New teacher q & a

Sometimes teachers need to take a break in service. Some, like you, need to temporarily relocate away from New York City to accompany a spouse; others decide to try another career path and later decide to return to teaching. Before you take time out for these or other reasons that may not qualify for an official leave of absence, be sure to call your UFT borough office and ask to speak to a consultant.

A: It certainly could affect your career. Let’s start with your appointment. While there are no more New York City paper licenses, there are still license/appointment areas, each with a different code. When you began teaching, the DOE notified you by personal email of your license/appointment area and code. At that time, you should have made sure that you were appointed in the right subject area and division level.

Your concern is understandable since the mayor has repeatedly threatened to lay off nearly 5,000 teachers. In fact, there is no need for layoffs. The city’s economy is rebounding: city tax revenues rose by $2 billion over November projections and the city’s current surplus is $3.1 billion.

There are quite a few so this reply can only be an introduction to the subject. Observations and evaluations fall under the general category of performance review, which is cited in Article 8J of the UFT contract.

In addition to enrolling in the Teachers’ Retirement System, you have the opportunity to participate in the Tax-Deferred Annuity, a voluntary program that grows out of Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Your question comes up for many new and experienced teachers. In fact, a publication of the National Staff Development Council identified this time of year, about six weeks after the start of school, as the “disillusionment phase,” when teachers often feel that the need for classroom management is drawing their attention away from curriculum and instruction.

The amount of your paycheck depends on a number of factors, including your years of experience, your seniority in the DOE, and credits and degrees earned beyond your bachelor's.

This could be a very serious situation, so much so that you should not sign any notice of extension until you get the union’s legal advice.

There are times when a school may need to reduce the size of its staff because it has experienced a drop in student enrollment, it loses funding or it is being phased out. In these situations, some teachers may be “excessed,” starting with the least senior teachers in specific license areas. The contract calls for layoff seniority to be used in excessing situations. This consists of your total systemwide service, not your school seniority.