New Teachers

A message from UFT President Michael Mulgrew

To our newest colleagues —

Being a New York City teacher is a rewarding and fulfilling profession, but don’t let anyone tell you that it will be easy. Certainly, the first few years will be among the most challenging of your career. As you navigate the road ahead, remember that the union is here to help you do your job.

Too many young, promising teachers get discouraged and leave the system, and that’s bad for the profession and bad for kids. The best advice I can give you is to reach out to your colleagues and ask for help. The members of this union are always there to help each other.

The union devotes substantial time and resources to help you get a strong start. When school starts, the UFT chapter leader based in your school will be on hand to answer your questions or put you in touch with the people who can.

In the special summer issue of the New York Teacher, you’ll also find lots of useful information about your benefits, your pay, your contract, the UFT borough offices, and other services available to you. For educational support, there are UFT Teacher Centers in hundreds of schools with master teachers who can advise you on everything from classroom management to lesson planning.

Our New Teacher Advisory Committee is set up especially for you. Its summer series included seminars on ways to save, grant-writing for class resources, and succeeding as a classroom manager. Subcommittees in each borough will also be holding orientation events for new teachers at our borough offices.

The union’s Web site is another resource for you. If you have not already, you should sign up on the Web site to get UFT e-mails and alerts. Signing up will also give you access to online UFT course registration and other member-only benefits.

As you prepare for the new school year, remember that the UFT is there to support you by advocating for your rights and by fighting for our schools — that means everything from pushing the DOE to honor its obligation to provide mentors to new teachers to protesting against budget cuts and fighting for smaller class sizes and safe schools. It means fighting for your right to teach and not just “teach to the test,” and working to reduce the number of hours you have to spend doing paperwork so you can spend more time in the classroom. It means working to get adequate supplies and instructional materials.

What makes our union powerful is the active participation of its members — you — every day in the schools. I hope that you’ll become active in the union. And I can’t emphasize this enough: Just ask for help. We’re all there for you.

I want to wish all of our members, both new and old, the best of luck in this upcoming school year. I hope that I have a chance to meet you, in your school or at a union event.

Sincerely,

Michael Mulgrew
UFT President

Events Calendar

For New Teacher events, go to the UFT Calendar.

News

The August issue of the New York Teacher contains a wealth of information for new teachers.

• New teachers grow their skills at UFT Summer Series
  Scores of new teachers accepted the UFT’s invitation to its 2009 Summer Series, designed to bring teachers in their first three years on the job together and to introduce them to the city’s local treasures, in this case the four borough botanical gardens.
• What the UFT contract means for you
  The UFT contract should matter to you because it touches you every day, providing you with rights and protections you could not depend on without it.
• Union benefits really add up
  As a UFT member, you have an outstanding package of health and Welfare Fund benefits that add thousands of dollars to the value of your salary.
• UFT Teacher Center helps teachers help kids
  The UFT Teacher Center models the kind of professional development programs that deepen teachers’ content knowledge, enhance their pedagogical skills and enable them to become the best teachers they can be at every stage in their careers.
• How much will I earn?
  Although money isn’t usually the main reason people go into teaching, the UFT takes the bread-and-butter issue of wages very seriously. Over the years, the union has had considerable success in raising salaries to professional levels, with higher pay for newcomers and a top salary of more than $100,000.
• Fellows get advice, encouragement
  At welcoming ceremonies on June 15 at the historic Apollo Theater in Harlem, UFT Vice President for Education Issues Aminda Gentile told 750 new Teaching Fellows that they are about to become members of a super-sized professional support team, the United Federation of Teachers.
• Paycheck problems? Tell the UFT
  If you begin work on the first day of school and you are on payroll, you should receive your first check on Sept. 15. If you do not receive a paycheck that day, see your payroll secretary about getting an emergency check.
• Mentoring: It’s your right
  If you are a first-year teacher who has not had prior teaching experience, you are entitled to one-to-one mentoring throughout your first year.
• Help with meeting state requirements
  The UFT offers many programs to help you hone your skills and meet state certification requirements.

2009 Summer Series

Ways to Save
Click here to download the PowerPoint slideshow.

Grant Writing for Classroom Resources

Getting Off On the Right Foot – Planning to Succeed as a Classroom Manager
UFT Headquarters, 52 Broadway, Manhattan
Learn strategies for setting up, maintaining and adjusting your classroom to the needs of your students. We will address hard to handle situations as well as the standard set-up issues. Brunch will be provided. Click here to download the PowerPoint slideshow.

Photos

Check out our online photo gallery of New Teacher events.