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Kudos to Dan Wever, Sunset Park HS, Brooklyn

Art teacher Dan Wever said he ran for chapter leader at Sunset Park HS in Brooklyn in 2021 knowing that at some point the union chapter would have to organize to demand the removal of the school’s longtime principal, Victoria Antonini.
 Less than two...

Half of NYC kids passed state tests

About half of New York City’s 3rd- to 8th-grade students are proficient in math and reading, according to the scores on the spring 2023 state tests.

Important tips to help manage your classroom

New teachers may erroneously believe that effective classroom management comes from being stern and no-nonsense. But veteran educators know that there are better ways to establish a calm classroom. Here are some tips.

A calming corner

Evdokia Gasparis, a 1st-grade teacher at PS 70 in Queens created a calming corner in his classroom for when students need a little break. 
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Success depends on community

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...

Finding ‘inspiration to fight on’

UFT members in all five boroughs and on Long Island participated in this year’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walks on two separate Sundays in October. “We’re here to honor the survivors in our building and to call attention to this disease...

A celebration of determination

On Oct. 11 — the second Wednesday in October — UFT members across the city wore pink to work to celebrate survivors, pay tribute to loved ones and colleagues they have lost, and emphasize the importance of early detection and treatment.


Invitational Golf Outing 2023

The UFT’s Invitational Golf Outing on Oct. 9 raised close to $110,000 for the UFT Disaster Relief Fund and victims of the August wildfires in Hawaii.

Future in Focus career fair 2023

The students at the fair had the chance to speak with representatives from 25 unions about the advantages of pursuing a career in which workers are unionized.

Anti-Bullying Conference 2023

About 300 students from 18 middle schools came together at UFT headquarters to watch plays, role-play and discuss their experiences with bullying.

Developing a gratitude practice

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.

Update on in-service health care

The following notification was emailed to all members as part of the UFT Update on October 12, 2023.

Resolution to support an end to the cycle of violence in the Middle East

The UFT Delegate Assembly condemned the attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and resolved to work with those willing to make any and all efforts to end the cycle of violence and to bring peace to the region for Palestinians and Israelis.

Becoming a better version of yourself

Whatever your age, whatever your life stage, it’s never too late to take stock of your life, identify what you would like to be different and work toward making those changes, one day at a time.

School Counselors Chapter Newsletter - September 2023

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

Testimony on protecting New Yorkers from heat and air quality emergencies

Jeffrey Povalitis, the UFT's Director of Safety & Health, submitted testimony before the New York City Council Health Committee’s Oversight Hearing on protecting New Yorkers from heat and air quality emergencies.

Testimony on establishing an office of child care for city residents

Karen Alford, UFT Vice President for Elementary Schools, submitted testimony before the New York City Council Committee on Women and Gender Equity on establishing an office of child care to oversee free child care for all city residents.

Testimony on the role of artificial intelligence, emerging technology and computer instruction in city schools

Janella Hinds, UFT Vice President for Academic High Schools, and Leo Gordon, UFT Vice President for Career and Technical High Schools, submitted testimony before the New York City Council Committees on Education and Technology on developing policies...

Farewell to a devoted unionist and friend

Response to the death of UFT founder and former vice president George Altomare.

60th anniversary of the March on Washington

Eleven busloads of UFT members and school community members were among the tens of thousands of demonstrators who gathered at the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday, Aug. 26, to mark the 60th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom...

‘Revolutionary’ learning experience

The Harbor Defense Museum at Fort Hamilton, with its collections of weaponry, uniforms and memorabilia from the American Revolution to World War II, is an interesting destination for a class trip.

Kudos to Beverly Greene, PS 55, Bronx

As a math coach, Beverly Greene knows every problem has a solution. And that’s been her motto in her role as the chapter leader at PS 55 in the Bronx.

The future is already here!

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.

‘Vest’ approach for school safety agents

It is about time that the NYPD decided to make it mandatory for all of its school safety agents to have to wear bulletproof vests both inside and outside the school buildings where they are deployed to keep students safe.

Historical injustices need to be taught

I recently learned about the massacre of African-American citizens in the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, an event that has been overlooked during history class. The teaching of critical race theory has unfortunately been hijacked by politicians who define...

Contract ratified by wide margin

The union’s new contract with the city Department of Education was ratified with 75 percent of the vote, the union announced on July 10. The more than 95,000 UFT members who cast ballots was the largest in UFT history.

2023 contract gives educators more money and say

Three-quarters of the UFT members who cast ballots ratified a new contract that raises members’ salaries by 17.58% to 20.42% when compounded and gives educators more say over how and where they spend their out-of-classroom time. The agreement marked...

UFT provides support for phonics-based curricula

Hundreds of UFT members took advantage of a free UFT Teacher Center course on the science of reading in July. The course, which combined in-person and virtual learning, was part of the union’s effort to support educators as the Department of...

Honor class-size law

Lowering class sizes in New York City is not an experiment, a wish list item, an “unfunded mandate” or just another expenditure competing for city Department of Education funding. It’s the law.

Fight’s not over

On Aug. 28, 1963, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. captivated an audience of 250,000 people at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom with his soaring “I Have a Dream” speech. Sixty years later, the dreams invoked that day by these civil rights...

Cultivating gratitude

The garden at PS 146 in Howard Beach, Queens, is a place of learning and encourages gratitude, and therefore responsibility, for the natural world.

Money included in the new contract

The DOE-UFT contract, ratified on July 10, includes a ratification bonus and new annual retention bonuses in addition to regular across-the-board wage increases. It also boosts reimbursement payments for medical expenses related to an injury on the...

Happy and busy ‘new year’

Over the summer, RTC members helped their teachers union colleagues in Florida reach new state-mandated union enrollment thresholds and helped the United Farm Workers union organize migrant farmworkers in New York State.

Putting our contract into action

Contract enforcement all starts with understanding what the new agreement entails. Everyone should read the new contract — it’s the most important living document we as UFT members have.

Catastrophic major medical insurance

The Catastrophe Major Medical Plan, sponsored by NYSUT Member Benefits, offers additional coverage for expenses that a basic health plan might not. In-service members may enroll between Sept. 8 and Oct. 13, 2023.

Newest teachers ‘excited’ to join UFT

More than 1,500 new teachers signed their union cards at the opening day of the Department of Education’s annual New Teacher Week on Aug. 28.