Happy New Year to you! I hope that you had a nice holiday season with your family and loved ones.

As we begin the new calendar year, please keep in mind that January is one of the months that Regents exams are administered. We asked the DOE to place proctoring guidelines in the Principal's Digest for school counselors during Regents week. This information applies to all school counselors when exams are administered. If you work in high schools, it also includes PSAT/SAT school days, which fall on Wednesday, March 1, Wednesday, March 22, and Tuesday, April 25 this year. Please keep reading for more information on your responsibilities during exam administration.

I hope the information below is helpful to you as you continue your work this school year. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me with questions or concerns. Your union is here for you.

In solidarity,

Rosemarie Thompson
RThompson@uft.org
 

Test proctoring guidelines

The DOE recently updated test proctoring guidelines in a recent edition of Principal's Digest to reflect our contractual language. Please find them below and review them:

Proctoring guidelines: Paraprofessionals and school aides cannot serve as test-room proctors. You should instead schedule paraprofessionals and school aides to serve as hall monitors to ensure that students do not leave the test room, unescorted, until they have completed their exam and the uniform admission deadlines (i.e., deadlines by which all students must begin testing) have passed. Additionally, guidance counselors cannot serve as test-room proctors or hall monitors unless it is an emergency (i.e., other staff are unavailable). For additional information on uniform admission deadlines, review page 12 of the 2019 Edition of the School Administrator’s Manual.

Please note that an emergency is an unforeseen event. Schools are currently preparing proctoring assignments for teachers. You should not be asked to proctor now — that is not considered an emergency. If your principal asks you to proctor in a non-emergency situation, please contact both me and your school’s chapter leader.

You can review the exam administration guidelines in their entirety in the Digest Library. Your DOE credentials are required to access this information.

Student services managers

I have heard from many school counselors this year about the lack of support from the DOE when questions arise. Each superintendent should have a student services manager who provides support and professional development to school counselors. This has not been the case in some districts. We have been addressing this issue since September. The lack of guidance when circumstances arise and we need additional clarification on questions is unacceptable.

We will continue to voice our concerns to the DOE. In the meantime, school counselors can email the following educational administrators for guidance and support:

• Bronx and Brooklyn North: Jamie LePow (jlepow@schools.nyc.gov)
• Queens and Staten Island: Margarita Suero (msuero4@schools.nyc.gov)
• Manhattan and Brooklyn South: Michael Battista (mbattis@schools.nyc.gov)

Teacher's Choice deadline

The purchasing period for eligible supplies through the Teacher’s Choice program ends on Friday, Jan. 13. School counselors received $110 in funds through the program.

The receipts for your purchases must be submitted with a Statement of Purpose/Accountability form by Friday, Jan. 20. Members who received a Teacher’s Choice payment but did not file an accountability form with required receipts by the deadline must return the money to the DOE.

19th annual UFT School Counselors Conference

Please save the date for our chapter’s 19th Annual UFT School Counselors Conference on Saturday, March 11. This year’s theme is “School Counselors: The Glue That Holds Our Schools Together.” We will be looking at the role we’ve played in supporting students and school communities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Complete our interest survey

To help us plan programming for the conference, please complete this interest survey if you haven't already done so. The deadline to complete the survey is Friday, Jan. 20.

Fill out the survey

Professional learning opportunities

The Counseling Support Team of the Office of Safety and Youth Development is offering several professional learning opportunities on Monday, Jan. 30.

Register for any of these opportunities below by logging in with your DOE credentials.

Register Now