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Protecting ESSA from the State Board

Winning good policy outcomes isn’t just about passing laws; we need to make sure they are implemented faithfully, too. This summer, MSEA worked with leaders in the General Assembly, the attorney general’s office, school boards, civil rights organizations, and other pro-public education advocates to push back against the State Board of Education’s ESSA draft plan. […]
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 […]
School Funding

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Inside MSEA: Build Power, Get Stronger, Organize

MSEA Executive Director David Helfman Here’s the good news: according to a recent Gallup poll, unions have their highest approval rating in nearly two decades. Here’s the bad news: the far right realizes our effectiveness fighting on the front lines for the working class and against income and social inequality. In state after state, they’ve introduced — and […]
Discipline-Related Issues

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Nurturing Resilience — Post-Traumatic Growth

“So many educators are already using trauma-informed practices and don‘t know it. It’s the nature of educators to be nurturing and accessible, but the real win for students is when we have schools that are consistently responding to students with trauma–sensitive classrooms, embedded restorative practices, and high-quality social-emotional learning resources.” — Prince George’s County School Psychologist Robert […]
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