The phones at Dial-A-Teacher, the UFT’s long-running homework help line, have started ringing again this school year. And once again the staff at the Dial-A-Teacher hotline — 212-777-3380 — will bring help and encouragement to students and parents struggling with homework assignments from 4 to 7 p.m. every Monday to Thursday when school is in session.

Anthony Harmon, the UFT’s director for parent and community outreach, said Dial-A-Teacher staff fielded more than 62,000 calls during the 2016–17 school year. “We can assure parents and students that help is available when it’s needed,” he said.

Dial-A-Teacher staffers are licensed classroom teachers who are qualified and experienced in all subject areas. They can handle questions in 10 languages: Armenian, Bengali, Chinese (Mandarin, Cantonese and Fukanese), English, French, Haitian-Creole, Korean, Russian, Spanish and Tagalog.

Dial-A-Teacher began as a pilot program in 17 elementary schools in 1980 with a staff of five and went citywide in 1986. Today, 37 years later and fully computerized, teachers can communicate online with students at all levels and download their assignments so they can better guide them as the students work through challenges.