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Leigh Anderson

New York Teacher Senior Editor/Reporter

A supplies set up graphic.

Tips for preparing your classroom

Arranging your classroom in a way that works for you and your students is an important first step toward a successful year. Veteran teachers share ideas and tips on help you set up your classroom — whether for the very first time or as part of a refresh after the summer.

From their classroom windows, the students of St. John’s Residence for Boys in Queens can see the rich recreational landscape of the Rockaways — the ocean, the boardwalk, volleyball and basketball courts, roller rinks — a landscape they aren’t permitted to experience. When the boys spotted a pickleball court from the window and asked what it was, veteran physical education and Spanish teacher Jenine DeMarzo (inset) decided to set up a makeshift pickleball net in her classroom to introduce them to the game.

Phys ed teacher goes the extra mile

Physical education teacher Jenine DeMarzo brings culture and connection to her incarcerated students at St. John’s Residence for Boys in Queens by setting up a makeshift pickleball court in her classroom.
Members rally for a fair deal ahead of the 2022–27 contract. Preparation is now under- way for 2027 talks.

Ready to fight for our rights

A record 750 members have volunteered to help negotiate the next DOE-UFT contract, which is set to expire on Nov. 28, 2027. Planning for the upcoming rounds of bargaining is already underway.
Selinda Edwards

Creative approach yields big results

Teaching is a natural fit for the creative and energetic Selinda Edwards of IS 117 in the Bronx. 
Colleagues say her thoughtful and dynamic teaching style is yielding big results with her 6th- and 7th-grade math students. 

Una-Belinda Titus, 4th grade math teacher at PS 284 in Brooklyn has her students solve a basic math problem to figure out and write the day's date in their notebooks.

Building fluency with basic math facts

A 4th-grade math teacher at PS 284 in Brownsville, Brooklyn, outfits her classroom with a colorful math calendar that builds fluency and grounds them in the start of the school day.
UFT contract negotiation committee to convene

UFT Contract Negotiating Committee to convene in June

The UFT Contract Negotiating Committee, made up of over 600 members, will begin in June to chart union strategy for negotiating the next DOE-UFT contract.

Tom Brown

Tom Brown reelected TRS trustee

Tom Brown, UFT assistant treasurer and the current chair of the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) Board, was decisively reelected as a TRS board trustee on June 2. He will serve a three-year term.
Barbering students from Manhattan’s Coop Tech demonstrate their skills with scissors and clippers.

Celebrating new frontiers in CTE

From dental molds and catapults to barbering and cosmetology skills, career and technical education high school projects displayed a wealth of talent in the exhibit hall at this year’s UFT Spring Education Conference.
The quick actions of (from left) teachers Carolyn Sullivan and Eva Cerverizzo and school social worker Shirley Gavidia of Staten Island’s PS 10 saved the life of a 2nd-grader.

SI educators save 2nd-grader’s life

School social worker Shirley Gavidia and 2nd-grade teachers Eva Cerverizzo and Carolyn Sullivan of PS 10 on Staten Island are credited for saving the life of a 2nd-grader who became unconscious earlier this school year.
Students in classroom looking at a monitor

Check out these summer PD opportunities

Learn all about the UFT's offerings this summer of high-quality, affordable classes to help educators earn CTLE credits and/or A+ or P credits.