New York TeacherSeptember 5, 2019
Volume LXI, Number 1
Latest News
Newark scraps teacher merit-pay scheme
The union representing Newark teachers announced a five-year deal with its school district on Aug. 13 that eliminates merit-based bonuses and allows low-rated teachers to earn pay increases. The changes overturn key elements of a controversial 2012 contract and represent a shift away from former Mayor Cory Booker’s education reform agenda, which sought to introduce corporate-style accountability and compensation practices into public education.
“All vestiges of corporate reform have been removed,” the union declared.
The agreement includes numerous provisions long sought by the Newark Teachers Union. In addition to the end of the merit pay scheme, the new contract will raise teachers’ salaries by about 3 percent per year. The deal gives teachers more planning time, a later return from summer break and more funds for classroom supplies and graduate courses. Teachers will also earn more for working after the school day or during the…
Major health care strike brewing in California
More than 37,000 workers at the Kaiser Permanente health care corporation in California have voted to authorize a strike in October over unfair labor practices and understaffing. The walkout would be the nation’s largest strike in more than 20 years.
Low pay pushing teachers out of the profession
Fifty percent of teachers say they’ve considered leaving the profession over low pay, stress and a lack of respect.
Feature Stories
Learning about ‘sacrifice and compromise’
Kids are kids, whether the calendar says 1890, 1910 or 2019.
‘Signs’ of respect
When Rita Fattorusso invites one of her prekindergarten students to the front of the class to lead morning exercises, the other students pay strict attention. If they don’t, they’ll miss their classmate’s instructions: He uses American Sign Language to tell them to do eight jumping jacks, mimicking the action and counting out the number eight on his fingers.
Member Spotlight
UFT contract guru Lucille Swaim dies
Lucille Swaim, the coordinator of negotiations for every UFT contract from the first one in 1962 until her retirement in 2015, died on July 1 at the age of 87.
Her fingerprints are on every contractual improvement UFT members enjoy today.
“Lucille was a quiet hero,” said UFT President Michael Mulgrew. “She put her heart, soul and intellect into helping generations of educators and UFT members. She helped build this union.”
Swaim came to the UFT in 1961 during efforts to organize city teachers, and she stayed to negotiate the first comprehensive collective bargaining agreement covering teachers anywhere in the nation.
“That contract,” she later said, “broke the ground for teachers to start organizing a…
What I do: Christina Gavin, school librarian
Christina Gavin is the librarian at the Herbert H. Lehman HS Campus in the Bronx, where she serves 3,200 students and more than 300 staff members in the seven schools that share the building.
Kudos to Yvonne Reasen, Engineering and Technical Academy, Bronx
Bronx Engineering and Technical Academy Chapter Leader Yvonne Reasen used the new expedited resolution process for operational issues, negotiated as part of the 2018 DOE-UFT contract, to get the basic instructional supplies desperately needed by science teachers at her school.
Your Rights and Benefits
Know Your Benefits
Transit programs
If you travel to work by public transportation, you can save money by taking part in the City of New York Commuter Benefits Program, which covers New York City and the tri-state area.
Know Your Rights
Class size and instructional materials
As we enter a new school year, teachers should be aware of their rights to reasonable class sizes and basic instructional materials.
Your Well-being
Setting yourself up for a great year
Maybe it’s your first year of teaching, maybe it’s your 21st, but there are always ways to set yourself up for a great school year ahead.
You Should Know
You Should Know
Grievance filed over training $$
The UFT filed a union-initiated grievance over the rate of pay for members who participated in curriculum training this summer for enVisionmath.
You Should Know
3 functional chapters elect new leaders
Three of the UFT's functional chapters recently elected new chapter leaders.
You Should Know
City kids’ state test scores go up again
New York City public school students improved their performance on state math and English tests for grades 3 through 8 for the sixth year in a row, according to 2019 test scores released by the state Education Department on Aug. 22.
You Should Know
Teacher’s Choice amounts set
UFT-represented educators are eligible for reimbursement for some of their out-of-pocket classroom expenses through Teacher's Choice.
