Teaching isn't just a job. It's a life.

Nearly 12,000 Montana teachers strong, MEA-MFT is Montana's leading advocate for children, public schools, and school employees.

What we do for teachers

Professional development: MEA-MFT offers top-quality professional development, including:

• Our annual MEA-MFT Educators' Conference, the largest professional conference for teachers in the Northwest.
  

• Our state-of-the-art Educational Research and Development (ER&D) program.
  

• Local and regional training in professional issues ranging from special education inclusion to classroom management to No Child Left Behind.
  

• Research and publications on issues such as gifted education, survival skills for new teachers, safe schools, and much more.

• Our annual Montana Educator Forum brings teachers and policymakers together to address some of the hottest topics in education.
  

• Our Montana Professional Teaching Foundation, promoting great teaching through the Montana Teacher of the Year Program, Montana Teacher Forum, National Board Certification scholarships, and Karen Cox Memorial Grant Program.

It's all part of our effort to promote quality teaching and honor the expertise of classroom teachers.

K-12 & Head Start NEWS

School funding: MEA-MFT has won major increases in state funding for public schools in recent legislatures. Read more about our success in the 2007 Legislature.

Our nationally acclaimed, award-winning Stand Up For Education campaign has mobilized thousands of Montanans to speak out for better state funding of education

K-12 & Head Start NEWS

Protecting your retirement: Read about our recent victories for retirees in the Montana Teachers Retirement System.

Teacher salaries: With radio ads and news articles, MEA-MFT has put Montana's low teacher salaries on the front burner. As a result, Montana decision-makers from the governor's office to newspaper editors are now calling for better teacher salaries.

Protection on the job: Our highly skilled staff help members resolve all kinds of work-related problems. Their help is free to members.

Click here to contact field staff.

Contracts: MEA-MFT staff help local affiliates negotiate and maintain contracts that protect members' rights, working conditions, and salaries.

Liability: Today's teachers are increasingly at risk of frivolous charges and lawsuits. Your MEA-MFT membership protects you with a $1 million professional liability policy for defense against criminal charges or civil lawsuits. Obtaining this kind of defense could cost non-members many thousands of dollars.

Your voice in issues that affect you: Politicians affect what you teach, how you teach, and what you're paid. MEA-MFT stays involved in the political process (legislature, congress, board of public education) to give you a strong voice in policies that affect you and your students.

MEA-MFT also works to help elect friends of children and public schools. We fight for policies that move education forward, and we fight against radical measures such as vouchers that would paralyze public schools.

K-12 & Head Start NEWS

Special benefits -- members only: Along with NEA and AFT, we seek discounts and programs designed to save members hundreds of dollars on services such as home financing, no-fee, low-rate credit cards, financial planning assistance, low-cost car and home insurance, and much more.

Click here to learn more about these special benefits.

Your voice in MEA-MFT: K-12 and Head Start members are well represented on the MEA-MFT Board of Directors. Click here to see MEA-MFT board members.

Montana Professional Teaching Foundation
New Teacher ASSIST
Montana curriculum group web sites
NEA web site
AFT web site
AFT's Educational Issues Department
Other great links

K-12 & Head Start NEWS