How did the Michigan Public Schools Partnership come to be, and why? InspirED Michigan talked with one of the initiative's founders from the Michigan Education Association (MEA) to learn more.
 
As a UniServ Director in Livingston and Ingham Counties, Barbara Cameron represents school employees in Hartland, Howell, Dansville and Williamston. She shared with us her thoughts on partnership, public opinion and what's next.
 
Why did the Michigan Public Schools Partnership (MPSP) come to be? What is the impetus behind this organization?
Cameron: Those of us involved at the early stages felt the need for someone or something to be the voice for all the good things that are happening in public education. Too much negative press dwelling on what's bad about public schools gives the impression that public schools are failing. We were determined to work to change that impression.
 
Cameron has many reasons to be passionate about the positives in public education. She started her career in education as a teacher in the Hartland Consolidated School District, where she taught mostly first grade for 33 years.
 
Cameron has been with the MEA for the past nine years. One of the founding organizations and a main driver of the MPSP, MEA is an education association that represents about 150,000 teachers, education support professionals and higher-education employees throughout the state. She works with MEA members to advocate quality public education.
 
What do you hope to accomplish with MPSP?
Cameron: I hope to influence public opinion in a positive way regarding the status of public schools and preserve public schools for the future.
 
That's really what the MPSP is all about: a coalition of more than 50 education-related organizations, school districts and individuals committed to promoting the good news about Michigan public schools. 

MPSP mission is to promote the value of public education in Michigan. Community public schools are a key component of our democracy that ensures all students have access to a quality education and a brighter future.
   
What has been the most rewarding aspect for you thus far?
Cameron: The most rewarding aspect is working with so many talented people from all sectors of public education who are dedicated to the same ideals and passions that move me.
 
What do you think will be the biggest hurdle to accomplishing the goals of the group?
Cameron: The biggest hurdle is overcoming apathy and closed minds, by finding a way to gain the public's active interest in the truth about public schools.
 
This emphasis on and support for diversity - among teachers, administrators, staff and students – is critical to public schools' success, and the organizations that support them. For the MEA, it fits right into the organization's mission of creating and maintaining an effective education system that supports the development of students, advances the principles of democracy and human rights, meets the needs of global society and improves the quality of life for all.