New York TeacherFebruary 13, 2026

Volume LXVII, Number 4

Latest News

News Stories

City must ‘build’ capacity

The UFT is taking aim at the School Construction Authority as it forecasts that when New York City public schools enter year four of the phased implementation of the state’s class-size reduction law, they will fall slightly short of the 80% compliance the law requires -- largely due to a lack of space.

News Stories

Union takes its case to Albany

The UFT told state lawmakers during budget hearing in Albany that it wants them to deliver on a number of priorities key to best serving New York City educators and the students they serve, including fixing Tier 6, revising the state education funding formula, increasing family child care providers’ compensation and expanding the community schools network.

Feature Stories

Computer science teacher Andy Jordan leads students in his robotics intensive at ember, the usual bell schedule at The Young Women’s Leadership School of Astoria.

Freedom to explore

For two weeks in December, the usual bell schedule at The Young Women’s Leadership School of Astoria didn’t signal a rush from algebra to English or history to science. Instead, students at the 6–12 all-girls school in Queens spent their school days immersed in single projects — building competition-ready robots, designing makeup artifacts that explore cultural identity, crushing dried insects to make medieval pigments, storyboarding stop-motion films frame by frame, and more.

The pause from regular classes was intentional and all thanks to the Progressive Redesign Opportunity Schools for Excellence (PROSE) program of which TYWLS of Astoria is part. PROSE was established in the 2014 DOE-UFT contract and affords schools the freedom to…

Freedom to explore

Educators at The Young Women’s Leadership School of Astoria in Queens utilize their ability to have a flexible schoolday schedule to engage students with two weeks of intensive immersion in a single project. The Progressive Redesign Opportunity Schools for Excellence (PROSE) program, of which TYWLS of Astoria is part, affords schools the freedom to experiment and innovate.

Social study of old New York

Queens 8th graders explore themes of cultural identity, community and adaptation through the stories of families who lived in New York City tenements during a class trip to the Tenement Museum.

Member Spotlight

Samuel Berck takes a photo at a public schoolyard. He is standing and wearing a black N95 mask

What I Do

Samuel Berck, math teacher at Rikers Island

District 79 math teacher Samuel Berck instructs incarcerated students at the East River Academy at the Rikers Island jail complex. 

Chapter Leader Shoutout

Katrina Thomas, PS 289, Brooklyn

Discarded plastic bottles inspired Katrina Thomas, the chapter leader at PS 289 in Brooklyn, to take the initiative to raise money to build a kindergarten in Ghana.

Around the UFT

Clinicians Appreciation Day

Nearly 1,300 attendees gathered online and at UFT headquarters for the 20th annual UFT Clinicians Appreciation Day for a mix of professional development, networking and for the first time, an awards ceremony honoring the School Psychologist and School Social Worker of the year.

Your Rights and Benefits

Know Your Benefits

Sabbaticals

UFT members who are teachers or other pedagogical staff — including school counselors, social workers and school psychologists — are eligible to take a sabbatical leave to enhance their teaching skills, restore their health if they are ill or achieve state certification in a shortage area.

Know Your Rights

Per-session activities

Learn all the rules and know your rights with regard to "per-session" activities done outside regular classroom hours.

Your Well-being

Fourth-graders in Mrs. Toomey and Mrs. Barone's ICT class show love for PS 41 on

Cultivating love

In this Valentine's Day season, it is worth remembering that there are various types of love around us all the time, all worthy of celebration. Rather than being dependent on a romantic partner, love is something each of us creates from within, every day. Part of cultivating love is noticing the love we already have and finding ways to deepen that joy.

You Should Know

Grants, Awards & Freebies

Grants, Awards & Freebies

See our list of current opportunities for educators to receive funds and recognition for their hard work and dedication.

Q&A on the Issues

Fixing Tier 6

Get answers to all your questions about the Tier 6 New York State pension tier and why the UFT is fighting so hard to "fix" it.

Secure Your Future

Your pension options

Learn about your pension benefit distribution options.

