"If you're a paraprofessional, please stand up," UFT President Michael Mulgrew said to the crowd at Teacher Union Day on Nov. 6. As scores of paraprofessionals stood to thunderous applause, he turned to Shelvy Young-Abrams, their just-retired chapter...

Decades of UFT advocacy bore fruit for the union’s paraprofessionals on Oct. 29 as a newly enacted state law guaranteed all UFT-represented full-time paraprofessionals — on the job now and in the future — will automatically become members of the...

Michelle Lowe-Calixte has been an exemplary chapter leader the last three years — all while also serving as the District 23 paraprofessional coordinator.

Priscilla Castro was elected on May 25 as chapter chair of the Paraprofessionals Chapter for the term ending June 30, 2024. Castro had been serving as interim chapter chair since Shelvy Young-Abrams retired in October 2022.

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams blocked the “RESPECT check” bill from coming to a vote before the full City Council this year.
But the UFT plans to redouble its efforts to get the bill across the finish line in the new year.

Our paraprofessionals have waited long enough. It’s time for the New York City Council to pass the bill providing a $10,000 annual “RESPECT check” for all New York City public school paraprofessionals.

In the few weeks since the new City Council members were sworn in, we’ve hit the ground running. Our paraprofessionals have met with at least 45 members of the City Council so far, and more appointments have been scheduled.

Thousands of paraprofessionals mobilized throughout 2025 to fight for the $10,000 annual "RESPECT check," only to have City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams block it. The UFT will redouble its efforts in the new year.

As a paraprofessional interested in an education career, the UFT’s Career Training Program helped me obtain a DOE voucher to earn my bachelor’s in early childhood education and psychology

An administrative law judge has ruled that Bronx teacher Brenda Cartagena had been the victim of retaliation by her school’s principal for standing up for her members’ rights as school chapter leader.

If you want a new opportunity, wish to work closer to home or have been placed in excess, the Open Market Transfer Plan gives you the chance to apply for a position at another school. This Q&A addresses the most commonly asked questions about the...

The UFT has initiated an outreach program to determine how the union can best support retired paraprofessionals. The Retired Teachers Chapter includes approximately 7,600 paraprofessionals.

Every three years, UFT members vote for chapter leaders, delegates and paraprofessional representatives. For this election cycle, we are reverting to the pre-pandemic election procedures that were in place for decades. See some answers to common...

It’s a new year, but the fight for our paraprofessional RESPECT check continues.

It’s a new year, but the fight for our paraprofessional RESPECT check continues.

The hydroponics lab at P141K at IS 71, a District 75 site that serves students with profound learning challenges, allows students to participate in gardening activities year-round. The students have the opportunity to witness the plant life cycle...

UFT President Michael Mulgrew warned of the serious repercussions for public schools stemming from the Trump administration’s attacks on health care and education.


This summer, the union launched Childcare Connection, a benefit to help UFT members find out if they qualify for free or reduced-cost child care as well as to find home-based child care providers near their home or work.


Information about 55 minutes for remote work, repurposed time and hours, student services managers and suspensions.

"You have all gone above and beyond the call of duty," UFT President Michael Mulgrew said at the UFT's annual Teacher Union Day on Nov. 7 that honored the courage and hard work of members during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The UFT has asked the State Education Department to investigate the city Department of Education for its continued failure to provide mandated special education services to students.

The Delegate Assembly approved resolutions to support paraprofessionals' fight for a living wage and better benefits; acknowledge the work of the union's founders on the UFT's 64th anniversary; and honor the impact that women have had on the union.

The chapter leader at PS/IS 384 in Brooklyn urges his fellow UFT members to fight to "Fix Tier 6" and improve retirement and pension benefits.

At the UFT’s annual city legislative breakfast, 28 City Council members heard how critical an annual “RESPECT check” would be in reversing the paraprofessional shortage in schools. They also heard appeals from union representatives for continued city...

A Herculean effort by the UFT helped turn the largest-ever shortage of New York City public school paraprofessionals into a record number of new paras joining the ranks.

One of the many benefits of union membership is having paid leave to rest and recuperate when you are sick. Learn how UFT members earn, use and even borrow days from their Cumulative Absence Reserve.


After years of advocacy by the UFT, paraprofessionals will be included in the Teacher’s Choice program for the first time this school year.


That success depends on your community is something I only truly understood after my first year of teaching. When I was a para, I was committed to supporting my students and my teachers. When I first became a teacher, I forgot that I needed to ask...

Vibrant Emotional Health, one of the nation’s leading mental health organizations, announces a new partnership with the UFT to introduce a mental health and emotional well-being helpline designed for its union members.

The deadline to complete Special Education Remote Learning Plans has been extended to Wednesday, April 8.

Ten students from P396 K, a District 75 school in Brownsville, Brooklyn, read books they wrote during a Zoom presentation on Feb. 11, as part of an evening with the Sid Miller Academy Authors, a program begun during the pandemic to foster literacy...

Summer is a good time to check on any outstanding items needed for state certification or to review state education policies if you are being appointed under a different license this upcoming school year. Read answers to common questions below and be...

A student-friendly book and seminar on food allergies was created by Fatima Straughn, a paraprofessional at MS 45 in the Bronx, as a way to teach young children about the effects of food allergies.

Colleagues and students create a mosaic mural to remember Rulx Dagus, a paraprofessional at P 369K in Park Slope, Brooklyn, who died of COVID-19.

What will the next four years under President Donald Trump mean for public education in New York City? UFT President Michael Mulgrew told the Delegate Assembly on Jan. 15 that many parents are fearful of the ramifications.

A Staten Island paraprofessional presses for passage of the "RESPECT" check, reminding the public that she and her colleagues are as deserving as any of greater compensation.