- Urgent Call for Action: Tell the Montgomery County Council that our Schools Need More!
- Red for Ed Action: Apple Ballot Social Media Storm 3/20
- Your Input Matters! Councils on Teaching and Learning (CTL) Open House 3/19
- Elect Our Next Bosses!
- Join Us! Building Action Team (BAT) Training 4/16
- Enforcing Our Negotiated Agreements: Special Education Transfer Incentive
- Summer Opportunities at MCEA: Save the Dates
- MCEA Members: Making Our Voices Heard at Our Worksites!
- Register Now! 2024 MSEA–Retired Conference
- Attention Conditionally Certified Members: FREE Live Praxis Support Available
1. Urgent Call for Action: Tell the County Executive and Council that our Schools Need More!
County Executive Elrich disappointed us by proposing a budget that does not meet the Board of Education’s already insufficient request. This puts programs that benefit students, our raises, and our benefits at risk. The task of fully funding our schools is now in the hands of the county council to make up where the Board of Education and County Executive have fallen short. We must speak up to our elected officials and tell them to save our school system by fully investing in our staff and students.
Click here to demand the county council fully fund our schools!
2. Red for Ed Action: Apple Ballot Social Media Storm 3/20
Red for Ed Day of Action Wednesday, March 20
We’re taking over social media with a Red for Ed action on Wednesday, March 20. Click here for the Apple Ballot Social Media Toolkit. You’ll find handles for tagging the candidates, suggested captions and hashtags, and links to downloadable graphics you can share on your social media platform of choice – and ask ten friends to do the same!
3. Your Input Matters! Councils on Teaching and Learning (CTL) Open House 3/19
Join us for the Councils on Teaching and Learning (CTL) Open House, where Central office representatives from various departments will be present to provide insights and answers. Whether you have inquiries about navigating curriculum changes, understanding assessment practices, accessing resources, or any other aspect of your profession, we’re here to facilitate meaningful dialogue and support.
4. Help Elect Our Next Bosses!
Take action to get our Apple Ballot-recommended candidates elected! Early voting starts May 2, 2024, and runs through Thursday, May 9, 2024. There are early morning, morning, mid-day, afternoon, and evening shifts available at multiple locations throughout the county. Sign up for your Apple Ballot shift here!
For more information, please contact Alicenne Passavanti at [email protected]
5. Join Us! Building Action Team (BAT) Training 4/16
Are you interested in learning more or expanding your leadership skills as a MCEA Building Representative? Are you not yet a building rep but interested in taking on the role at some point in the future? If so, please join us for our second Building Action Team (BAT) training of the year. Union Business Leave will be provided. RSVP for this training here!
For more information contact Maya Satz at [email protected]
6. Enforcing Our Negotiated Agreements: Special Education Transfer Incentive
Last school year, as part of an effort to address the critical shortage of Special Education teachers through impact negotiations, MCEA negotiated a $5000 incentive payment for dual certified Special Educators who volunteered to switch from a non-special education position to a special education position. Like other eligible teachers, a former general education teacher applied for and was selected for a Special Education position at an elementary school. However, because his allocation was cobbled together from several non-special education job codes, MCPS refused to pay him the stipend.
As an MCEA member, he knew he had to push back: “I was happy to switch from Gen Ed to [Special Education], but when MCPS wouldn’t pay the $5000 incentive MCEA negotiated, I knew something wasn’t right. My union rep and I spoke up through the grievance process and we won! A big ‘thank-you’ to all MCEA members and staff for standing together for MCPS educators. There is power in a union!”
7. Summer Opportunities at MCEA: Save the Dates
Union Summer Program
MCEA’s Union Summer program is an exciting opportunity for MCEA members to improve their organizing skills by doing outreach to new educators, non-members, and members about critical issues we face in our schools.
MCEA’s Union Summer Program will be held from July 8 – August 16, 2024. Stay tuned for the program announcement and application in April.
New Educator Orientation (NEO)
New Educator Orientation is an inspiring time of year. We get to welcome our new educators to the union and build relationships with our new colleagues. New Educator Orientation will be held on Tuesday, August 13 and Wednesday, August 14, 2024.
For more information or to volunteer at orientation contact the MCEA Help Desk at [email protected].
New Educator Action Team (NEAT) Store
The New Educator Action Team (NEAT) will host the New Educator Supplies Store at MCEA on Thursday, August 15 during NEO, and again during Pre-Service week, Monday, August 19 – Friday, August 23, 2024.
The New Educator Supplies Store will accept your gently used classroom supplies at the end of the school year. Stay tuned for dates and times. If you have any questions, contact the MCEA Help Desk at [email protected].
8. MCEA Members: Making our voices heard at our worksites!
First grade teachers at Meadow Hall ES stood up to budget austerity to organize a big win for themselves and their students!
Their class sizes were overwhelmingly high-behavior and oversized for a Focus school. They advocated internally all year, and their principal was sympathetic, but limited in his ability to help. As the educators’ strain intensified, they reached out to their UD and began organizing. They composed a sign-on letter calling for an additional position, which more than 90% of their coworkers signed. They sent the letter to their Area Director, calling for a meeting with her, their admin, and their PTA leadership. The PTA also conducted a survey of first grade parents and gathered signatures on its own petition. The Director agreed to advocate for this issue, and about a week later, Meadow Hall learned they will be hiring an additional first grade teacher! When our members act, we win!
Since December 6, 2023, over 25 schools and worksites have taken action to address climate concerns. Through our organizing efforts, we are making bold demands to MCPS administration, imploring them to work with us to improve working conditions and students’ learning conditions at the foundational levels of the system, our worksites. We will continue amplifying our collective voice and make bold demands. To get involved and join other worksites in our climate campaign, reach out to your MCEA Building Representatives, your assigned MCEA Uniserv Director, and/or learn more about how to take action at https://bit.ly/MCEAmembermaterials.
New Hampshire Estates ES wears Red for Ed!
We celebrate Red for Ed every Wednesday! Don’t forget to wear your red this week, Wednesday, March 20 and take part in our Apple Ballot social media action, 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 you and your colleagues taking action!
9. Attention Conditionally Certified Members: FREE Live Praxis Support Available
Are you looking for support to help you with certification? Do you want to schedule your Praxis test but would like some help studying? Praxis Live Support Programming from MSEA is back! From sessions on dealing with testing anxiety to a variety of content and level-specific classes, MSEA has tailored this season’s courses to meet your individual needs.
To see the full list of courses or to sign up, click here. For additional questions, please email [email protected].
10. Register Now! 2024 MSEA-Retired Conference
Join other MCEA retirees at the 2024 MSEA-Retired Conference on April 25, 2024.
Learn more and register here.
