Chapter Leader UpdateDec. 12, 2024
This Week's Focus
Apply for class size funding by Dec. 20 if your school has space
Schools have until next Friday, Dec. 20, to submit an application for funding to lower class sizes by using available space in their buildings. Reassure your principal that this state money will be a separate funding stream from Fair Student Funding and will be recurring year to year unless there is a citywide financial calamity. Don't leave money on the table! Work with your school leadership team and your principal to finalize your school's plan by the deadline. Here's our toolkit, which includes a link to the joint class size training webinar for chapter leaders and principals. If you have any questions or concerns, speak to your UFT district representative.
Demanding RESPECT for paraprofessionals
Our recent special education survey, which 81% of chapter leaders filled out, painted a clear picture: Of the nearly 2,300 special education vacancies reported across 474 schools, 69% were for paraprofessional positions. It is time to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Paraprofessionals play a crucial part in delivering special education services, and they are needed now more than ever in our schools. If the DOE wants to attract and retain more paraprofessionals, they need to show them the RESPECT they deserve. Each letter of the word RESPECT stands for a goal of our new campaign: Rights, Empowerment, Support, Protection, Engagement, Compensation and Training.
Actions you need to take: Please make sure all of the paraprofessionals in your school know about the RESPECT campaign and have the link to sign up.
The DOE has stepped up its hiring of paraprofessionals in response to our pressure. If there are any new full-time paraprofessionals or substitute paraprofessionals in your school who are not yet union members, please ask them to join the union (sign a card or fill out the online form. Increasing the number of paraprofessionals in our union builds our power and strength for the fight ahead to get them the RESPECT and compensation they deserve.
UFT wins pension-system choice fight for BERS members
We've won our years-long fight for pension-system choice for occupational and physical therapists and other UFT members who were automatically enrolled in the Board of Education Retirement System. On Dec. 11, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law a bill that will allow current and future DOE-employed UFT members who are enrolled in BERS at the start of their careers to transfer into the Teachers' Retirement System if they choose. At long last, these UFT members can join the pension system they have the most confidence in and that they feel provides the best benefits and service. Our Occupational and Physical Therapists Chapter mobilized its members to lobby in Albany for the bill, which passed both houses of the state legislature in June. We are working on a Q&A that will answer members' questions about eligibility, the differences between the two retirement systems and the process for transferring to TRS.
Make sure your principal follows new NYC Reads policy
This school year, as outside consultants took over most of the training for the new mandated reading curriculum, elementary school teachers grew increasingly frustrated with their lack of voice and the lack of support. Chapter leaders complained about redundant spreadsheets and other issues in consultation meetings with their principals. The UFT headed to the bargaining table to demand changes. After intense negotiations, the DOE revised its curriculum policy in early December to grant teachers more autonomy and enable them to focus on instruction. Teachers now can adjust the pacing calendar, with up to two weeks of flexibility. Teachers also can modify instruction to ensure all students can access the curriculum. The DOE agreed that there is no need for teachers to download existing digital data and put it into spreadsheets; instead, schools must use the digital tools built into the reading curriculum. But our work as a union is not complete until the new policy is put into action in every elementary school.
Actions you need to take: Are you seeing changes in your elementary school? Use the consultation process to drive change and discuss remaining issues with the administration.
Register for a one-hour online discussion — on Dec. 17 or 18 — of the new reading curriculum policy at which members can share how it is going in their schools and talk about using the policy to ensure teacher autonomy and paperwork and assessment reduction.
Members can call the UFT during the winter break
During the winter break, you and your members can call the UFT to ask questions about your union rights and benefits, including your UFT Welfare Fund benefits. Members can call 212-331-6311 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays through Friday, Dec. 20, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 26; Friday, Dec. 27; and Monday, Dec. 30. The union's offices will be closed on Monday, Dec. 23, through Wednesday, Dec. 25, and on Tuesday, Dec. 31, and Wednesday, Jan. 1. The UFT will return to its regular 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. schedule beginning Thursday, Jan. 2.
Chapter Leader Checklist
To Do #1
Include your paraprofessional rep on your consultation committee
The union has more paraprofessional reps in schools than at any time in its history. Please make sure to include your school's paraprofessional representative on your consultation committee if you haven't already done so. It's important to give paraprofessionals a voice and a seat at the table at the monthly consultation meeting with your principal.
To Do #2
Secure your items prior to the holiday break
Please remind members to protect themselves against theft by securing all personal belongings and valuable school equipment, such as laptops and projectors, during the break. For more tips, read this article on the UFT website. Please distribute the NYPD Larceny Prevention flyer in your members' mailboxes and post it on your UFT bulletin board
To Do #3
Submit your November consultation summary by Dec. 31
Your consultation committee summary for your November meeting with your principal is due on Tuesday, Dec. 31. If you've had your December meeting, you can submit the summary before you go on break via the Chapter Leader Hub, but the deadline is Jan. 31.
To Do #4
Flyers to share with your members
Here are flyers you can print and distribute in member mailboxes or post on your school's UFT bulletin board:
Hub Highlights
Did you miss our last Chapter Leader Update?
