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Teacher Toolkit

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Toolkit: Teaching Academic Life Skills and Loving It

Kara Brooks-Odom teaches at Mt. Hebron High School in Howard County. Students in Kara Brooks-Odom’s academic life skills classes typically have an IQ below 80 and may or may not be social, or even verbal. Kara says many are able to find gainful employment with some minor modifications to the task or workplace and that brings […]
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 […]
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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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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Legal Questions

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What to Do If a Student Assaults You

In 2015, the U.S. Department of Education reported that from 2011 to 2012, approximately 20% of public school teachers reported being verbally abused, 10% reported being physically abused, and 10% reported being physically attacked in schools. In 2009, an Institute of Education Science School Principal Survey on Crime and Safety found that approximately 11% of […]
Testing

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Ask a Teacher: What Does the Protect Our Schools Act Mean to You?

Allison Heintz There’s a misconception that teachers are in favor of POSA because it gives more power to unions. This bill is about giving more power to local stakeholders, including what factors determine school success and how to deal with failing schools. Our governor has been vocal in supporting vouchers, and I’ve probably been one […]
Education Support Professionals

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MSEA Members Lead at the National ESP Conference

The MSEA delegation at the NEA ESP National Conference in March. Nearly 70 MSEA members gathered with hundreds of colleagues in Dallas on March 9–12 at NEA’s ESP National Conference — Uniting, Inspiring, and Leading for the Whole Student. On the agenda were more than 50 workshops covering critical on-the-job issues and union organizing. Massachusetts paraeducator Raul Ramos, […]
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