Education Minnesota’s 2021 MEA conference will be hybrid this year! Attend in-person Oct. 21 at the Saint Paul RiverCentre to check out our lineup of 65 workshops and dozens of educational exhibits. Or you can log on from home to watch the general session and about a dozen select sessions virtually. New relicensure courses will also be available on Education Minnesota’s MEA Online for members to complete at their own pace. Courses at MEA and MEA Online are always free to active Education Minnesota members. In-person and virtual livestream attendance is limited, so register early! In order to create a safe in-person learning environment, Education Minnesota will require proof of vaccination before registering, masking for all attendees, regardless of vaccination status, and social distancing. Deadline to register is Oct. 19. There will be NO CHILD CARE available this year due to ongoing COVID concerns. QUICK FACTSWhen: 7:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021 Where: Saint Paul RiverCentre; some live sessions will be available via webinar. Admission: Free and open to Education Minnesota members and aspiring educators only. Registration: edmn.me/mea2021 General session: 9-10:30 a.m. Workshops: 10:45 a.m.-4:45 p.m. Exhibits: 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. |
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hanges by the 2021 Legislature will affect your work as an educator and a union member.
On Thursday, July 15, our lobbyists and education experts went live via Zoom to explain what happened — and what didn’t — on these issues and more:
- Funding
- Licensure
- Higher ed
- ESP issues
- Education debt
- Recruiting and retaining educators of color
Couldn’t make the live Q&A? Watch it below:
Roseville was one of a handful of districts across the country participating in the AFT’s Teacher Leader Program. Congratulations to the six EM-R members who formed a cohort and recently completed the program. Much thanks also to Jodi Kyllonene, the group facilitator. As part of the course culmination, the six participants developed and presented an action research project and the links to these projects can be found below:
Brooks Hidaka, RAHS “Public School Funding” https://youtu.be/4PCK7Ck9QkY
Shauna Kidimu, Harambee “Positive Impact of Restorative Practices” https://youtu.be/_eYQeHWIUe4
Anne Robenhorst & Brittany Stahlman, RAHS “Underrepresented Students in Advanced Classes” https://youtu.be/vnmsT9951qE
Ken Henry, RAHS “The Role of Student Voice in District Class Size Policy” https://youtu.be/6-KqjmjPpTo
Jessica Prenzlow-Morgan, Harambee “Class Sizes: Enough Already!” https://youtu.be/Co95btHjxU0
| State funding for our public schools hasn’t kept pace with inflation — it’s at least 11.8 percent less than in 2003 in real dollars. Now, many districts are cutting budgets and laying off staff once again. It’s past time to raise the revenue we need to fully fund our schools. Join hundreds of educators and community members for a fun, family-friendly rally to fund public education!We Make MN Rally: Fund Our Futures 2 p.m., Saturday, May 15 Leif Erikson Park (Minnesota Capitol grounds, on the north side of the State Office Building, at the intersection of University Ave. and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.) Sign up now!Gov. Tim Walz and legislative leaders are expected to attend. Mileage and meals will be reimbursed. |
Join us May 15 to rally for public education!
Gov. Tim Walz and House DFL leaders are taking strong first steps this session toward fully funding our schools, increasing state aid by hundreds of millions of dollars.
Senate Republicans? Not so much. Their plan puts no new money on the general formula, siphons money from public schools via vouchers and will force districts to make harmful budget cuts and lay off staff.
Join hundreds of Minnesota educators and community members at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 15 at the state Capitol for a fun, family-friendly rally to support public education.
Sign up now!
2021 Share My Lesson Virtual Conference
All of the sessions from Share My Lesson’s 2021 virtual conference are now available on demand for free. Check out the remarkable lineup of webinars to support your upcoming needs, including how best to reopen schools safely, support social and emotional recovery and learning recovery, strengthen a foundation of anti-bias education, increase civic engagement and incorporate trauma-sensitive practices.
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| Professional Learning OpportunitiesThe Culturally Responsive Dilemma, Wednesday, April 21, 6-7:30 p.m. ET Educators are being asked to be culturally responsive, but sometimes it seems like just another layer added to existing structures, which may not support culturally responsive constructs. So how can educators survive these mandates and still meet the needs of students? Let’s explore these challenges during our next session in the new teachers series. The AFT’s Rosalind LaRocque, a senior associate director in the Educational Issues Department, will host the session to help you discover ways to overcome these challenges. |
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One of the many things Education Minnesota ESI Member Benefits provides for members are informational seminars. With the Covid-19 pandemic, we have transitioned our seminars online. We will be holding a When Can I Afford to Retire seminar for locals serviced out of the Woodbury field office on Thursday, April 22, 2021 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM. This session will focus on those with a TRA pension. When thinking about or planning for retirement, we encourage members to do the following: 1) Attend an ESI seminar, topics to be discussed are listed below. 2) Schedule a meeting with a TRA and/or PERA counselor to provide you with individualized options. 3) Schedule a meeting with a financial advisor to help you in making the decisions that are the best for you. If you don’t have one, check out our sponsored partner, EFS Advisors. You can find your local advisor here. |
| Register today |
Topics to be discussed include: Pension education Learn how benefits are calculated Understand defined benefit pension plans Financial planning What can you expect from Social Security? Tax-deferred and tax-free savings Asset allocation and asset management/diversification/performance and fees 403(b) match and severance payment options |
Safety Guidelines – Ed MN recently updated the COVID safety guidelines for classrooms. EM-R has worked with the district COVID Coordinator to refine these to reflect Roseville’s implementation. Please read the bottom of the document for steps to take if you feel any of the guidelines need addressing in your classroom.
Vaccinations – Yesterday, Education Minnesota sent Gov. Walz and Commissioner Ricker the following letter requesting the state revert to a system that prioritizes educators doing in-person work and those with underlying health conditions for early vaccination access. EM-R continues to have conversations with union leaders across the state regarding this issue and we have also encouraged Superintendent Sicoli to raise the concern with the state-wide superintendents’ group in hopes that pressure from multiple fronts will reinstate some type of prioritization program.
COVID Related Sick Leave – as you may be aware, the 80 hours of paid sick leave allowed under the FFCRA Act for COVID related illness/quarantine expired on Dec. 31. As an alternative, EM-R has negotiated an agreement with the district that will allow anyone who has exhausted their own sick leave to use up 80 hours from the Sick Leave bank for quarantine or COVID related illness. If the Sick Leave Bank becomes depleted EM-R will send out an email requesting donations to cover our colleagues in need who have exhausted all of their sick leave.
-Dan Beck, EM-R President
The American Federation of Teachers and Education Minnesota-Roseville are seeking educators interested in collaborating with colleagues across the district and nation to join theAFT Teacher Leaders Program.
We are looking for 10 members to join the 2020-2021 cohort. The cohort members will spend the year collaborating with other teacher leaders, elected officials, activists and policy experts to delve into educational issues that continue to threaten our profession. For additional details please click HERE. Thanks to Jodi Kyllonen for assuming the role of facilitator for this year’s cohort!
