around the uft

Semper fi

Jan 17, 2008 3:45 PM

Frank Volpicella, former UFT vice president for academic high schools, was honored in November at a retirement bash attended by hundreds of his colleagues. Volpicella, a graduate of James Madison HS and CCNY, started teaching in 1959 and was on the picket lines during the first UFT strike in 1960. He remembered his first principal asking him if he could teach a tough class and Frank said yes because he was about to join the Marines. “You’re hired!” exclaimed the principal. Volpicella rose quickly through the ranks of the union’s leadership, starting as a delegate at New Utrecht HS, then chapter leader, followed by a stint as the Brooklyn high school representative. He was elected UFT vice president in 2002 and he is currently on the board of directors of NYSUT. Volpicella is still active in the UFT, visiting high schools to share his knowledge and “to keep the union strong.” What he misses most, Volpicella said, is “the camaraderie and helping people.” And of course, he misses being in the classroom. He and his wife, Phyllis, a retired accountant, now have time for traveling. “We have been to Greece and Turkey and we are planning a trip down the Danube,” he said. Come spring, he will be in Florida for major league baseball spring training. “I will be cheering on the Mets,” he said. He also has more time to read. “I just finished “World without End,’” he added. Volpicella has three daughters. One is a doctor, another works for NASA and another is a teacher. He is having a ball spending time with seven grandchildren, three of whom are triplets.