New York TeacherJuly 10, 2015
Volume LVI, Number 11
Cover Stories
Educators see incremental progress in schools and profession
Teachers may be starting to feel more optimistic and in control of their professional lives following a decade of unrelenting assault under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, according to the UFT’s sec…
Showcasing passion, dignity and respect
This year's Spring Education Conference showcased and celebrated the great work being done by educators throughout the city, with a morning panel and workshops that gave prominent roles to educators who are engaged in the UFT’s Community Learning Schools and the new school-based initiatives that got underway this year.
Honoring our kids
Hard work and achievement were honored at the 46th annual Albert Shanker Scholarship Awards ceremony at which the union handed out nearly $1 million in scholarships to 177 high school seniors and five prospective graduate students.
Latest News
Elia named state education commissioner
MaryEllen Elia, who displayed a readiness to work with teachers and their union during her 10 years as school superintendent in Hillsborough County, Florida, was the unanimous choice of the state Board of Regents on May 26 to become New York State education commissioner.
New Jersey’s urban schools face deep cuts
School districts across New Jersey face looming layoffs and program cuts after the state government failed for the seventh year in a row to increase state school aid despite rising costs.
A digital media company unionizes
New York-based Gawker Media has become the first major digital media company to unionize after an overwhelming majority of employees voted on June 4 to form a union with the Writers Guild of America, East.
Atlanta cuts music education, fires teachers
The Atlanta school district has announced that it will eliminate 18 of its 58 elementary school music teacher positions next year, continuing a national downward trend in arts education.
Nevada launches statewide school vouchers
Nevada has implemented an unprecedented school voucher program that next school year will allow parents to pull their children from the state’s public schools — and take tax dollars with them.
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Feature Stories
Noteworthy graduates: Daniel Messina, hospital executive
Daniel J. Messina is an unabashed optimist, a fierce competitor who communicates in the tough-love, coach-talk of a lifelong athlete. “Sometimes my wife yells at me to be a realist,” Messina says, laughing. “But I am an idealist. It’s who I am.” Messina is a native, a booster and a lifelong resident of Staten Island, who has run eight New York City marathons, trekked up Mt. Kilimanjaro and hiked from France to Italy to Switzerland to the Mont Blanc summit.
He is no lay-about at his day job, either. Messina is president and CEO of Richmond University Medical Center, the very hospital in which he was born 58 years ago. In his spare time — yes, he makes time — he raises awareness and money on behalf of those, like his late mother Rose, who have multiple sclerosis. He was instrumental in the building of one of the few residences for people with MS. “You want to…
A safe space for students
The Council for Unity was started 40 years ago to help give high school teenagers a path out of gangs and street life. It's taken root and transformed students' lives at Madison HS in Brooklyn.
Giving everyone a voice
With the new time allotted in the UFT-DOE contract for professional development, the staff development committee at P 4, a District 75 school in Queens, seized the opportunity to allow educators to showcase their skills for each other.
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Around the UFT
NYC First Lady Chirlane McCray visits PS 335/MS 584, Crown Heights
Chirlane McCray, the first lady of New York City, attended a community school forum on June 10 at PS 335/MS 584 in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
Art project at Brownsville Academy HS, Brooklyn
Susan Tuthill, nominated recently as a Daily News Hometown Hero for what the paper described as an “ambitious glow-in-the-dark fun house project,” led her art students at Brownsville Academy HS in Brooklyn on a yearlong Ride to Wacky Whimsicality.
Brooklyn students run for a cause
Compassion and activism are growing in Brooklyn and, right along with that, student self-confidence and determination.
Bronx School Safety Agent Award Recognition Dinner
Roughly 250 Bronx education and public safety workers — including school safety agents, police officers, teachers, principals and other school administrators and staff — and their friends and families turned out for the fourth annual School Safety Agent Award Recognition Dinner on June 9 at the UFT’s Bronx borough office.
2015 Blackboard Awards
Ten outstanding educators from UFT-represented public or charter schools were among 15 who were honored at the 2015 Blackboard Awards in the New York Institute for Technology Auditorium in midtown Manhattan on June 8.
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You Should Know
Secure Your Future
Summer is a great time to plan
Members who retired between Nov. 1, 2009 and June 30, 2014 have received a lump sum for their retroactive pay raises under our 2014 contract with the Department of Education. The Teachers’ Retirement System is now recalculating the pensions of thousands of UFT members who retired during that time period to ensure that their pensions incorporate these salary raises.
Opinions
President's Perspective
Supporting each other to strengthen our schools and profession
Calling this a challenging school year would be an understatement. Every educator I speak to is exhausted and more than ready for a well-earned summer break.
VPerspective
Understanding the whole child
The Positive Learning Collaborative is working with 16 schools to help create classrooms free of bullying, drama and conflict so all children can learn while respecting the humanity of teacher and child. We are already seeing exceptional results.
Opinion
Billionaires have feelings, too
Gov. Cuomo said something odd recently. Speaking to reporters at a rally for raising the state’s minimum wage, the governor said he is uncomfortable with the term “income inequality.”
Editorial Cartoons
Teaching Resources
Linking to Learning
iPad apps for students with special needs
With adaptive technology, customization, and voice and touch controls, iPads have become mainstays in the special education classroom. Here are apps to explore if you are working with students with disabilities.
Research shows
Less is more when it comes to homework
The ideal amount of homework to assign to middle school students is about an hour a day, according to new research in the Journal of Educational Psychology.
Teacher to Teacher
Making grammar fun
Grammar isn’t typically a favorite part of English language arts for students or teachers.
Building Your Career
Building Your Career
New Teacher Articles
Reflecting on this year — and planning for next year
The beginning of summer is a natural time to reflect on your practice as a teacher and look ahead to the new school year.
Retired Teachers News
RTCer quizzes presidential candidates
[[nid:90704; line-height: 20.7999992370605px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; styleName:large]]At AFT-sponsored interviews with presidential candidates in Washington, D.C., in early June, the Retired Teachers Chapter’s Nina Tribble spoke for all retirees when she asked Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders a pointed two-part question on Social Security.
She was among a group of rank-and-file members from across the country invited by AFT President Randi Weingarten to represent educators and nurses in the union’s face-to-face interviews with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and Sanders. All of the Republican candidates were invited to participate but not o…