Visit us at the Great Minnesota Get-Together!

Every year, Education Minnesota member volunteers and staff produce personalized photo calendars for visitors at our booth in the Education Building on Cosgrove Street near the Snelling Avenue entrance.

We have need for people to work the 6-9 PM shift. There are a couple other spots open.

Please request a call by email and send your:

Name, Phone number and a good time to call.

Shifts include taking digital photos and acting as Education Minnesota ambassadors to fairgoers. In 2024, members produced more than 13,000 calendars for booth visitors.

Shifts are three hours. Volunteers will receive an admission ticket and an Education Minnesota state fair T-shirt. Members will also receive reimbursement for mileage as well as parking, bus and rideshare up to $20/car (original receipts required).

In addition to the photo calendar, the booth also features a different education group almost every day of the fair showcasing their curriculum area or program.

Please email Matt Blewett with any questions.

In addition to union business at the Representative Convention, delegates elected a new officer team. Education Minnesota Vice President Monica Byron was elected after running unopposed for president. Marty Fridgen of United Teachers of South Washington County was elected vice president and Ryan Fiereck of Education Minnesota-St. Francis was elected secretary-treasurer.

The new officer slate will take office on July 1 and will serve three-year terms.

Find the full article here

Enhance your personal and professional skills at Education Minnesota’s Summer Leadership Conference.

This year’s event will be held Aug. 5-6 at the River’s Edge Convention Center in St. Cloud.

Summer Leadership Conference is different from our Summer Seminar of years past, with an emphasis on relationship building and shared experiences in a cohort structure. Come as an individual – or as a team – to develop or enhance your union leadership skills.

Registration opening in early May!

Minnesota Department of Education Commissioner Willie Jett sent a letter responding to the U.S. Department of Education’s request last week for all state and local education leaders to certify compliance with Title VI, a federal law that prohibits racial discrimination in schools and universities that receive federal funds. In summary, MDE has rejected the DOE’s request to sign the letter and has challenged the DOE’s authority to require it as a condition of receiving federal funds.

After noting that “MDE has been faithfully implementing federal education programs in accordance with federal law

New resources on federal funding
There are two new resources to track the impact of federal funding issues and learn about the impact of cuts.

• This week, Gov. Tim Walz announced a new dashboardMinnesotans can use to track disruptions and cancellations of federal funding and their impact on services available to Minnesotans.
• Also this week, NEA launched a resource tool that shows how much funding public schools in your congressional district get from the federal government and how the programs help students.

We will continue to keep you updated on the rapidly changing movements at the federal level