This new school year is shaping up to be unlike any other. We face serious challenges on multiple fronts at the same time: We must protect our safety and health. We must teach and support our students in the best way we know. And we must fend off the threat of layoffs.

UFT members have confronted the biggest personal and professional challenges in more than a generation, and have met them with integrity.

The UFT is once again marshalling its forces to ensure we get a state budget that protects public education in New York City.

We have a major challenge ahead of us this spring: Making sure every New Yorker is counted in this year’s U.S. Census.

The Red for Ed movement continues to be a rallying cry for teachers around the country who are fed up with underfunded schools and low wages. We in New York City set the standard for public school educators about what it is possible to gain when you belong to a strong union.

We’ve seen a dramatic drop in the number of oversize classes early in the school year — thanks to class-size reduction provisions negotiated as part of the 2018 Department of Education-UFT contract that were designed to get faster relief for teachers and students.