Membership

Why is a MACE Membership Effective?

A MACE membership provides you with guaranteed legal defense in hearings for terminations, non-renewals, demotions, suspensions or hearings before the Professional Standards Commission (PSC). There is no representation that comes even close to the way that MACE aggressively represents teachers in grievance hearings. (MACE actually assists the teacher in filling out the grievance form.)

The MACE Office is open until around 10:00 PM nearly each week day night. Therefore, as a member, you can consult with MACE Staff Personnel at your convenience. MACE has richly earned its reputation for its service work. Unlike other organizations, MACE returns each phone call made before closing time on that very day. (Some weekend calls may be returned on Monday.)

The Founder and Chairman of MACE, Dr. John Trotter, is the indisputable leader in teacher advocacy in Georgia. He is a former teacher and administrator in Georgia, has earned two doctorates (University of Georgia and Mercer University’s Walter F. George School of Law), and is a seminal thinker in the area of public education. He has written several hundred articles on the public schooling process. Dr. Trotter is one of the nation’s lead authorities on teacher morale, teacher stress, and teacher advocacy. Dr. Trotter has coined many quotable phrases and statements, one of which is this time-honored mantra: “You cannot have good learning conditions until you first have good teaching conditions.” Administrators seem to get “the shakes” when Dr. Trotter shows up at their schools.

Dr. Trotter’s associate, Mr. Norreese Haynes, is MACE’s Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer. He has been an understudy of Dr. Trotter for several years. Of Mr. Haynes, Dr. Trotter says: “Norreese Haynes is a young man with an old school mentality. He believes in loyalty. He is fiercely loyal to the MACE teachers. As a teacher, you definitely want Norreese Haynes on your side. When the going gets rough, Norreese Haynes will not cut bait and run.” Mr. Haynes served on the Clayton County Board of Education and was also given a distinguished alumni award from Clayton State University. As an educator in the Clayton County School System, Mr. Haynes’s basketball teams won several County Championships. Among those who were under Mr.Haynes’s tutelage at Riverdale Middle School were star athletes D. J. Shockley and Josh Powell as well as entertainers Tip Harris (“T. I.”) and Cyara.

The MACE Picket Squad is a thing of folklore. Teachers still regale when they remember how their principals (women and men) had tears in their eyes when the MACE Strike Force showed up in front of their schools. People sometimes ask why MACE pickets so much. Well, the answer is fairly simple: Pickets work! The pickets expose what is going on at certain schools, brings much needed relief to the teachers who might be suffering under the heavy hand of certain administrators, and the teachers simply love the pickets!

MACE intervenes on behalf of its members via personal visits to the administrators, letters written to the principals, superintendents, et al., letters which are usually copied to school board members. MACE keeps its members informed, be it through this website, letters, or newsletters. Periodic Teachers’ RightsSeminars are held at the Daniel D. Trotter, Sr., Conference Room at the MACE Office. The MACE Holiday BASHes and the MACE Mix & Mingles are known for the great food, fun, and fellowship!

MACE membership gives a teachers peace of mind. The membership is held in strictest confidence. (This is one of the main reasons that MACE does not use the school system to collect MACE’s membership fees via Payroll Deduction.) Your membership in MACE is confidential until you want the administrators to know that you are protected by MACE. The moment that any administrator shows you any disrespect, they need to know that you are a MACE Member! We have seen many an administrator “get religion” (so to speak) whey they find out that the teacher is a MACE Member!