feature stories

The answer people

by Ellie Spielberg

Oct 1, 2009 12:32 PM

UFT’s Dial-A-Teacher program has helped kids, parents for nearly three decades

Quick, which is more: 2/10s plus 4/100s or 4/10s plus 2/100s? What is an antonym for “maneuver?” What continent is Israel on?

They may sound like questions for brainiacs on a quiz show, but they’re merely homework questions that New York City kids have called in to Dial-A-Teacher staffers, who are “merely” experts in K-6 education and beyond.

The 54 “Dialettes,” as they call themselves, turn no inquiring mind away.

“We had the highest number of calls the first night that the program has had in seven years,” said new DAT Director Anthony Harmon during one typically hectic evening of calls.

Harmon is looking forward to bringing new energy to Dial-A-Teacher and working diligently to expand it.

“We want to serve as many kids who need homework assistance as possible,” he said.

The phones of the nationally lauded homework helpline officially started ringing off the hook for the new school year on Sept. 14. Just a week later, during three hours on Sept. 21, 1,043 calls came in. The next day, 1,200. And the momentum keeps building.

DAT was launched 29 years ago and is nearing its 2 millionth call. It has won countless awards and has been used as the model for homework helplines all over the country.

As all kids who are hip about homework know, they can get a really nice, smart teacher all to themselves from Monday through Thursday between 4 and 7 p.m. by calling 1-212-777-3380.

But you don’t have to be a kid to love DAT.

Many calls come in from parents who need help helping their children. They can be accommodated in 11 languages in addition to English: Spanish, Russian, French, Arabic, Haitian Creole, Bengali, Slavic, Egyptian-Arabic, Hebrew, Chinese and Italian.

What’s new this year is that “the program’s online feature has been upgraded to whiteboard status,” said DAT Project Coordinator Karen Butler-Brock, “so not only can we chat with students online but we can draw and also see what they’re working on.”

Veteran staffer Gail Seiden, an English and French ace who can handle calls from kindergartners to college seniors, is taking a breather between calls when her colleague, math specialist Judy Potter, rushes over and asks if she has a synonym and antonym book.

Seiden doesn’t have it anymore.

“Then do you know an antonym for maneuver?” asks Potter.

“Barge! As in ‘barge in on,’” says Seiden.

“Thanks,” says Potter, on her way back to the math world.

Seiden asked a parent who called how she found out about DAT.

“Are you kidding? I’ve been calling you forever. I couldn’t live without this place,” the parent answered.

“This program is important because it helps kids,” said UFT President Michael Mulgrew, who appeared on Channel 11’s morning news on Sept. 24 to help promote the program. “We want the parents and students of New York City to know that if they need help they’re just a phone call away and a teacher is waiting.”

[Watch the video of Mulgrew on Channel 11’s morning news here.]

Irv Gikofsky, Channel 11’s weather guru better known as Mr. G, has been talking about the program during his CBS-FM and WPIX segments every day, greatly helping to boost the number of calls coming in.

Despite all the collective expertise in almost every subject, mysteries still abound at DAT.

Marie Goldberg, a specialist in social studies, English, Spanish, elementary education and basic Latin, was completely stumped by a recent by a question:

“Who gives singing lessons?”

And longtime staffer and math expert Jeanne Willis was mystified when she got a call from a little boy in Miami.

“I should’ve asked how he got the number for Dial-A-Teacher, but we were too busy,” Willis said, as the phone rang once more.

By now, all elementary school chapter leaders should have received and distributed the 2009-10 Dial-A-Teacher kits. If you are an elementary school teacher and have not received one, please speak to your chapter leader.