New York TeacherApril 6, 2017
Volume LVIII, Number 8
Cover Stories
Trump budget a ‘nightmare’ for education
[[nid:100540; float: right; styleName:article_x_small_auto]]President Donald Trump has taken the first step to make good on his campaign promise to shift federal tax dollars from traditional public schools to a “choice” program that promotes charters, private and religious schools.
The education budget he unveiled on March 16 would slash $9 billion — 13 percent of the U.S. Department of Education’s funding — while redirecting $1.4 billion to choice programs, including private-school vouchers, championed by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
“This nightmare budget shows just how little the Trump administration cares for the children it claims to value,” said UFT President Michael Mulgrew. “The record on vouchers and charters is one of exclusion and failure. We will fight this budget every step of the way.”
The president’s budget blueprint is the opening salvo in a months-long process in which the U.S. Congress hashes out the nation’s annual spending bill. Nevertheless, it makes clear Trump’…
Anti-union climate boosts ‘right-to-work’ efforts
It took 73 years for the first 26 states to adopt anti-union “right-to-work” laws, and just 37 days of the Trump administration for numbers 27 and 28 to come on board.
Portraits of activism
For 8th-graders at the Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School in Forest Hills, lessons in writing, art and social studies have come together in a published book of 25 interviews and portraits of social activists in New York City.
Latest News
Loving the work they do
Among the more than 1,000 paraprofessionals who attended the UFT’s 36th annual Paraprofessional Festival and Awards Luncheon, there was a common theme: a love for the work they do.
Kansas Supreme Court rules school funds inadequate
The Kansas Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that the state, yet again, is not providing adequate funding for public schools. The court ordered lawmakers to devise a plan that would meet constitutional standards by the end of June.
Kentucky GOP OKs charters at public schools’ expense
Kentucky’s governor, Matt Bevin, has signed a law authorizing the creation of unregulated charter schools that will receive public funding at the expense of public schools. The fact that the state would draw on public school funds to pay for the new charters came as a surprise to Democratic lawmakers when the state’s Legislature passed the bill earlier in March.
Supreme Court deals setback to transgender students’ rights
The U.S. Supreme Court has directed a lower court to reconsider its ruling allowing a transgender boy access to the boys’ bathroom at his high school, citing the Trump administration’s recent revocation of federal guidance on the matter.
Court: Schools must do more for students with disabilities
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on March 22 that public schools must do more to accommodate students with disabilities in one of the most significant special education cases to reach the high court in decades.
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Feature Stories
On the waterfront
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When students at the District 20 pre-K site at 58th Street in Brooklyn study transportation, they can look out of their classroom windows and watch the ferries, water taxis and barges make their way past the Statue of Liberty in the New York harbor.
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The pre-K center shares space in the Brooklyn Army Terminal with the NYPD Harbor Unit, which has a canine unit, boats and a heliport. So the 4-year-olds have a front-row seat when police scuba divers jump from helicopters into the water as an exercise or when police boats take off from the dock.
But the 114 students got even closer on March 8, when their teachers took them onto the dock behind their building to see an NYPD boat and learn about water safety and the harbor from Detective Liam Devine of the NYPD Harbor Unit and two of his colleagues…
Lessons on the run
The members of teacher John Sorocco's after-school running team have found themselves going faster and farther than they ever imagined.
Fostering diversity
Using the PROSE program, the faculty at MS 447 in Boerum Hill is doing something concrete to foster diversity in their school.
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Member Spotlight
What I Do
What I do: Bernice Springer-Richards, school social worker
A decade as a school social worker has only strengthened Bernice Richards’ belief that no student is beyond saving — certainly not while she’s on the case.
Around the UFT
Honoring those who make program thrive
Dozens of CTE educators were recognized at the 2017 Career and Technical Education Awards Recognition Ceremony on March 13, a celebration of the program that prepares students for high-skill, high-wage careers.
Renewal School Teacher Leadership Spring Symposium
Teacher leaders from the city’s 96 renewal schools gathered on March 13 to showcase what they do and to learn from each other at a busy day of workshops organized by the UFT Teacher Center in collaboration with the DOE.
