Paraprofessionals perform vital work in schools. There are career ladder positions available for paras as well as opportunities for educational advancement for paras interested in becoming teachers, school counselors, psychologists or other titles.

Check out these professional learning opportunities for school counselors!

Helping students learn to cope with anxiety experienced during and after the COVID-19 pandemic was the key takeaway from the UFT's seventh annual Social Workers Appreciation Day event on March 10, which attracted about 900 UFT members both in person...

The city and the Municipal Labor Committee (MLC) have reached a tentative agreement with EmblemHealth and United Healthcare for the New York City Employees PPO Plan (NYCE PPO), the proposed city health care plan that would replace the GHI CBP plan.

Talking roles are discussion jobs that rotate among students in a small discussion group. The roles give quieter students a clear entry point, encourage active listening and build accountability.

For the past 18 years, Christina Setkoski has diagnosed, evaluated and treated students with mobility challenges at PS 138, a District 75 elementary school in Manhattan.


Federation of Nurses/UFT members, who are registered professional nurses with VNS Health, overwhelmingly approved a new 2-year contract that provides a 12% compounded salary increase over the course of the agreement, preserves healthcare benefits and...

The Federation of Nurses/UFT on Feb. 27 overwhelmingly ratified a two-year contract with NYU Langone Hospital – Brooklyn that increases salaries, rewards experience and specialty training, and enriches staffing, the top priority for many of the 900...

After the UFT’s dogged advocacy, about 90 long-term substitute teachers received the higher pay and medical benefits they deserved before the end of the school year. In the 2024-25 school year, the UFT plans to keep up the fight to quickly secure Q...

This is our first contract negotiation since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the first with this mayor and his schools chancellor. We have been preparing for this round of bargaining for eight months.

The new contract establishes school-based Special Education Committees and annual training of all staff on special education rules and regulations. Vice President for Special Education MaryJo Ginese writes that these new rights will empower members...

UFT President Michael Mulgrew delivered testimony before the New York State Senate & Assembly Committees on Finance, Ways & Means and Education regarding the proposed FY25 Executive Budget.

The Tax-Deferred Annuity program is a simple and powerful way to save additional money for your retirement. Your TDA account is funded exclusively through your own contributions.


The state and the city have the time in the coming months to create a thoughtful, comprehensive plan to safely reopen school buildings and bring teachers and children back together.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew argues that better coronavirus screening is imperative if the nation’s largest public school system is to reopen in September.

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.

UFT Vice President for Education Mary Vaccaro says there is a need for teachers to be work alongside coaches in their classrooms: standing hip-to-hip, modeling and instructing students. The UFT Teacher Center fulfills that role with quality...

School social worker Maureen Eigenfeld has made art the cornerstone of her therapeutic work with students at the Bronx Writing Academy, a United Community School in Concourse Village.

Four UFT fall parent conferences in October and November, held virtually for the second consecutive year, drew nearly 350 parents and featured workshops, speakers, resources and surprises.

Bringing visitors into your classroom to speak to students can be a powerful vehicle for learning. And though New York may have the highest number of experts per capita, a remote visit allows you to hear from people around the country and the world.

Cumulative Absence Reserve (CAR) is the formal name for the bank of “sick days” earned by UFT-represented employees who work for the city Department of Education (DOE). All full-time, school-based UFT members may earn up to 10 CAR days for the full...

Arbitrator James A. Brown found the hospital violated contractual staffing ratios and ruled that the nurses who worked these understaffed shifts were entitled to split the average wage of the missing nurses.

We’ve known for decades that smaller classes enhance teaching and learning. But the pandemic drove home that class size is also a public health issue. We are pushing for legislation that would change the health section of the city’s administrative...

UFT President Michael Mulgrew submitted testimony before the New York City Council Committee on Education's oversight hearing on mayoral control.

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.

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.


An independent arbitrator has upheld the union's position and ruled that the city must offer work outside school buildings to immunocompromised members who — even vaccinated — are at high risk of contracting serious illness from a COVID-19 infection...

School safety is a prerequisite for teaching and learning. The UFT’s Safety and Health Department is dedicated to protecting all UFT members from safety threats that can confront them in schools. Here are answers to some of the most common questions...

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...

Hundreds of public school educators and families at the Graphic Communication Arts Educational Campus in Manhattan on May 11 to choose from 50,000 free books for children of all ages. The special event, along with four other book giveaways the same...

UFT Assistant Secretary Michael Sill delivered testimony before the New York City Council Education Committee on the implementation of the New York State class size law in city schools.

Gratefulness is an awareness practice: a way of deepening and directing our attention. Gratefulness can make us more resilient and flexible in the face of life’s challenges and can deepen our appreciation of life’s joys.

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...

Retiree Carla Levy has taken the deep listening skills and willingness to help people that she used as a dance musician at Fiorello H. LaGuardia HS of Music and the Performing Arts into her second act as a psychoanalyst.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew submitted testimony before the New York City Council Education Committee’s oversight hearing on remote learning failures in New York City public schools.

As a member of the UFT Welfare Fund, you and your eligible dependents can obtain optical services annually. Learn all you need to know about your optical benefit.