The UFT has formed a partnership with the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies to offer a new series of graduate courses for UFT members beginning this summer.

These cost-effective courses, which are designed specifically for New York City educators by CUNY in collaboration with the UFT Teacher Center, will give members the opportunity to earn graduate credits toward their next salary differential and Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE) hours at the same time.

The four courses are designed to help educators develop an understanding of the history and current reality of teaching in diverse urban communities, with a focus on social, racial and economic justice. Each is worth three graduate credits and 135 CTLE hours. Members may choose to take individual courses or complete all four to earn an advanced certificate in community leadership. They may also choose to pursue a 30-credit master’s degree in urban studies at CUNY, with the credits counting toward their MA.

“These are courses tailored to New York City educators,” said UFT Vice President for Education Mary Vaccaro. “The focus on social justice and urban studies is so relevant to our classrooms and to what’s going on in the world.”

Two courses for members will be offered this summer:

• In Community Organization, students will examine why and how people in urban communities and neighborhoods have organized to improve their quality of life.
• In Diversity in Urban Education, students will examine the social forces that shape urban education.

Summer classes will meet remotely. In the fall, CUNY hopes to offer in-person classes at UFT borough offices and at individual school sites where enough teachers are interested in taking a course together.

Members who enroll will be able to take advantage of CUNY’s affordable tuition rates.

Two additional courses are part of the program:

• In Urban Social Problems and Community Development, students will study the historical development of urban communities and the structural roots of urban social problems, with a specific focus on New York City.
• In Work, Culture and Politics in New York City, students will learn about New York’s key industries, urban social identity, community organizations and labor’s contributions to building the city’s institutions.

The CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies was founded in 2018 to continue the work of the Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies, which has offered educational opportunities to workers and union members for nearly 35 years.