New York TeacherJanuary 16, 2014
Volume LV, Number 6
Cover Stories
Labor unites behind de Blasio’s pre-K plan
[[nid:69166; styleName:photo_full_node_2]]Leaders from all of the city’s major labor unions — representing 1.3 million workers — on Jan. 6 voiced their strong support for Mayor Bill de Blasio’s call for universal, full-day prekindergarten for the city’s 4-year-olds.
Of the significance of labor leaders standing side by side with the new mayor at the press conference at an early learning center in East Harlem, UFT President Michael Mulgrew said, “This is labor saying we are here to help all of the families of New York City.”
The mayor plans to impose a small city income tax on the wealthy — those earning more than $500,000 a year — in order to fund universal full-day, pre-K and after-school programs for middle-school students. Calling it an issue of “economic justice,” de Blasio said he would raise income tax rates on the wealthy from 3.9 percent to 4.4 percent for five years, an amount he likened to the daily cost of a “small soy…
The natural
On Staten Island, community is tightly woven, hard-won and strongly protected. At Curtis HS on the island’s north shore, one of the UFT’s six original Community Learning Schools, community is on prominent display.
New chancellor Carmen Fariña ‘a real educator’
Bill de Blasio’s selection of Carmen Fariña as the new schools chancellor has raised hopes among classroom educators of an end to the obsession with high-stakes testing and a renewed focus on teaching and learning.
Latest News
Class-size grievances yield important victories
The UFT can claim some significant arbitration victories this year in its fight to make the Department of Education abide by the class-size restrictions in the DOE-UFT contract.
NYC students make limited gains on national tests
New York City’s newly released NAEP results, though, may not please the former mayor. They show that between 2003 and 2013 the city’s 4th- and 8th-graders did not improve as much in math or reading as their peers in other cities. New York City students score relatively high and they have unquestionably made progress. They just haven’t made as much progress on average as students in other large urban school districts.
Boeing workers make concessions to preserve jobs
Thirty-one thousand machinists’ union members at Boeing in Washington state on Jan. 3 approved by a slim margin a new contract in which the company guaranteed to base its production of a new model of airplane in the state in exchange for significant cuts to workers’ wages and retirement benefits.
Texas political donations bring charter expansion
After a near doubling of political donations from individuals affiliated with charter schools, the Texas state Legislature passed a law dramatically increasing the number of charter schools allowed in the state.
Restructuring, cuts to Newark schools prompt protest
AFT President Randi Weingarten blasted Newark and state school officials at a recent rally for failing to support the district’s schools while cutting budgets and aggressively expanding charters in what has become a high-profile battle in New Jersey’s largest school system.
More in News Stories
Feature Stories
Br-r-r-ring on 2014!
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It was a teeth-chattering, bone-chilling day at the beach for the Federation of Nurses/UFT members who participated in the Coney Island Polar Bear Plunge on New Year’s Day, an annual tradition that dates back to 1903.
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With air temperatures plummeting below freezing and the water temperature a frigid 41 degrees, almost a dozen brave Federation of Nurses/UFT members joined a record crowd at Coney Island in stripping down to their skivvies and splashing in the New Year.
Lila Shams, a nurse at Lutheran Medical Center, spontaneously recruited fellow Lutheran nurses to participate in the plunge on New Year’s Day as part of a team they named the LMC Divers. But then they learned that the joyous event had a serious mission: to raise money to send critically ill children to Camp Sunshine, a summer program for children with life-threatening illnesses.
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Her enthusiasm for math is contagious
Eleanor Terry has a contagioius enthusiasm for math. The Brooklyn high school teacher assigns math projects relevant to students' lives and interests, from conducting voter exit polls to calculating potential college loan payments.
Seeking a calmer classroom
I teach technology and social studies to students in pre-K through 5th grade at PS 369 in the Bronx. It’s a high-needs neighborhood — there are homeless shelters nearby and there’s a large immigrant population. I have bilingual students and special education students in my classes.
