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1 week ago | 
nea.org | Mary Ellen Flannery
“Everybody wants more computer-science teachers—and we are on the verge of telling them how to do it—and now we can’t!” says Caroline Hardin, a Western Washington University professor. Earlier this month, the National Science Foundation (NSF) suddenly terminated Hardin’s three-year, $231,554 grant, about two-thirds of the way through her team’s work. Their task? Investigating the lack of licensed computer-science teachers in U.S., especially women and educators of color.
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3 weeks ago | 
nea.org | Mary Ellen Flannery
Teresa M. Hodge—an innovative Florida math professor and dedicated unionist who has served in almost every possible local and state union role—has been named the 2025 NEA Higher Educator of the Year. The $10,000 award, funded by the NEA Foundation and awarded annually to an outstanding educator and advocate, will be presented to Hodge at the NEA Representative Assembly in Portland, Ore., in early July.
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1 month ago | 
nea.org | Mary Ellen Flannery
When Lindsay Dominguez’s principal heard about the Paws & Peers therapy dog program, she dashed off an email to Dominguez: “With all the dogs in your house, you must have one that would work for this!”Everybody knows Dominguez is a dog person. And she had the perfect pupper for the job. When she first adopted Hotch, he was a wild-haired, all-legs puppy with a sweet disposition.
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1 month ago | 
nea.org | Mary Ellen Flannery
Across the United States on May 1, working people stood together for fair wages, respect, an end to the assault on immigrants, and more. "Why do we march on May Day? We march because billionaires are defunding our public schools and breaking promises to our students," explains NEA President Becky Pringle.
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2 months ago | 
nea.org | Mary Ellen Flannery
To stop the grant cancellations specifically, eight Democratic-led states—as well as the American Association of Colleges of Teachers and the National Center for Teacher Residencies—filed two lawsuits against the Trump administration. In March, a federal judge ordered some grants reinstated. That included a $6.3 million grant to Minnesota’s St. Thomas University to produce 300 teachers, many of whom work as paraeducators or classroom aides.
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2 months ago | 
nea.org | Mary Ellen Flannery
It took a full two years to bargain the contract, Williams notes, and the process relied on a very experienced bargaining team and a deep bench of union members who showed up for public bargaining sessions and volunteered on support teams. “We told faculty from the start that we were asking for a lot, and it might take a while to get it,” she says. But it would be worth it: before this contract, new faculty members couldn’t afford to rent apartments in town. “They need to get roommates.
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Mar 6, 2025 | 
nea.org | Mary Ellen Flannery
When college student Alayna Nance goes to the grocery store, she doesn’t buy fruit. She doesn’t buy chicken. She can’t afford it. “I go in with a list because if I don’t, I know I’ll want too much,” says Nance, a future teacher and junior at Illinois State University. “It’s embarrassing to have to put things back at the grocery store, to have to put back the chicken because I can’t afford to buy chicken. I can’t afford to buy fruit.
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Mar 5, 2025 | 
nea.org | Mary Ellen Flannery
If you are a parent of a child with muscular dystrophy, you will want to know what’s happening in Clarissa Henry’s University of Maine research laboratory. If you are a person with corneal dystrophy, take hope — a pathway to treatment is developing in Mark Parker’s University of Buffalo lab. Sudden cardiac arrest? Self-driving cars?
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Feb 5, 2025 | 
nea.org | Mary Ellen Flannery
By: Mary Ellen Flannery, Senior Writer Key Takeaways A recent study shows that teachers’ working conditions have declined significantly since the pandemic. Key indicators of teacher safety, student disruptiveness, “innovation”, and trust among teachers, parents and administrators are falling. “Our findings raise concern about the state of the teaching profession,” the co-authors wrote. Teaching during the pandemic was hard. Remember that?
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Jan 29, 2025 | 
nea.org | Mary Ellen Flannery
While President Trump’s flurry of executive orders causes panic and confusion among many Americans, they’re only making NEA President Becky Pringle—and countless other NEA members—even more determined to protect public education and the safety and well-being of every student. If anybody knows how to handle an adversary, it’s educators. And if anybody knows how to mobilize and take action, it’s union members, she said.
