Student teachers from the College of Education have faced an uphill battle as multiple school districts boycotted them in protest of Eastern Michigan University’s participation in the Education Achievement Authority. As of Thursday, one major nearby market has opened up to these students.
The Board of Regents voted to end Eastern’s association with the controversial EAA Feb. 5. EMU will officially have all ties with the EAA cut by June 30, 2017. In response, the Ann Arbor Education Association voted to end its boycott of student teachers from EMU.
“Due to this action we felt we needed to re-examine our boycott of EMU students seeking pre-student and student teaching assignments in our classrooms,” said the Ann Arbor Education Association on its Facebook page.
The Education Achievement Authority was created by Governor Rick Snyder to take over failing public schools and turn them into charter schools. EMU was the college that played a key role by being one of two main sponsors.
In response, school districts across the region decided to boycott EMU’s graduates and student teachers. Ann Arbor joined the boycotting school districts at the start of the 2014 school year.
There was an equal amount of opposition across campus. EMU’s College of Education faculty members unanimously voted no confidence in the Board of Regents and the Student Senate passed a resolution last November asking the Board to cut ties with Snyder's program.
Michael Sayler, the dean of the College of Education welcomed the news, according to the Detroit Free Press.
“We look forward to our continued collaboration with Ann Arbor schools and many other Michigan school districts as the market for teachers in Michigan continues to improve,” the Detroit Free Press quoted Sayler.
