New York TeacherMay 4, 2017
Volume LVIII, Number 9
Cover Stories
How far we've come
Those with disabilities today have “a world of opportunity ahead of them,” said Dr. Mary McInerney, the principal of the Richard H. Hungerford School on Staten Island, speaking of people like Marianna Pastena, a graduate of the District 75 school and now a paraprofessional there.
But it was not always so.
Willowbrook State School on Staten Island gained infamy in the 1960s and early 1970s when it was exposed as an inhumane, severely overcrowded, filthy warehouse for people with challenges. Pastena acknowledges that she feels “blessed when I think of what the people who lived at the Willowbrook State School had to endure.”
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The Hungerford faculty celebrated their school’s 50th anniversary on April 1 by remembering that shameful history and reflecting on the transformation since their school’s founding in the treatment and education of people with special needs. The featured speaker was Geraldo Rivera, who as a young local TV reporter in 1972 helped uncover the atrocities. His exposé of Willowbrook was the catalyst that helped fast…
State adds $1.1 billion for public schools
Public education in New York will get an additional $1.1 billion in the new state budget, while two UFT-supported provisions from the previous budget remain intact, making it possible for public schools to retain much-needed funds.
Good ‘Shepherds’
Single Shepherd program making a big difference for middle-school students at PS/MS 31 in the Bronx.
Latest News
Wisconsin prohibits project labor agreements
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has signed a bill blocking local governments in the state from making project labor agreements, which require contractors working on public projects to use union labor.
New Mexico bans shaming students for lunch debt
A new law in New Mexico prohibits schools from publicly identifying or stigmatizing students whose parents don’t pay their cafeteria bills.
Arizona expands voucher program to all students
Arizona has enacted a law allowing all public school students in the state to receive public funding to attend private and parochial schools.
New Mexico governor vetoes higher education funds
New Mexico’s governor, Susana Martinez, has vetoed all funding for public higher education in the state budget for the coming fiscal year.
Betsy DeVos revokes Obama’s student loan protections
U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has withdrawn a series of Obama-era policies designed to strengthen protections for student loan borrowers.
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Feature Stories
Sharing responsibility
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The Green School HS in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, received a $100,000 grant for technology and had to decide how to use the money.
In the space of two weeks, the school’s teacher-led technology committee polled staff, analyzed the data and came up with a plan. Now there’s a Promethean board, a laptop cart with 25 laptops and a printer in each classroom, plus a computer for each teacher.
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“Teachers know what they need,” said Chapter Leader James Van Nort. “Using shared leadership and a good decision-making protocol, we came to a shared decision on a major technology grant.”
Green School HS is one of…
Noteworthy graduates: Yemaya Bordain, electrical engineer
“The teachers, to a one, told me and showed me I was special and handed me off with love to the next teacher,” says Yemaya Bordain, who in 2015 was the first black woman to receive a Ph.D in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champagne.
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Around the UFT
Welfare Fund Medical Learning Series
More than 30 UFT members attended the March 28 UFT Welfare Fund Medical Learning Series seminar entitled “The Aging Eye” at UFT headquarters to hear doctors from the NYU Ophthalmology Center in Manhattan discuss vision ailments and their treatments.
Hackathon at Brooklyn Landmark Elementary School
“From four-year-olds to grandmothers, they learned in the morning, got into teams, decided what service could be provided or problem solved, made an app, honed their presentations and presented on stage to judges,” says Community School Director Kate Thomas of the hackathon at Brooklyn Landmark Elementary School in Brownsville.
UFT Math Teachers Committee workshop on tessellations in quilts
A creative math workshop reached back to the antebellum South to make its point about how math is related to our daily lives.
UFT Bronx college fair
The UFT Bronx borough office welcomed nearly 1,700 students, parents, teachers and guidance counselors on March 31 to a college fair that featured admissions recruiters from more than 100 institutions.
Labor Seder
“May the light of these candles not only bring light to our own places of darkness, but also shed light on the darkness of economic injustice.”
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You Should Know
Secure Your Future
Choosing the right pension benefit for you
TRS allows members to choose how much of their benefit to receive: Members may take the maximum retirement allowance for which they’re eligible. Or, they may take a smaller amount and, if they die first, survivors receive a benefit.
Opinions
President's Perspective
When Randi met Betsy
The visit by Betsy DeVos and Randi Weingarten to public schools in rural Ohio showcased what public education is — and what we are fighting to protect.
VPerspective
What is an American?
What is the definition of “American”? According to Merriam-Webster, an American is “a native or inhabitant of any of the United States.” Unfortunately, too many residents of this country do not define “American” this way.
Opinion
Shepherding success
The Single Shepherd program, which launched in September, was designed to boost high school graduation and college enrollment rates in two of the most challenging school districts in New York City [see “Good ‘Shepherds’” on page 6]. Mayor Bill de Blasio is to be commended for backing a program that helps the students who too often fall between the cracks.
Opinion
A budget that works — for most of us
It took a little longer, but our hard work yielded results: The new state budget increases education aid by $1.1 billion, which includes $700 million in additional foundation aid for school districts. Prekindergarten, community schools and after-school programs all get a boost in support.
Editorial Cartoons
Teaching Resources
Linking to Learning
Making podcasts with students
Compared to a video project, producing podcasts requires less technical expertise and allows students to practice similar higher-order skills, such as research, design and revision.
Research shows
Academic skills rising for youngest students
New nationwide studies published in Educational Researcher found that children entering kindergarten and first grade have significantly better academic skills than similar students had 15 to 20 years ago.
Teacher to Teacher
Documentation helps kids ‘think like scientists’
in my inquiry-based pre-K classroom, I have been experimenting with methods of documentation. By documenting their observations, children can begin to “think like scientists.”
Building Your Career
Building Your Career
Bulletin board designer
I let my students design the bulletin board for our published opinion pieces.
New Teacher Profiles
Teaching immigrant students adds up for this math teacher
Michael Oeckel, a first-year high school math teacher, employs exaggerated hand motions and expressions and gets students out of their seats to illustrate math concepts to his students who don't speak English.
Retired Teachers News
A blueprint to move forward
John F. Kennedy was born 100 years ago on May 29, 1917. As the president, he inspired many of us who came of age in the 1960s through his idealistic call to action in his inaugural address: “Now the trumpet summons us again …” That call put us on the path to accomplishing many things that would help better society.
By comparison, the current scene in Washington is a national nightmare hell bent on dismantling the social safety net that organized labor worked to put in place over the more than 100 years that included JFK’s short life.
But those of us who have inherited the progressive achievements won during that century are determined to preserve, protect and advance those enlightened accomplishments — even in the face of our national nightmare.
American Federation of Teachers staffers Lauren Luchi, the manager of retirees; Brandon Boswell, the deputy political director; and Chris Mattingly, the assistant political director, made a presentation to our UFT/RTC general membership meeting on April 4 that offers a blueprint for action. They made us very aware of how important member engagement is as an antidote to the ongoing legislative and…