Thelma Thompson, PS 123, Manhattan

Thelma Thompson, a science teacher at PS 123, sees her chapter leader role as being “first for the children, then for the educators, then for the administration,” she said. “What’s beneficial for the children is beneficial to everyone else.”

The members at her school attest that for Thompson, that includes keeping them informed of their contractual rights and enforcing the contract when it’s violated. It also includes tackling projects that help students thrive. In the 2025–26 school year, that meant establishing a SAVE room.

“If students are not following classroom instructions and are disrupting the learning process, they may need to be removed from the classroom for a day,” Thompson explained. That’s where the SAVE room — a space for students to complete work without distractions — came in. But PS 123 was co-located with a charter school in the 2011–12 school year and has been losing space ever since. Without a dedicated SAVE room, students who were removed from class were relocated to other teachers’ classrooms instead.

“You’re fixing one problem by creating another,” said Tracy Davis, a math enrichment teacher and UFT delegate. “Now a new teacher is responsible for the child, and that child may not mesh with your students.”

Thompson became aware of the issue after looking at student responses to a school survey. Many students reported that behavior issues were preventing them from learning. Thompson tries to keep her focus on “what’s wrong that we can actually fix.” Her colleagues were enthusiastic about creating a dedicated SAVE room.

By rallying her members and looping in her UFT district representative, Thompson quickly established a dedicated SAVE room. Her colleagues report that the improvement is universal.

“I haven’t had to put any student in the SAVE room, but it’s still made my life easier,” said Davis, “because I haven’t had to hold any students.”

When a student is removed from class, the teacher has a conversation with the student and parents about what rules the student violated. Before reentering class, the student is engaged in conversation by the teacher about the goals and expectations moving forward. “It’s a time to calm down and get yourself together,” said Thompson of the SAVE room’s effect on students, “and it’s a time to get your work done.”

Thompson feels that the dedicated space helps all students feel safe. “You have to look at the children like they are your own kids,” she said. “We have to do as much as we can to make sure students feel safe coming to school.”