Low salaries for New York City public schools’ paraprofessionals have led to thousands of vacancies, unserved students and personal financial crises, UFT members said at a March 9 City Council hearing on legislation for an annual $10,000...

The state has proposed legislation extending the timeline for full implementation of the class size law. Learn more information about this agreement.

Ever since the mayor announced in late August that the city planned to only do biweekly COVID testing this school year, the UFT has been prodding the city to hire more testing teams to continue the weekly testing that kept our school communities safe...

Did you know there’s a place to turn for support — both at and away from your work site — when tragedy strikes? It’s the Victim Support Program, co-sponsored by the UFT’s Safety and Health Department and the city Department of Education. 


When you need legal assistance, it can be costly and stressful. That’s why the union created a Legal Services Plan exclusively for UFT members that provides in-service members with access to attorneys who will assist them for free or at discounted...

The UFT will urge the Mayor and Chancellor to adopt the Class Size Working Group’s proposals to ensure that schools are able to lower class sizes to the levels required by law.

Leah Lin, chapter leader at PS 85 in Queens, keeps her fellow educators informed and engaged about union and contract matters with the short, fun and easy-to-follow Morning Rush videos she posts regularly on her Instagram account.

Between the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of social media, many students are dealing with anxiety, lack of focus, tumultuous emotions or depression. There’s a proven strategy that can help: mindfulness. Here are some digital...

The UFT chapter leader of Vision Education Services revamped the program's website for the Department of Education.

Monday, Dec. 23, will now be a school holiday, thanks to union advocacy, parental support and a student petition backed by UFT members from across the city. UFT President Michael Mulgrew, New York City Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos and...

Students with disabilities and students of color made gains in math and lost ground in reading, mirroring the overall pattern for New York City students in grades 3 to 8, according to state test score data.

As part of its contract negotiations with the UFT, the DOE revised the 2023-24 school year calendar in late June to add four more days off for students and educators and issued calendars for the following two school years at the same time.

Educators know that speech is integral to fluency so it's no wonder many classroom assignments and projects revolve around public speaking. Here are some tech tools to help practice and perfect speeches.


UFT President Michael Mulgrew submitted testimony before the New York City Council Committee on Governmental Operations, State and Federal Legislation.

More than 400 students, parents and community members filled the school yard at United Community School PS 19 in Queens on Sept. 27 for a full day of live music, food, and dance performances in a celebration of Hispanic heritage and health.

Financial literacy is a foundational life skill, yet too many young people reach adulthood without it. Here are several comprehensive, nonpartisan resources teachers can trust.

Hundreds of students from dozens of high schools across the city learned about union careers and benefits from the New York City unions represented at the UFT Academic High School Division’s ninth annual Future in Focus career fair.

Richard Carranza is resigning on March 15 after nearly three years as schools chancellor, city officials announced on Feb. 26. Meisha Ross Porter, the Bronx executive superintendent, will succeed him. She will be the first Black woman to hold the...

UFT Vice President for Elementary Schools Karen Alford writes that our schools are more than academic institutions. They are caring institutions and, as educators, we understand that caring for the communities we work in is part of teaching and...

The DOE and the UFT shall reassess existing safety plans to enhance preparedness for climate-induced incidents. The city should err on the side of safety and proactively utilize remote instruction when impending emergencies are detected.

City officials entered Shanker Hall on Oct. 13 for their first negotiating session with the UFT to face the 500 members of the union’s bargaining committee all dressed in union blue in an impressive display of solidarity and strength.

Here are a few practices to ensure that all students in an ENL class are engaged, challenged and able to facilitate meaningful discussions with each other when studying a novel unit.

So much information about this new New York City Medicare Advantage Plus Plan has by now been disseminated through meetings, webinars, town halls, email and regular mail that I hope members have evolved in their views.

High school teacher Amy Matthusen of East-West School of International Studies in Queens explains how to deepen students' engagement with a play or novel by having them produce a talk show featuring characters from the text.

The following email was sent on March 4, 2023, to all members of the Retired Teachers Chapter from UFT President Michael Mulgrew and Retired Teachers Chapter Leader Tom Murphy.

The UFT Welfare Fund provides a hearing aid benefit that reimburses UFT-represented employees and their dependents up to a maximum of $4,000 once every three years.

Online simulations make it easier for students to explore settings that would be difficult to reproduce in real life. They are interactive and allow students to be in control of their learning.

CTE Award-winning baking teacher Shamel Donigan provides his students at Food and Finance HS with the tools to find success in the culinary industry and in life.

Using the school cafeteria as a shop, 4th-graders at PS 143 in Corona, Queens, learn bike mechanics, incorporating hands-on elements into their study of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

When PS 30, a United Community School in Harlem, found out in early October that it was going to lose $285,000 due to low enrollment, it decided to take the initiative and find 30 more students. By the end of October, PS 30 had 76 new students — more...

A school counselor and social worker at IS 206 in the Bronx developed an innovative way to address their students' social-emotional needs following the pandemic: a student lounge complete with music, games and items meant to encourage socialization...

The United Federation of Teachers encourages local chapters to initiate school-based committees to defend immigrants, which may include and work with other unions, students, parents and community members.

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


Valina Vega is a UFT-represented child care provider who runs an independent day care business out of her home in Brooklyn. "No matter what these children go through, I’m there for them," she says.

UFT Vice President Anne Goldman, the head of the Federation of Nurses/UFT, writes that city hospitals are not required to have adequate staffing. The game of health is allowed to proceed knowingly shorthanded, without economic penalty and at risk to...

Having your finances in order and managing your money well can improve your overall quality of life, both now and in the future. It includes skills like saving, budgeting, borrowing and planning.