The Chapter Leader Update comes out every two weeks, but do not fret if you miss an issue. As chapter leader, you have access to the complete Chapter Leader Update archive through the Chapter Leader Hub. Check out the archive to get any updates you missed. Remember, you can access the hub using your UFT website username and password.
Work in progress
The UFT is tackling the following issues with the DOE and other city, state and federal-level entities as appropriate:
- Pushing the DOE to convert long-term substitute paraprofessionals to full-time status so they can receive medical benefits and be paid during school breaks, including the summer.
- Meeting with the DOE to discuss the implementation of the occupational and physical therapists' ninth session, which will launch in select districts in January.
- Continuing to press the DOE to address algebra teachers' concerns with the Illustrative Math curriculum.
You Should Know
Committee Updates
Join one of our Team High School committees
Make your voice heard by participating with your fellow high school members on one of the union's Team High School Committees as they discuss topics that members are navigating in schools. The technology committee will meet on Tuesday, Dec. 17, at 4:30 p.m. and the virtual learning committee will meet in January. All committee meetings are held online. If interested, email the UFT's High School Division at teamhighschool [at] uft [dot] org (teamhighschool[at]uft[dot]org).
Medical & Wellness
UFT Welfare Fund dental network grew on Dec. 1
As of Dec. 1, UFT members in the UFT Welfare Fund's most popular dental plan (called the Scheduled Benefit Plan) can choose among more than 2,000 dentists in the New York Metro area, up from approximately 600. You can search for a dentist based on last name, specialty or location. In this expanded panel, members have access to more than three times the number of specialists, including pediatric dentists and orthodontists. In addition to having hundreds more dentists overall, members can see panel dentists for the first time in Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Somerset and Mercer counties in New Jersey as well as Sullivan and Saratoga counties in New York State. As of Dec. 1, the maximum amount the UFT Welfare Fund reimburses for out-of-network dental work increased for 28 dental procedures. We know how important health benefits are for you and your family, and we are laser-focused on pursuing every opportunity to strengthen and improve them.
New MAP support groups start in January
The UFT's Member Assistance Program offers free, online support groups for members throughout the school year. The support groups create a safe and welcoming space to share experiences, stories and tips while connecting with others who may be facing similar challenges. These confidential groups are designed to promote emotional well-being and help members build skills, foster resilience and gain valuable tools to navigate life's difficulties.
This January, MAP will offer:
- Managing Anger on Mondays: Explore effective strategies to understand and regulate anger in healthy ways.
- Taking Charge of Your Emotions: A Dialectical Behavior Therapy Support Group on Tuesdays: Learn DBT techniques to manage overwhelming emotions and improve relationships.
- Building Better Habits on Wednesdays: Focus on developing sustainable habits to enhance productivity and overall well-being.
- Seasonal Self-Care on Thursdays: Prioritize self-care practices tailored to the unique challenges of winter.
For more information or to register, visit the MAP Support Group section of the UFT website or email mapinfo [at] uft [dot] org (mapinfo[at]uft[dot]org).
Salary & Personnel
New mandated reporter training requirements
In accordance with amended state social service law, all mandated reporters must retake the two-hour workshop on the identification and reporting of child abuse and maltreatment/neglect. The updated workshop now covers protocols to reduce implicit bias in decision-making processes, strategies for identifying adverse childhood experiences and guidelines to assist in recognizing signs of abuse or maltreatment. All mandated reporters, including those who have previously taken the workshop, must fulfill the updated training requirement by April 1, 2025. The UFT Teacher Center is holding free online workshops throughout the school year to enable members to fulfill this new state requirement. Registration will open soon for workshops on Feb. 5, Feb. 11 and Feb. 25.
Everything Else
Webinar on rights of immigrant youth and families
New York City public school educators are invited to attend a 90-minute webinar, presented by the nonprofit organization Project Rousseau in collaboration with the DOE, that provides an overview of the legal rights of immigrant youth and families who reside in New York City. The remaining webinars are on Dec. 17 at 9 a.m., Jan. 9 at 11 a.m. and Jan. 14 at 10:30 a.m. No pre-registration is required. The links to join the webinar are in this flyer.
Recent Guidance and Agreements
- DOE Personnel Memo No. 3, Updated Guidance on COVID-19 Excused Absences (October 2024)
- DOE Payroll Administration Memorandum No. 4 on 2024 Social Security and Medicare rates (October 2024)
- DOE Perkins School Allocation Memo for Career and Technical Education (September 2024)
- DOE Personnel Memo No. 1, 2024–25, on lactation accommodation policy (August 2024)
- DOE Personnel Memo No. 2, 2024–25, on teacher shortage areas (September 2024)
- DOE 2024-25 Guidance for Library Programs and Library Teachers (September 2024)
- DOE Personnel Memo No. 1, 2023–24, on COVID days (July 2023)
Key Events & Deadlines
- Tier 6 Pension Clinic Register
- Student debt relief program webinar Register
- Consultation summaries deadline
Contact the UFT
- DOE members, call 212‑331‑6311.
- DOE functional chapter members, call 212‑331‑6312.
- A health benefit question? Call the Welfare Fund at 212‑539‑0500.
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