Through word of mouth, a former colleague sent me a link to this opportunity as she thought I would really enjoy it! This fellowship gave me the opportunity to align my political engagement with my teaching passion!

Once a month, I attended a virtual session with fellows all across the state where we learned about Michigan's political cycle, educational policies and potential legislation that needs to be pushed onto our public servants. 

I was a part of the SEAD Working Group which focused on Social Emotional Learning and Mental Health in our k-12 schools. Fittingly enough, there was a Senate Bill that has been sitting with the House Education Committee since September 2021. With 2022 being an election year, we feared that our politicians were purposely stalling on this legislation so the bill would simply die before a vote.

I was given the opportunity to write an op-ed about the necessity of mental health legislation. As a writer, I tend to say a little too much but apparently that's a good thing for an op-ed because that meant there was more to workshop!

https://medium.com/whats-the-plus/our-students-need-mental-health-support-72d66234b965