UFT Hellenic American Educators Association’s Greek heritage celebration
UFT members who are part of the union’s Hellenic American Educators Association braved the cold for the warmth of a celebration of Greek Independence Day on March 16 at union headquarters.
Passion and Promise celebration for paraprofessionals in District 75 on Staten Island
Among the 28 Staten Island paraprofessionals honored for their many years of service at the UFT’s District 75 Passion and Promise event on March 9 were 10 paras from the dedicated, close-knit staff of the Hungerford School.
On the same mission: Integrating schools
About 55 7th-graders from neighboring middle schools have been spending busy Saturday mornings at the test-prep program initiated and led by Brooklyn Latin HS teachers to encourage and prepare local students for the challenging entrance exam required for admission
You Should Know
Secure Your Future
Step-by-step help to plan your retirement
Daylight savings time has arrived, baseball has begun and green leaves are unfurling in gardens and parks around the city. With the arrival of spring, many of us begin to plan our summer vacations. Many others, however, are planning for the rest of their lives as they prepare to retire.
Opinions
President's Perspective
Trump’s bad news budget
In the president’s budget blueprint, we see this is a zero-sum game with clear winners and losers. The score can be tallied in dollars awarded and dollars taken away.
VPerspective
‘Consent education’ can’t be neglected
Our young adults deserve safe and healthy environments within their schools and within their relationships. Raising awareness and educating our students about consent become critical if we are to combat sexual violence.
Opinion
Triangle fire lessons
The annual commemoration of the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire every March is a teachable moment for students about the importance of labor unions. Workers were trapped on two floors when fire broke out because the company had locked doors to prevent theft. Many workers leapt from windows to their deaths. Others were found huddled against doors.
Opinion
Vultures circling
U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is making it safe for the vultures that run for-profit career training schools to prey on students again.
Editorial Cartoons
Teaching Resources
Learning Curve
Teaching ELLs: Keeping the old while learning the new
Educators at PS 66 in Richmond Hill, Queens are striving to find the balance between encouraging English language learners to preserve their native language abilities and nurturing them in their burgeoning English skills while educating them alongside their native English-speaking peers.
Research shows
Tenure loss increases teacher churn
New research shows a connection between the loss of teacher tenure and a higher rate of teacher turnover.
Teacher to Teacher
Mastering time management
By becoming more efficient, we can help ourselves, our current and future students, and future generations of teachers for whom we model the concept of teaching as a sustainable career rather than a draining, altruistic sprint.
Building Your Career
Building Your Career
A map of our neighborhood
To align with our social studies lesson on maps and directions, my students and I created a map of our neighborhood.
New Teacher Articles
Taking steps to prepare for your tenure decision
There are many steps that new teachers can take to prepare for their tenure decision.
Retired Teachers News
2016 sales tax break for New York, Florida and other states’ residents
Federal tax law allows taxpayers who elect to itemize deductions to deduct their state and local income taxes or state and local general sales taxes to reduce their federal income tax.
This law is especially important for residents of six states that do not have an income tax, but do have sales taxes. They are: Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Tennessee only taxes dividends and interest income so residents may also benefit from this federal tax law.
New York State residents receiving a pension from a federal government, a New York State government or a New York State local government are not subject to New York State or New York City income tax. So a UFT retiree who is a resident of New York State and receiving a pension from the Teachers’ Retirement System may benefit from this law…
Reporting TRS distributions on your local income tax
If you received one or more of the distributions listed below during 2016, you are required to report the total gross amount of the distribution on line 16a and the taxable amount of the distribution on line 16b on your 2016 federal income tax Form 1040.
Protecting what we’ve worked for
When the president’s chief strategist used the phrase “deconstruction of the administrative state” in his speech at the February meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference, he was signaling what’s ahead in this administration. The phrase represents an ideology designed to undo 150 years of progressive achievements to establish a social safety network. It stands in contradistinction to the basic progressive belief that government at its best is a catalyst for social good.