Member Spotlight
What I Do
What I do: Barbara Mercaldo, school psychologist
Barbara Mercaldo has worked in city schools as a school psychologist for 22 years, most recently in three Manhattan schools: PS 125, PS 36 and Columbia Secondary School.
Around the UFT
Gift giving at Community Learning Schools
Students at the three schools — all part of the UFT’s Community Learning Schools Initiative — had their holiday wishes granted thanks to the generosity of anonymous donors and a partnership with New York Cares.
Healthy meeting
Retirees packed Shanker Hall for their Dec. 3 general membership meeting, which focused on what they needed to know about the Affordable Care Act.
Basement gets facelift at PS 123, Brooklyn
Students at PS 123 in Brooklyn were not happy about the conditions in the basement of their 100-year-old building, where they spend their recess and lunch time.
UFT cafeteria worker serves dinner to homeless
Carlos Acosta is well known at UFT headquarters for his warm smile and friendliness as he carves the roast or serves up other goodies in the cafeteria, where he works during the week. What they may not know about him is that, when not working, he often hands out food and blankets to the needy.
BioBus visits MS 224, the Bronx
MS 224 in the Bronx is known as the Science School for Exploration and Discovery.
More in Around the UFT
You Should Know
Secure Your Future
With the new year, a new look at our benefits
Many members of the Teachers' Retirement System are unaware of their benefits. This column focuses on explaining the death benefit available tot he vast majority of members.
Opinions
President's Perspective
The time is now for pre-K
We have always believed in the importance of quality early childhood education for all our children, but achieving it has not been politically feasible in the past. With our new mayor making pre-K his signature education initiative, the stars are aligning to get it done.
VPerspective
Solidarity — a commitment to stand together
I am honored to represent you, our union’s approximately 40,000 members who are not employed by the DOE, as the UFT’s first-ever vice president for non-DOE members. Although we are called the United Federation of Teachers, we are a union of professionals and encompass far more than just teachers and other DOE employees.
Opinion
Ode to joy
Newly appointed Chancellor Carmen Fariña told Department of Education staff during her first day on the job that we need to put joy back in the school system.
Opinion
All eyes on NYC
New York City is under a microscope. With the city having elected its first progressive mayor in a generation, observers from both sides of the political spectrum are watching to see how Mayor de Blasio fares in implementing his vision.
Editorial Cartoons
Teaching Resources
Research shows
Stigma from obesity affects achievement
Research showing that obese children perform below normal-weight peers on math and reading assessments has attributed the cause to health issues linked to obesity. But a new study finds that the social stigma suffered by obese children may affect their academic performance. The research published in Child Development found that math achievement among obese children in elementary school varies depending on when the child became obese and whether it has affected the child’s social and emotional functioning.
Teacher to Teacher
Fostering grit through choice
This high school math teacher, who won a 2013 Sloan Award for teaching, fosters grit in her students by giving them a limited amount of choice in their assignments.
Building Your Career
Building Your Career
New Teacher Diaries
How I came out to my students
By the end of September, the students in my all-girls 9th-grade advisory class at my high school in Brooklyn knew many things about me. What they didn’t know was that I am married to a woman.
Retired Teachers News
Give reps a piece of your mind
On these winter mornings, there is still a way that we can remain union activists from the comfort of our laptops as we sip our tea and coffee and muse on the hubbub outside our doors. In December, we sent out a call to all retirees for whom we have email addresses on ways to have a voice in the federal budget negotiations:
EMAIL YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS ON THE BUDGET.
It appears the Congressional Budget Committee has come to agreement on a modest recommendation concerning the January and February 2014 deadlines for a continuing resolution to prevent another government shutdown and a solution to yet another debt ceiling crisis. This bipartisan committee headed by Democratic Sen. Patty Murray and Republican Congressman Paul Ryan must have heard our voices. But we cannot leave final passage of budget legislation to chance. Now is the time to contact your senators and…