January 17, 2024
- Celebrate Solidarity! Wear Red for Ed
- Union Elections: Get to Know the Candidates, Make a Plan to VOTE, and Save the Date!
- Be Part of the Process! Join the Apple Ballot Candidate Interview Team
- Are YOU the Next Consulting Teacher?
- Get an Early Start on Early Voting
- Build Your Teaching Community: Join NEATRise Mentors
- Enforcing Your Union Contract: Coverage Pay
- Celebrate Solidarity! Wear Red for Ed
Educators at Seneca Valley HS wear Red for Ed
We celebrate #Red for Ed every Wednesday! Don’t forget to wear your red this week, Wednesday, January 17, to build union solidarity and awareness at your school or worksite. We love to share our actions with each other, so please email [email protected] with pictures or videos of your action.
2.Union Elections: Get to Know the Candidates, Make a Plan to VOTE, and Save the Date!
MCEA, MSEA, and NEA board elections are coming up! Do you know who you are voting for? Along with the Board of Directors candidates, members will also vote on NEA Delegates to the July 2024 Representative Assembly.
Please save the date for our virtual Townhall featuring your MCEA Presidental Candidates, Tuesday, January 23 at 6pm (zoom link forthcoming)
Voting opens Monday, January 29, 2024, at 9:00am and closes Friday, February 16, 2024, at 5:00pm.
Remember, all chapters that reach 50% voter turnout for MCEA elections will be entered in a raffle to win BREAKFAST AT YOUR WORKSITE! There will be at least one winner chosen from ES, MS, HS and NSB chapters.
MCEA Board of Director candidate speeches and bios can be found in the 2024 Advocate here. MSEA and NEA candidate bios are available here.
MCEA Board of Directors (ES Representative)
- Ashlee Hewlett, Clarksburg ES
- Jennifer Knight, Rolling Terrace ES
- Kristen Poole, Stedwick ES
- Java Robinson, Piney Branch ES
- Laura Sutter, Sherwood ES
- Jacqueline Sutton, Flower Valley ES
- Emmett Tesler, Roscoe Nix ES
MCEA Board of Directors (MS Representative)
- Cassandra Belton, Farquhar MS
- Joshua Rubin, Loiederman MS
- Christine Wilkin, Shady Grove MS
MCEA Board of Directors (HS Representative)
- Lindsey Allar, Seneca Valley HS
- Jody Gil, Blair HS
- Stephanie Hasty, Seneca Valley HS
MCEA President Candidates:
- Brandy Reazer, Northwood HS
- David Stein, Blair HS
The following races were won by acclamation:
- MCEA Vice President—Danillya Wilson, Wheaton Woods ES
- MCEA Treasurer—Kember Kane, Westover ES
- MCEA Secretary—Dustin Jeter, Blake HS
- All MCEA delegates to the MSEA October 2024 Representative Assembly
MCEA Representative Assembly Endorses Nikki Woodward for MSEA Vice President and Paul Lemle for MSEA President
Nikki Woodward is an infants and toddlers specialist and is currently serving her third year as MCEA Vice President. Paul Lemle is a Howard County social studies teacher and past president of the Howard County Education Association. At the December 6, 2023, Representative Assembly, they earned the representatives’ endorsement.
3. Be Part of the Process! Join the Apple Ballot Candidate Interview Team
Ensure we are endorsing the candidates who best represent our voices at the local and state level. Join the Apple Ballot Candidate Recommendation Interview Team to interview candidates and determine whose names will appear on the educator-approved Apple Ballot:
- Mandatory Training 9 (2 options) – Friday, February 2 (Union Business Leave provided)
- 9a-1p
- 2p-6p
- Candidate interviews – Saturday, February 3.
- 10a-6p
Sign up here.
4. Are YOU the Next Consulting Teacher?
Interested in the role of Consulting Teacher? See details below about upcoming info sessions:
Join the virtual meeting here. 5. Get an Early Start on Early Voting
Take action to get our Apple Ballot recommended candidates elected! Early voting starts Thursday, May 2, 2024, and runs through Thursday, May 9, 2024. We need your help passing out Apple Ballots at the early voting sites each day of early voting. There are early morning, morning, mid-day, afternoon, and evening shifts available at multiple locations throughout the county.
Please sign up for your Apple Ballot shift here!
For more information, please contact Alicenne Passavanti at [email protected]
6.Build Your Teaching Community: Join NEATRise Mentors
Do you enjoy helping and supporting early career educators? If so, become a NEATRise (New Educator Action Team) Mentor! NEATRise mentors are members who are matched to support an educator in their first three years in MCPS. This is a different opportunity than the MCPS mentor program as it is voluntary and non-evaluative. Join us in helping our new colleagues master this crucial profession and learn more about their union. Are you in your first three years in an education profession and want support? Then you may be looking for a Mentor. If so, become a NEATRise Mentee today! You will have the opportunity to connect with an experienced educator in a confidential manner, while learning about your rights as a union member.
Sign up today to get started as a mentor or mentee by clicking here: https://bit.ly/NEATRise2024
For more information, please reach out to the Help Desk at [email protected].
7. Enforcing Your Union Contract: Coverage Pay
One of the critical wins in our most recently negotiated Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is language that codifies compensation to educators for providing coverage. In negotiations for the 2023-2027 union contract, the coverage compensation rate was doubled from the previous contract, an increase from $15 to $30. The other great win was an allocation of funding for 4,000 hours per marking period of coverage pay for non-classroom based educators in SY23-24 and SY24-25.
The relevant language is in Article 17 R. 4. of the contract, which can be found here on Page 40, section R.