Opinions

President's Perspective

UFT President Michael Mulgrew at the negotiating table

Time to lay it on the line with lawmakers

President Michael Mulgrew reminds members the UFT stays in the fight for the things that matter to educators, students, their families and our communities. As the budget process gets underway at the state and city level — the UFT is geared up to fight for its legislative priorities once again. 

VPerspective

Teacher Center coach Samantha Hall at PS/IS 295 in Jamaica, Queens, conducts a professional learning session.

UFT Teacher Center: partner in pedagogy

UFT Vice President for Education Mary Vaccaro says there is a need for teachers to be work alongside coaches in their classrooms: standing hip-to-hip, modeling and instructing students. The UFT Teacher Center fulfills that role with quality professional development and pedagogical resources. Educators should not hesitate to reach out.

Editorials

Provide for providers

The UFT welcomes New York mayoral and gubernatorial support for expanding 3-K and pre-K and launching a new 2Care program to care for the city's youngest children, but argues that the city's home-based, family child care providers must be fairly compensated for such goals to be achieved successfully.

Editorials

Protect U.S. workers

The UFT urges U.S. senators to pass the Protect America’s Workforce Act to give federal workers the right to collective bargaining and safe workplaces and a way to redress grievances.

Editorial Cartoons

An editorial cartoon of a child pouting in bed as his mother makes him go to school even though Trump is trying to shut down the Department of Education.

School's still in session

"I don't care if they're closing the Department of Education... you still have to go to school!"

Comments

Teaching Resources

Learning Curve

Partnering with paraprofessionals

When teachers and paraprofessionals are on the same page, the classroom becomes a place of unity and students are the beneficiaries. Teachers across the city discuss the benefits of forging strong, healthy relationships with the paraprofessionals with whom they work.

Linking to Learning

Creating classroom content with AI tools

Find about a variety of educator-friendly AI tools with tips on how to use them to create classroom resources, including Notebook LM, Suno and others.

Teacher to Teacher

Behavior-management tips from a District 75 educator

Behavior-management techniques commonly employed in District 75 special education classrooms can be used to address and de-escalate student behavior in general education settings as well. Longtime District 75 teacher Nina Krisel Berke shares four behavior-management tools.

Building Your Career

Inside My Classroom

Cristina Cappiello and Arielle Schwartz, co-teachers at MS 245 in Manhattan take a photo while wearing capes and holding a copy of "The Giver".

Getting into character

Middle school teachers Cristina Cappiello and Arielle Schwartz showcase an inventive way to teach the classic novel "The Giver" in their classroom at MS 245 in Manhattan.

New Teacher Profiles

A portrait photo of teacher Laeticia Charles

Turning hallways into happy places

Queens middle school teacher Laeticia Charles offers a sense of emotional connection and safety to the students she teaches in her second year at MS 137, elevating her students' academics in the process.

Retired Teachers News

RTC Information

Optional drug rider reimbursement up to $900

Each year at the beginning of March, eligible retirees receive a partial reimbursement from the UFT Welfare Fund for the cost of an optional prescription drug rider.

The UFT Welfare Fund reimbursement amount is up to $900 for retirees whose optional drug rider or health plan deduction was in effect for the full year. Retirees whose rider was in effect for less than 12 months will receive reimbursement at the rate of $75 per month. If the monthly deduction was less than $75, the Welfare Fund will cover the full amount.

Eligible retirees on New York City health plans should automatically receive their checks by mail. Those who have not received a check by April 1 are asked to submit a Rider Claim Form, available on the UFT website. The…

RTC Information

Required minimum distributions

UFT retirees who are turning 73 in 2026 and have a tax-deferred annuity (TDA) account have to begin making annual withdrawals from their TDA (called a required minimum distribution or RMD).

RTC Chapter Leader Column

Leading from the front

RTC Chapter Leader Bennett Fischer hails the power of unionists like those of the UFT to preserve democracy and stand up to tyranny in the wake of the killings of laborers Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.