Q&A on the Issues
Teachers and the observation process
The UFT seized the opportunity presented by the 2018 contract negotiations with the city Department of Education to revise the teacher evaluation system to focus on quality of observations rather than quantity and to incorporate meaningful professional development as part of the process. Here’s what you can expect for the 2019–20 school year.
Secure Your Future
Pension benefits in a nutshell
With the start of a new school year, we know you’re busy with new students. But while you’re busy thinking about others, the start of the school year is also an excellent time to think about securing your own future.
Opinions
President's Perspective
Building on our strengths
Welcome back. I hope you enjoyed a restful summer break and you’re re-energized for the year ahead. As always, we’re here to help you meet the challenges and opportunities that present themselves every September. Please extend yourself to the new teachers who are finding their footing in the classroom this year. We’ve all been there, and it can be daunting.
VPerspective
Welcome to your new union family
This September, 3,000 new teachers have joined the city Department of Education’s ranks. Their interests and backgrounds are as diverse as New York City itself. But whether they teach 3-year-olds on Staten Island or high school biology in Brooklyn, they all have one thing in common: They belong to our United Federation of Teachers family.
Editorials
Figueroa's legacy
Hector Figueroa, the president of 32BJ Service Employees International Union who died on July 11, was an exemplary partner in the critical fight for social and economic justice.
Editorials
Keep G&T
In pursuit of equity, the city’s School Diversity Advisory group has proposed getting rid of the gifted and talented program in the public schools. It’s a bad idea.
Editorial Cartoons
Teaching Resources
Teaching
UFT welcomes new teachers
The UFT welcomed thousands of new members into the union at the DOE’s New Teacher Week on Aug. 19 - 21.
Linking to Learning
Grants can fund your technology projects
The start of a school year is a good time to plan how to integrate technology in your classroom. Many teachers have great ideas but do not have access to the hardware or software they need to run with them. Other than asking your principal to purchase equipment on a tight budget, education grants can provide needed funds for technology projects.
Teacher to Teacher
Your students can be graphic novelists
By reading graphic novels and going through the graphic narrative process with the students, I shared an important interest of theirs and saw them take intense ownership of their learning.
Building Your Career
Inside My Classroom
How to pick a book
It was my goal last school year to encourage my students to pick books to read for fun.
New Teacher Articles
How to start the new year off right
Welcome to a new school year! The first few weeks may feel like a whirlwind, and you probably have a lot on your mind. Here are just a few tips to help you launch a great year.
New Teacher Profiles
That's 'LYFE'
Patricia Belluscio left a career in the fashion industry to work with infants and toddlers in the LYFE program.
Retired Teachers News
New Jersey group ‘growing fast’
Judy Rosenstein is “excited” about the challenges facing her as the new leader of the RTC’s New Jersey Section and about “pulling together” as many of the 4,750 UFT retirees living in New Jersey as she can. “With 55-and-over communities springing up all over the state,” she pointed out, “we are growing fast.”
A former chapter leader at Fort Hamilton HS in Brooklyn, Rosenstein is well-suited for the challenge and already has activities planned statewide, starting with a tour of the Yogi Berra Museum in Montclair on Sept 20. October will be busy with a tour and book review in the Morven Museum in Princeton on Oct. 16 and the annual luncheon at the Forsgate Country Club in Monroe on Oct. 28. The luncheon, she said, is “a wonderful way to connect with other retirees” and to catch up on union developments. On Oct. 30, there will be a meeting about the UFT legal plan at the Fort Lee Recreation Center.
The National Kidne…
Join the RTC for benefits
As a new retiree, you are eligible to become a member of the exclusive 66,000-member UFT Retired Teachers Chapter. Since its founding in 1960, the UFT has kept its retirees engaged and provided a broad array of social, educational, legal and economic services so that the RTC program today is widely considered the best offered to public school teachers nationwide.
Importance of discussion
In reaction to one of my columns on the union’s endorsement procedure, I received a message from Ed Beller, a retiree colleague who has a different view on the politics of endorsement. It set me to thinking about the positive nature of internal union discussions on such matters.