Students have received their report cards. Teachers are packing their books. Once again the end of the school year is here. I want to wish you a good summer and give you a short update on some of the things we have worked on this year.
Please stay active and in touch with our union this summer. Continue to go to the UFT website to be informed of all the issues.
I want to wish you a great summer. I hope you will take time to rest, relax and recharge.
In unity,
Cecilia Cortez
Chapter Leader
Parking survey
Thank you to all of those who responded to the survey about the parking situation at the schools to which you drive. As you know, many Hearing Education Services chapter members are having trouble finding parking at our schools.
Eighty five members — more than 50 percent of our chapter — responded. The survey responders were from all five boroughs, but most were from the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. Here are a few highlights from the responses we received:
- 87 percent said they go to at least three schools each day
- 11 percent of those who responded go to six schools or more each day
- 65 percent said they encounter parking difficulties on a frequent basis
- 76 percent — or 62 HES members — said insufficient parking is frequently the cause of their parking difficulties
- 81 percent said they have been late seeing a student due to difficulty parking
- 18 percent had been late to see a student more than 10 times due to difficulty in finding a parking space
This information will be extremely helpful in our meetings with the city and the Department of Education about our parking issues. I will keep you updated on further developments on this.
Consultation meetings
Through our consultation committee, we have discussed and clarified many issues including on schedules, rules, personal days, emails, tenure, tutoring, weather, TRAC and RSA. We have resolved many of these issues. You can find notes on all of our consultation meetings on our website.
Consultation committee minutes are posted on our chapter website.
District 75 celebration honors our chapter
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Our chapter was honored at the annual Friends of District 75 event this year, and I accepted the award on behalf of you all. UFT President Michael Mulgrew and Chancellor Carmen Fariña (sixth and fifth from right, respectively), stood with the presenters, including District 75 Representative Analia Gerard (second from right), and all of the honorees, including me (front, right) at the event on May 14 at the Astoria Manor, Queens.
Read the New York Teacher article about the ceremony »
See more photos from the ceremony »
Chapter elections
As you know, we had our chapter elections and I am very happy to have the honor of continuing to be your chapter leader for the next three years. We also have three Delegate Assembly delegates: Donna Kafko, Janet Katz and Noel Lehrer. Congratulations to all!
Professional development and chapter meetings
On June 4 we had a very nice professional day. All the HES teachers from self-contained classes and related services came together at the UFT Bronx borough office. We were trained on all relevant issues related to teaching of the deaf.
Our monthly meetings of HES related-service providers throughout the school year continue to be important and very helpful because they allow us to share information among us, and they keep me updated on issues related to our chapter. The UFT borough offices have been wonderful in giving us space and ongoing support for these meetings.
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