With the shift from summer to fall, now is the time to reap the benefits of a likely change in routine, to make decisions about what’s really important — and to develop whatever new habits you’ve been meaning to.

UFT Vice President for Academic High Schools Janella Hinds encourages high school educators to continue to expand their own knowledge base through reading a variety of texts. Being an avid reader, she writes, helps educators better guide their...

November can be a time of joy, generosity and togetherness. Yet it can also arrive bundled with stress, comparison and a sense of lack — whether financial, emotional or social. Cultivating abundance thinking and gratitude can transform not only how...

Nature journaling not only boosts students’ attention, sense of well-being and joy, but also strengthens their scientific, mathematical and critical-thinking skills. 


Educators' extra efforts working collaboratively and leading their students at Francis Lewis HS in Queens paid off with an extra special Black History Month celebration featuring a number of high-profile speakers, including film director Malcolm Lee...

Days are longer and the sun’s rays don’t only help flowers bloom — they also have a way of making us feel happier and more energized. So embrace your inner sun worshipper and enjoy the benefits of the season.

If you haven’t already developed a personal homework philosophy, it can be helpful to devote some time to considering the practical value of the homework you plan to assign and the logistics around its submission and grading. As you do so, keep in...

UFT members in all five boroughs and on Long Island participated in this year’s American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walks on three separate weekends in October, raising thousands of dollars for breast cancer research...

Learn more about the tentative DOE-UFT contract.

All UFT pedagogues, including teachers, clinicians, school counselors and school secretaries, as well as paraprofessionals, have the opportunity to transfer to a different school under the Open Market Transfer Plan.

UFT Vice President for Education Mary Vaccaro writes that the UFT Teacher Center has been a leader in providing New York City public school educators with high-quality professional learning for more than 40 years. The program recently has begun...

The past two years have proven that New York City is home to some of the most skilled and hard-working educators in the country. The highest form of respect comes when education policy makers really listen to what these classroom educators have to...

Understanding and interpreting data is a fundamental skill of modern life. Learn how to teach data skills using engaging, student-centered strategies and resources.

For too long, we have been at the whim of whatever agenda the current mayor decides to pursue. The school budget cuts we are now fighting is a perfect example. What our schools need is not always aligned with what the mayor wants. What is the purpose...

For the new classroom teacher, the sheer volume of related service providers in a school can be a little bewildering. But it’s important to get to know these colleagues and the services they provide to students with disabilities.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew predicted that the Trump administration will attack unions and public education.

UFT retirees who are members of the Retired Teachers Chapter can join the Supplemental Health Insurance Program (SHIP) during their first year of retirement and recoup hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars for out-of-pocket medical expenses...

In the months leading up to November's momentous presidential election, we can remain on the sidelines and let the bad guys make the decisions, or we can enter the political fray, enlist our friends and allies in the battle and forge victories.

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 enables you enables you to pay for allowable commuting costs in the city and the tri-state area with tax-free...

Federal workers have faced a dizzying mix of reductions in force, firings of probationary workers, early retirements and deferred resignations since Trump became president for the second time. The Federal Unionists Network (FUN) in New York City is...

The start of the year is a good time to consider what equipment you have on hand, what you may need to obtain, your classroom protocols related to technology, and what technology projects you’d like to pursue. Here is a framework for doing this...

For $120 a year, UFT retirees who are members of the Retired Teachers Chapter can obtain supplemental benefits that reimburse them for some out-of-pocket expenses, including ambulance rides, dental work, hearing aids and private-duty nursing.

Our country now feels like a dangerous and scary place. And yet, I don’t despair. I’m encouraged to see UFT members taking to the streets and uniting in protest with our fellow union members on a grand scale.

Behind a door cleverly disguised as shelves at the back of the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company lies a “Secret Library” that houses 826NYC, a nonprofit organization whose true mission is to support student writers.

New teacher Gabrielle Vega was drawn to her 8th-grade social studies teacher's flair for the dramatic, and her affinity for theatrics is serving her well as she teaches that subject at MS 936 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, a District 20 middle school...

My students can express their voices through journal writing, poetry and narrative story writing. I want my students to know their stories don’t have to be confined to their hearts.

Thousands of UFT retirees participate in hundreds of Si Beagle Learning Center courses, seminars, trips and dine-arounds each year.

The multiple layers of protection against COVID-19, including the vaccination of all staff and eligible students, are serving our school communities well.

UFT Vice President for Academic High Schools Janella Hinds writes that high school educators routinely face challenges, and during the pandemic, we found little joy. Connecting with our quest for joy in our craft remains an undeniable part of our...

The city of New York's health plan and the UFT Welfare Fund-provided supplemental health benefits are among a UFT member's most valuable assets. Learn about what both plans provide so that you and your eligible dependents can access these benefits...

Candy Jorge, a Spanish teacher at Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School in Manhattan, came to the United States from her native Dominican Republic at the age of 17 with nothing. Now the 9th-grade team leader develops and implements...

After months of organizing that culminated with a protest rally outside their school on April 16, staff and parents at PS 157 in the Bronx have spurred the Department of Education and NYPD to take immediate action to improve safety outside the...

Were you a New York City or New York State employee or did you work as a substitute teacher or serve in the military before joining the Teachers’ Retirement System? If so, you may have the option to buy service credit.


We need to expand and not contract, much less eliminate, specialized programs for high-achieving youngsters.

Retired educator Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa has sought refuge in libraries and books her whole life, and now she is contributing her own works to libraries — historical novels that reflect the richness, complexity, beauty and brutality of her Afro-Puerto...

If you are a paraprofessional, the DOE-UFT contract establishes rights and obligations in terms of when you can be absent from work. Learn about how you accumulate and can use sick days and about excused absences.