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

Recent new teacher news from the New York Teacher.

• Social justice, community activism and lots of [fair trade] chocolate
  Fifth-graders have opinions, Liav Shapiro finds. In fact, they already have lots of them and are eager to debate ideas.
• Newly appointed teachers must validate online salary step application
  Approximately 1,344 newly appointed teachers have not validated their online Salary Step Application.
• Making the grade
  There were a lot of things I was anxious about when I came out of the School of Ed. One was the switch from being the graded to being the grader.
• I got a DOE warning letter because I am teaching under a provisional state certificate. How do I apply for a time extension?
  You should act quickly to get an extension and remedy your specific requirements promptly, otherwise you risk termination from your position.

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.