As someone who is committed to public education and who sees up-close the condition in which our students learn and live, you are in a unique position to help influence public policy. Over the years, the UFT has often called upon its members to speak...

If you are required to maintain classroom or hall bulletin boards, their format is up to you. Per Article 21A of the contract, your principal cannot dictate how they look or discipline you for their format. While school supervisors cannot require a...

Since 1990, Article 8 of the DOE-UFT contract has affirmed that the organization, format, notation and other physical aspects of the lesson plans are within a teacher’s discretion. Nevertheless, many supervisors continued to require specific...

Exercising your personal judgment in determining how best to teach your students is a basic professional right that the UFT has always had to fight for. The school system may set standards and guidelines for content and even recommend teaching...

The UFT believes that you are the best judge of a student’s achievement. Some supervisors have pressured teachers to pass undeserving students or, without the teacher’s consent, have unilaterally changed student grades. If this happens to you...

When a teacher is absent, the principal should always attempt to cover that class, preferably with a substitute teacher or member of the Absent Teacher Reserve (ATR) pool. When a substitute is not available, the principal should first ask for...

Partners in Progress: Peer Intervention Program (PIP) is a collaboration between the UFT and the DOE to provide pedagogical and professional support to tenured teachers delivered by fellow expert educators, founded in 1988. PIP provides confidential...

If you have a difference of professional judgment with your supervisor, Article 24 in the contract provides you with a mechanism for resolving it that is similar to nonbinding mediation. Often an entire staff or department uses this procedure to...

The Open Market system will be open as of Thursday, April 11, 2024 at 9 a.m. and will close on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024 at 5 p.m. If you want a new opportunity, wish to be closer to home or have been placed in excess, the Open Market Transfer Plan gives...

If you have a reasonable suspicion that a student has been abused, maltreated or neglected, you are required by law to file a report with the State Central Register personally by calling 800-635-1522 . Your job is to report the suspicion, not to...