Sept 25, 2008

This Newcomer Checklist will help you prioritize and stay on track. You can find it at www.uft.org/news/teacher/newer/ with electronic links to the many online resources listed below.

The following items are especially for first-year teachers:

• Have you been paired with a mentor? If not, tell your chapter leader right away. Every new teacher without prior teaching experience is entitled to a mentor — an experienced classroom teacher, ideally in your subject area — who will provide you with at least two periods a week of confidential, nonevaluative, nonjudgmental collegial support, separate from any outside mentoring you may be getting. (Teaching Fellows have a mentor assigned by the program in addition to the school-based mentor.)
• If you began teaching on the first day of school and did not receive your first paycheck on Sept. 15, see your school payroll secretary to check if you are on payroll. If you began teaching after the first day but within the first week of school, you should be paid on Sept. 30. Contact your payroll secretary if you need an emergency check to tide you over until you get paid. You will receive a paper paycheck until the DOE has processed your direct deposit enrollment. After that, your semi-monthly payments will be transferred electronically to your bank account.
• The remaining New Teacher Receptions in Queens will take place as follows: Oct. 2 for District 24; Oct. 16 for districts 27 and 28; and Oct. 23 for District 30. This is a chance to meet your borough-based union leaders, including the district representatives (DRs), education liaisons, Teacher Center staff and others. You also will learn about the many services available through your borough office and get a chance to ask about salary issues, health coverage, course requirements and much more. Call the Queens UFT borough office between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. to register.
• Have you enrolled in a health plan for yourself and your eligible dependents? If not, ask your school payroll secretary for the ERB-2000 application form or find it online. Fill out the form, keep a copy of it and all accompanying documents, then submit the packet to your school payroll secretary. It may take a few weeks for your application to be processed, but you are covered by your health plan from day one on the job. Just save receipts for any medical expenses you incur so you can be reimbursed.
• New teachers who qualify for salary credit for prior teaching or related work experience could raise their wages significantly — up to 71/2 years of salary credit, bringing you to Step 8B. If you have not yet applied, do so within six months of being appointed. Delays could affect your pay permanently. Just download an Application for Salary
  Step Placement. Keep copies of your completed application and other materials you will need to submit. Then hand-deliver your packet to 65 Court St., Room 815, or mail it, return receipt requested.
• The DOE’s Department of Human Resources said it would send all newly hired teachers an e-mail in September that records the DOE’s current information concerning your appointment and certification. Take a close look at this e-mail and, most important, check that it is correct. If not, follow the DOE’s instructions right away to correct any errors in the record.
• Did you remember to register for your TEACH account? This will enable you to track the state certification requirements you have already met and those you still need to meet. Remember that you must fulfill all your requirements within five years of your appointment.
• Remember to enroll in the UFT Welfare Fund. It offers prescription drug, dental, optical and other benefits that supplement your health plan — but this is separate from your health plan enrollment. You can complete a Welfare Fund enrollment form online. Then follow the instructions on sending in the required documentation. Save receipts for any prescription drugs you purchase so you can be reimbursed once your enrollment is processed. At the same Web site, you can find dental forms and the names of participating providers of dental and optical services. For optical, hearing aid or disability forms, call the Forms Hotline at 1-212-539-0539.

The following items are for all newer teachers:

• You can earn three credits toward the credit requirements for any salary differential by taking a low-cost, 30-hour P course. (However, P courses do not count toward state certification or licensing credit requirements.) Fall semester P courses are listed in the DOE’s “Professional Development Opportunities Catalog,” available online. You can register at this same Web site.
• If you have a child in college, remember to file a dependent student certification with your insurance company and the UFT Welfare Fund each September to maintain his/her health coverage. Insurance company certification forms are available from your provider; download UFT Welfare Fund forms —– or ask your chapter leader.
• The next date to take the New York State Teacher Certification Exams (except the ATS-P) is Oct. 18. The late registration deadline is Sept. 26 with an extra $30 fee; and the emergency registration deadline is Oct. 10, only by phone or online, with an extra $70 fee. The entire exam schedule and contact information are online.
• Teachers planning to take the Oct. 18 LAST or ATS-W short answer components of the state certification exam can prepare by attending UFT coaching sessions. The two-day Saturday or Sunday sessions will take place at UFT headquarters starting Oct. 4. For complete dates, locations, deadlines and fees, go to www.ufttc.org, and scroll down. To register, call 1-212-475-3737 and ask for Francine Steele.
• You can buy supplementary instructional supplies for your classes through Teacher’s Choice, a City Council-funded program that the UFT rescued from the budget ax to help defray the cost of all the extras we know teachers buy every year. (Schools are obligated to provide basic instructional materials such as paper, chalk, lab supplies and mathematical manipulatives.) Keep in mind that you’ll need advance written authorization from your principal for computer-related purchases. Save receipts for any purchases you made starting Aug. 1; you’ll submit them later as documentation. You will receive your stipend in December. And remember that the decision about what to buy with your stipend is yours to make. That’s why it’s called Teacher’s Choice.
• Did you move this summer? Remember to notify the DOE, the State Education Department and the UFT about any change of address. Otherwise you may not receive mailed notices or certificates and may miss important deadlines or vital information. To notify the UFT Membership Department, send an e-mail to membership@uft.org and include your file number and a telephone number where you can be reached.
• If you are thinking of changing your health plan during the upcoming transfer period — Nov. 3 to Nov. 28 — be sure to read the current Summary Program Description published by the New York City Employee Benefits Office. It is available online. Highlight Labor Relations from the drop-down menu titled City Agencies. Then click Health Benefits Program Summary Program Description. Also, check the chart in the health benefits pull-out in this issue of the New York Teacher. Any change you make will go into effect in January.
• If you completed courses over the summer that qualify you for any pay differential, be sure to file for the extra payment within six months or the salary increase will not be retroactive to your date of eligibility. To access information about salary differentials and to download an application, go to www.teachny.com or www.nycenet.edu/offices/ dhr/payroll/. After completing the application, make a copy for your records, together with all required documentation. You can hand-deliver your application to 65 Court St., Room 815, or mail it, return receipt requested, to the address indicated on the application.
• The UFT offers members a low-cost two-hour Child Abuse Recognition Workshop which meets the New York State requirement for initial or permanent state certification. There are many sessions given in all boroughs. Register online or download the registration coupon online. Follow instructions on the form to register for TC CHILD ABUSE FALL 2007.
• To help teachers meet the state mandate for violence prevention training, a requirement for permanent state certification, the UFT is offering its low-cost two-hour workshop on many dates. Look for the complete schedule and coupon in the UFT Course Catalog.
• Looking for some tips on behavior management? Want ideas on arranging your classroom? Interested in joining a discussion on education policy? These are just a few of the things you can do at the AFT’s online new teacher resource. It was created for teachers, by teachers. .