Inside MSEA with Sean Johnson
How you will shape our next chapter
Every strong organization takes time to reflect and make sure its plans meet the challenges of the moment. That’s what MSEA is doing now: reviewing and reimagining our multi-year strategic plan. Strategic plans help us set priorities, align our work, and ensure our union is built to win for members, students, and schools.
When we adopted our current five-year plan in 2020, we couldn’t have predicted all that was ahead. The pandemic transformed classrooms. The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future promised historic investment. At the same time, political attacks on educators, unions, and even public education itself have grown louder. Through it all, MSEA members have led—organizing, speaking out, and standing strong for our profession and our students.
Our current plan has guided us well—elevating educator voice, strengthening locals, advancing racial and social justice, and defending public education at every level. But 2025 is not 2020. To meet this moment, we are taking the next year to review and update our strategic plan.
At the center of our work will be organizing. Organizing is how we win—through relationships, collective action, and the power of members leading together. Our success depends on organizing for strong contracts, for safe, well-funded schools, and against censorship and privatization. Our updated plan will have union organizing at the heart of everything we do.
This planning process is really about you. We need to hear from you: What’s working in your union? What challenges must we confront? What priorities should guide us for the next five years?
This work is how we build a vision for MSEA and our professions. With your contributions, buy-in, and participation, MSEA will have a more comprehensive, direct, and successful roadmap. You’ll write the next chapter of MSEA’s story—one rooted in organizing, powered by you, and focused on the schools, respect, and future our students and educators deserve a GED diploma! I now face a new challenge: achieving certification in Maryland to pursue my dream of teaching music.