (also known as the Thornton Plan), which the General Assembly passed in 2002 thanks to MSEA’s advocacy. It was an “historic” accomplishment according to the New York Times. Thornton funding helped make Maryland the nation’s highest rated school system five years in a row. In 2002, Marshall […]
School Funding

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“Maryland Schools Are OK, But They Could Be Better”

Washington County educators attended the Western Maryland Kirwan Commission Public Hearing on September 29. Jim Rossi, third from left, and Neil Becker, center, made presentations to the Commission. Read excerpts below. In opening the Western Maryland listening session — the second of four scheduled — Kirwan Commission chair Brit Kirwan, former chancellor of the University of Maryland, said, “Maryland schools […]
School Funding

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The Kirwan Commission Meets the Public

The Kirwan Commission is holding public hearings for parents, students, educators, and other interested individuals to share their views on improving the public education system in Maryland. The commission’s recommendations are due to Governor Hogan in December and expected to be in legislation before the General Assembly in January. “Maryland’s public schools are good, but […]
School Funding

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Betty Weller: We’re Leading on Issues That Matter

Betty Weller, MSEA President As our students return to classrooms this year, many did so with challenging concerns. Are they confused, frustrated, or outraged by what they watched on TV just a few hours’ drive away in Charlottesville? Do they experience trauma at home with no the support to process and overcome their experiences? As […]
Teacher Toolkit

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Toolkit: History Comes Alive One Rowdy HUZZAH! at a Time

Mark Haring is a veteran social studies and history teacher at Severna Park High School in Anne Arundel County. Huzzah! I’ve been known to exclaim Huzzah! to accentuate a point. By the end of the course, students join in on hearty “Huzzahs.” I also write “HUZZAH” across the top of the assessments of students who scored […]
School Funding

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What Would YOU Change?

The news came in last year: Maryland schools are underfunded by a huge $2.9 billion. That’s according to national school funding experts advising the Kirwan Commission, the 25-member board rewriting Maryland’s education funding formula. This daunting figure can come as no surprise to on-the-ground educators. We see the effects of this funding shortfall snowball every […]
Legal Questions

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Collective Bargaining — It Makes Your Contract Legally Binding

You probably know that every several years your local education association negotiates the employment contracts for educators through the collective bargaining process. It’s serious business and a very big deal. Collective bargaining is so important that it’s part of the Education Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, which gives certified and non-certified public education […]
Union Updates

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MSEA’s Summer Leadership Conference — Empowering Educators and Building Skills

MSEA’s 2017 Emerging Leaders at the Summer Leadership Conference. They will be studying and meeting throughout the year. MSEA members came to MSEA’s 2017 Summer Leadership Conference at Salisbury University July 19–21 for insight, support, and skill-building to improve their schools and workplaces. Eight different three-day schools focused on union and workplace issues like advocacy, conflict […]
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