new teacher articles
Summer in the city
Aug 9, 2007 3:58 PM
UFT series helps first-year teachers get started right
Kristal Garcia and Melinda Ramirez show off their new UFT briefcases at the Brooklyn College event. Right: UFT District 31 Representative Sean Rotkowitz addresses new teaching fellows at Brooklyn College in June.
To help new teachers begin their careers with a strong foundation of support and fellowship, the UFT has continued to expand its outreach through its summer series program.
At Mercy College in July, fellow James McKenney looks through the UFT's "Know Your Rights" publication.
New teachers get the chance to socialize with other first-year educators, plus find out about union services and benefits — and get advice on how to organize their classrooms and deal with day-to-day challenges, all before beginning to teach full time.
The first summer series events took place in June and July when the union met with groups of teaching fellows as they took part in an intensive alternative certification training program and worked toward their master’s degrees at various city colleges.
Fellows at City College were greeted by the smiling faces of a number of UFT staffers, including (from left) Special Representative Leroy Barr, Nanette Rosario, Margaret Barelli and Kamar Samuels.
Upcoming events include a special reception at the Bodies Exhibit at the South Street Seaport from 6-10 p.m. on Aug. 21, a workshop on “Ways to Save a New York City Teacher” at UFT headquarters from 10 a.m.-1 p.m.on Aug. 23 and an outing at the Central Park Zoo from 2-4 p.m. on Aug. 28.
For more information or to register for these events, go to the UFT New Teacher Summer Series on uft.org. And, to reach out to the UFT’s New Teacher Advisory Committee, e-mail co-chairs Jeannette Downes at jdownes@uft.org and Giovanti Steward at gsteward@uft.org.
