LEARN HOW TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS AND LOAN CONSOLIDATION PROGRAMS GEARED TOWARDS TEACHERS AND PUBLIC EMPLOYEES! EM-R is sponsoring a “Degrees Not Debt” seminar which will help guide you through the process of loan forgiveness. Four different types of loan forgiveness programs will be discussed, descriptions of which can be found HERE.
To register for the Monday, November 25 seminar at the RAHS Media Center please complete the google form found HERE.
gpmartinson
Dear members,
More than 5,000 of you have attended our Degrees Not Debt training. You told us that applying for loan forgiveness and lowering your payments needs to be easier.
We heard you.
I’m excited to announce that Education Minnesota has launched a new partnership to help you save on your education debt and apply for loan forgiveness.
Minnesota ranks fifth in the country when it comes to education debt and, for many educators, it is a burden that prevents us from buying homes, starting families and building towards a secure economic future.
Meet Summer––a loan forgiveness service
As a member, you now have FREE access to a new service called Summer. The tools on this website make it easy for educators to lower monthly payments and qualify for loan forgiveness programs.
Based on your unique situation, Summer will determine which savings programs you’re eligible for, compare your options side-by-side and help you enroll––all online. The site will even submit paperwork to your school district on your behalf.
Members can also receive assistance from Summer’s team of loan experts via online chat or by email.
We already are seeing this partnership pay off. One of our Education Minnesota members who tried Summer is now on track to save almost $30,000 on her student loans.
To get started, visit Education Minnesota’s signup page: www.meetsummer.org/education-minnesota
Keeping the promise of Public Service Loan Forgiveness
We believe Summer can help more educators like you enroll in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
However, we know many educators have applied for this debt relief and were rejected. The American Federation of Teachers is exploring legal action on behalf of members who were wrongfully denied public service loan forgiveness.
If you were denied and are interested in being part of this litigation, click here and answer a few questions.
Qualifying members must meet the following criteria:
- Made 120 payments on their federal student loans.
- Worked in a public or private school, for the government or for a nonprofit organization for at least 10 years.
- Applied for, and were denied, public service loan forgiveness.
This weekend the team from Education Minnesota-Roseville attended the Representative Convention and were inspired and informed about the work of our union. There were speeches from the leaders of the NEA and AFT, the Department of Education and the Governor of Minnesota. It was an amazing weekend.
Governor Walz opened the 2019 Education Minnesota Representative Convention this Friday night at the Hilton in downtown Minneapolis. He thanked Education Minnesota for the support that we gave him to get elected. He offered support on fully staffing and fully funding schools. He told educators to let your legislators know that you are watching and paying attention to what they are doing. Education Minnesota-Roseville is in attendance with Isaac, Emily, Chandra , Maria, Emily, Ben, Dan and Dan Beck.
Chisholm is the only school district in Minnesota that hasn’t reached a 2017-19 contract agreement with its teachers.
If that’s not bad enough, the district declared an impasse and is trying to impose pay, benefits and working conditions teachers did not sign off on.
Let’s show our union family in Chisholm we have their backs! Chisholm teachers and school district officials are going into mediation Thursday, March 28, in hopes of reaching a fair and competitive settlement.
Wear red and send solidarity notes and selfies starting Wednesday, March 27, and Thursday, March 28. Post your pictures and notes to the Education Minnesota-Chisholm Facebook page or on Twitter with the hashtags #solidarity #chisholm.
Chisholm teachers deserve to feel respected and valued. It’s time for school district leaders to get back to the table and reach a settlement that keeps high-quality teachers and attracts new ones.
WCCO ran a wonderful piece on RAHS Band Instructor, Pat Moriarty:
Today, EM-R and districts across the state formally filed our intent to bargain a successor contract with the Bureau of Mediation Services.
As such, your EM-R Negotiations Team has begun working on the initial phases of bargaining the 2019-2021 successor contract for our bargaining unit. Look for a survey from your bargaining team about your priorities in the next contract. We will be using this data as we develop our proposals. We look forward to providing you with updates about the bargaining process. You can find those right here on emroseville.org. Your bargaining team includes President Dan Beck(Elementary), Emily Bergquist, EM-R Vice President (Student Services Elementary), Ben Schwanke, Member Rights RAMS(Middle School), Ryan Sauter (Elementary) and Gregg Martinson Chief Negotiator/Member Rights 9-12
MSRS (Minnesota State Retirement System) is offering a number of free, half-day
pre-retirement seminars. The seminars are geared towards those within five years of retirement and cover social security benefits and your health care savings plans.
Schedules and registration information can be found HERE.
To find out additional information about your HCSP account (this is the one the district matches 2% of your salary each year) go to www.msrs.state.mn.us to log in or create an account.
The field of possible candidates for this year’s Minnesota Teacher of the Year honor has been narrowed to 40, and 2 of those 40 are members of EM-R! Congratulations to Jeff Davies, RAHS Industrial Technology teacher and Myriam Castro-Franco, Little Canada Elementary 3-4 teacher. A selection panel of 23 community leaders chose the semifinalists from an initial field of 168 candidates from across the state.
The panel will review the semifinalists’ portfolios again and review semifinalist video submissions in late March and will select about 10 finalists from among the group. The current Minnesota Teacher of the Year, Kelly D. Holstine, will announce her successor at a banquet May 5 at the Saint Paul RiverCentre in St. Paul.
More information is available on the Education Minnesota Page:https://educationminnesota.org/news/media-resources/news-releases/Teacher-of-the-Year-candidate-field-narrowed-to-40
Jeff Davies and Myriam Castro-Franco are Education Minnesota Teacher of the Year candidates. See more here: https://www.educationminnesota.org/news/media-resources/news-releases/A-near-record-168-teachers-are-candidates-for-Minn
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