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Head down and eyes on the floor, the 3rd-grader wouldn’t say why he likes the Sensory Path at PS 9 on Staten Island. Even gentle prompting by a classmate didn’t draw a response.
But as he planted his feet firmly at the start of the pathway and was about to begin hopping and skipping and leapfrogging, his eyes gleamed with confidence. “I got this!” he said.
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“We’ve definitely seen an increase in attending and focusing because of the Sensory Path,” said speech therapist Gina-Marie Principe.
The transformation of a section of the first-floor hallway at the Concord school took place in December: Think giant, colorful stickers and prompts placed on…
Staten Island pre-K teacher Jeanine Cammarata, who was found murdered in April, was patient and sensitive, and she always put her students first, said colleagues.
UFT President Michael Mulgrew warned the Delegate Assembly on April 17 that anti-union forces looking to take advantage of the 2018 Supreme Court decision in the Janus case have begun their efforts to weaken New York City public school teachers’ collective power.
Tennessee is on track to create a new state commission that could override local governments’ attempts to limit charter school expansion. Legislation to establish the commission passed both houses of the state Legislature, and Tennessee’s Republican governor, Bill Lee, is expected to sign it.
The UFT achieved its long-sought goal of eliminating the requirement that student test scores be a factor in the Annual Professional Performance Review process in the state budget approved by the state Legislature and Governor Andrew Cuomo on March 31.
The former colleagues of murdered teacher Jeanine Cammarata want #JusticeforJeanine, as the trending hashtag spells out. But the UFT members at the schools where Cammarata worked also expressed hope her death would shed light on the evil of domestic violence.
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[[nid:111815; float: right; styleName:article_x_medium_auto]]The union spirit reigns in the shop classes at Aviation HS in Long Island City, which are run as simulated unionized workplaces. Teachers José Vaz and Antonio Pepenella instituted the practice five years ago to give the students in their eight aircraft cleaning and maintenance classes a taste of the kinds of unionized jobs they’re likely to find in the aviation industry.
“A good portion of our students go from high school directly to the workplace and they’ve never had a job in their lives before,” said Vaz, the school’s chapter leader.
Vaz said it’s important for students entering the workforce to understand that “the rules apply to your boss as much as they apply to you.”
Pepenella said his own experience as a union member inspired him to share that with his students.
“I like to…
If the Gallery Walk in March at K396 in Brownsville, Brooklyn, evoked thoughts of “The Lion King,” that was no accident. The hallways were transformed into a gallery of animal habitats on the African savannah after the school was one of five — and the only District 75 school — to win a grant from the Disney Musicals in Schools program.
Emmy Jo Favilla started reading at 3½ years old. “I asked my mom to confirm,” says BuzzFeed’s senior manager for brand voice and its style guru. Favilla grew up loving books, reading and writing.
Melissa Alvarez, the chapter leader at John Bowne HS in Flushing, Queens, used the new dispute resolution process in the DOE-UFT contract to get a speedy response to a safety violation: no teacher assigned to the high school’s SAVE room.
Some 250 educators turned out for the UFT’s sixth annual Middle School Conference at union headquarters on March 30. The theme was William Shakespeare.
The School Leadership Team at PS 1 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, held its April 8 meeting at the UFT’s Brooklyn borough office and turned it into a learning experience for parents and educators.
The power of team work was on display at the annual Academic High Schools Awards Celebration on April 12 at UFT headquarters in Manhattan, where outstanding city educators, public high schools and union activists were honored.
Tech4All, an all-day information session and technology job fair, drew 500 participants and 25 employers to the UFT's Bronx borough office on April 3.
The turnout “exploded” — reaching 330 — at District 12’s April 13 Scholarship Committee breakfast at which 24 students were awarded new laptops.
Are you planning to retire soon from active employment? If so, you’ll need to maintain your UFT membership as a retiree to continue participating in NYSUT Member Benefits-endorsed programs and services.
In the fall of 2018, the Teachers’ Retirement System announced an operational change that will save money and be good for the environment: TRS stopped mailing paper Quarterly Account Statements to retirement system members it can reach via email.
At long last, the New York State Legislature that is more inclined to support pro-teacher, pro-public school policies. There was no lifting of the charter cap included in this year’s budget. But the charter school industry has regrouped. This fight is not over.
Today, like never before, our collective bargaining rights, benefits and protections are under fire. Our enemies will spread rumors and misinformation designed to undermine working people. They will pretend to be our friends when their goal is to hurt us. If we fall prey to their lies, we risk losing everything.
It’s easily among most people’s greatest fears: Having a medical emergency when you’re far from home, whether it’s an accident or a serious illness.
Teacher Appreciation Week is May 6–10, as good a time as any to take stock of how teachers are viewed by the public at large.
As technology has developed, so have methods for using technology to learn a language. These programs aren’t meant as a replacement for in-class language instruction, but they can be effective supports to extend and continue learning both in and out of the classroom.
In my 3rd-grade classroom, my students use thinking maps — which are not graphic organizers! — to represent their ideas. Each type of thinking map connects a basic cognitive skill with a visual representation.
Each student in my 3rd-grade class takes a turn as ‘Alexa’s friend of the day.’
With summer just around the corner, it’s crucial to meet upcoming deadlines for certification if your current teaching certificate is near its expiration date.
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) recently asked me to fill its held position on the Senior Council of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Since the Council’s purpose is to offer advice on strategic issues and policies important to retirees’ economic security and general livelihood, I gladly agreed.
Most of our retired members on Medicare should have received their 2018 Medicare Reimbursement by May 1, 2019. The 2018 Medicare Part B Reimbursement will be electronically deposited into the same account as the pension payment.
