how-to-tips
Enter to win $443
Help us help you!
Beginning with this issue of the MEA Voice,
readers will find space devoted to on-thejob
tips for new and not-so-new members.
It’s a grab bag, of sorts, designed to help
all types of education employees.
Our first order of business is to give a catchy name to this feature—and we’d like your help! What should we call this department of the magazine?
Think of an idea and e-mail it to us. If we choose your suggestion, you’ll receive a Target gift certificate for $443, the amount the average teacher spends on classroom supplies in a year!
E-mail your ideas to kschulz@mea.org by Monday, Oct. 20. In your subject line, please note “help.” The winner will be announced in our next issue in December.
Teachers: Stay on top of your certification
Quick, where’s your teaching certificate? When does it expire? It is a teacher’s professional responsibility to always know where their certificate is and when it expires.
Depending on the type of certificate that you’ve been issued by the Michigan Department of Education and when, you may have some work to do to maintain your certificate.
For example, if this is your sixth year in the classroom and you have a provisional certificate, your certificate expires June 30, 2009. That’s your deadline to complete 18 credits in a planned program from an approved teacher preparation institute if you want to advance to a professional license. Minimally, you may complete nine credits if you only want to renew the provisional certificate (which buys you three extra years to earn the nine remaining hours).
Teachers with a professional license must renew their license every five years; there are no extensions. To renew, a teacher must complete six college credits or18 continuing education credits approved by the state, or a combination of both.
How important is it to stay on top of your licensing requirements? If you want to teach, it’s critical, says Frank Ciloski, a consultant in MEA’s Professional Development and Human Rights Department. School districts can lose state funding if they employ uncertified teachers. Tenured teachers who let their certification expire have no tenure rights until their certification is reinstated, Ciloski said.
“Every year, a few hundred teachers let their certificates expire,” he said.
If you want to continue teaching, don’t let it be you.
Have certification questions? Call MEA’s Ciloski
Frank Ciloski, a retired high school science teacher from Durand, has joined MEA’s Professional Development and Human Rights Department. He specializes in teacher certification issues. Ciloski most recently worked for the Michigan Department of Education as supervisor of client services, the arm of the department that issues teaching certificates. If you have certification questions, call Ciloski at 800-292-1934, ext. 6213.
How to read your paycheck
When you get paid, do you know how much salary you should be making and what all those deductions are for?
You need to know.
The contract bargained by your local is the first source of information. It’ll tell you what salary and benefits you are entitled to. If you have specific questions, talk to your association rep. Here’s some basic information about your paycheck:
GROSS PAY is the total amount the district pays you based on the salary schedule negotiated by your local association.
FEDERAL INCOME TAX is the amount deducted from your pay and withheld by the IRS. The percentage taken from your gross pay depends on your tax bracket and the number of withholdings you requested.
FICA pays your Social Security taxes. Check this figure and make sure the amount deducted is right. This number affects your retirement benefits.
RETIREMENT contributions go to the state retirement system. A percentage contribution is made for you.
DEDUCTIONS are chosen by you and could include tax-sheltered annuities, additional insurance coverage and your association dues.
NET PAY is the amount of money you take home