Leigh Anderson

The Progressive Redesign Opportunity Schools for Excellence (PROSE) program, which affords schools the freedom to experiment and innovate, is marking its 10th anniversary this school year. Nearly 300 teachers, chapter leaders and principals from the now 217 PROSE schools citywide gathered at union headquarters on Dec. 12 to celebrate.

Thanks to the PROSE program, Concord HS, a transfer high school for students ages 16 to 21 on Staten Island, has been able to revamp its school hours to meet the needs of its unique student population, who have not thrived in a traditional high school. That flexible schedule means that students don’t have to choose between school and shifts at Amazon or other work.

If you’re like many new teachers, you’re working under an Initial, Internship or Transitional B teaching certificate that will eventually expire. With the school year half over, now is a good time to take stock of the progress you’re making toward your Professional state certification.

Miriam Krinick, who turned 100 in November, was honored on Nov. 1 at Brooklyn’s PS 108, where she taught for 18 years, at the unveiling of a Little Yellow Library, a charitable donation to the school from the Kendra Scott Foundation.

Federation of Nurses/UFT members employed by NYU Langone Hospital–Brooklyn won a significant victory in their long-running battle with the Sunset Park hospital over short staffing when an independent arbitrator on Dec. 1 sided with the union and ruled that the hospital must compensate nurses that work on short-staffed shifts. 


Some 30 educators, academics, activists and representatives from community-based organizations gathered together on Nov. 29 for a Summit to Support Newcomers to discuss how to best assist educators confronted with the thousands of asylum-seeking children that have recently arrived in public schools.


It is possible to finance classroom projects with grants, donations and other money-saving strategies. Here are some avenues.

Louis Pichardo brings his twin passions for teaching and electrical work to his job teaching electrical installation to career and technical education students at Queens Technical HS in Sunnyside. Pichardo, a third-year teacher, asks his students to be active participants and investigators.