Maine Educational Opportunity Association
An organization of professional, associate, and program members working together for equitable access to educational opportunities.
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Maine Educational Opportunity Association An organization of professional, associate, and program members working together for equitable access to educational opportunities. |
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Updates from the Executive Committee It was great to see those of you who were able to attend the New England Educational Opportunity Association Annual Conference at the beginning of April in Rhode Island. Those who were unable to attend were missed. The conference provided great learning and networking opportunities as well as another opportunity to hold a state meeting. The Executive Committee is pleased to share that the majority of positions have been filled for 2013-2014 year, although we still have a couple of key vacancies. During the state meeting, nominations and elections were conducted for officers and attending members voted in our treasure, Dan Barton from the UB program at the University of Southern Maine, and our secretary, Sandra Caceres Tijerina from the ETS program at the University of Maine. Welcome and congratulations! MEEOA is also pleased to share that several committee chairs have been filled, such as our conference co-chairs, Margret Irving and Velma Murphy Graham, who are already hard at work planning next year's conference. While many positions have been filled, we are still requesting nominations for president-elect and looking for people who are interested in chairing our Fair Share, Hall of Flags and Fact Book committees. More information can be found on the MEEOA website, and I would be happy to answer any questions. I also encourage you to review the minutes from our meetings to learn more. Please feel free to contact me at shawn.graham@maine.edu. Shawn Graham Policy Seminar Update MEEOA's Policy Seminar team is pleased to report that our visit with Maine's congressional delegation was positive and encouraging. MEEOA was represented by a strong team this year with UB alumni Sean Paulhus and four TRIO Educators, Chris Turner, David Megquier, Karen Keim and Shawn Graham. Team members met with Senator Collins and Congressman Michaud, who both have a long history of being TRIO Champions. Senator Collins not only agreed to join the TRIO Caucus, but she also reported that she would be the republican sponsor of the Senate side. Congressman Michaud stated that TRIO was a continuing priority for him and he would continue to serve on the TRIO Caucus. The team also met with the Education Legislative Assistant for Senator King and the Senior Legislative Assistant for Congresswoman Pingree. Senator King's Education LA reports that education is a priority and that she will bring our questions to him. Congresswoman Pingree's Education LA shared that TRIO is a priority and she will continue to serve as a TRIO Champion in Maine. All four of Maine's congressional delegation members agreed to visit a Maine TRIO program within the next year. Senator Collins, Congressman Michaud and Congresswoman Pingree agreed to work to reverse the cuts to TRIO and fight for priority in future appropriations bills and other legislation that would direct funding to TRIO programs. We will follow up with Senator King in the coming weeks. MEEOA and the TRIO community would like to thank Maine's congressional delegation for their continued support and dedication to increasing educational opportunities for first generation, low-income and disabled students. TRIO works! |
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