This is the May 11 issue of the Queens parent newsletter.

As the end of the year approaches, make sure you read the articles below on ratings and probation, end-of-year procedures, leaves of absences and other timely information.

More than 1,600 UFT members, retirees, family members and other guests converged on the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan for the annual Spring Education Conference, which consisted of the Town Hall discussion, workshops, exhibits, speeches and the presentation of the John Dewey Award to the Food Bank for New York City.

This is the May 6 issue of the Brooklyn parent newsletter.

Parents, educators and students gathered at UFT headquarters on May 6 for the UFT’s fourth Be BRAVE Against Bullying Conference, an evening devoted to the topic of bullying and what schools can do to combat it. BRAVE — Building Respect Acceptance and Voice Through Education — is a program that seeks to publicize and sensitize educators to the problem of bullying.

This year’s push by parents and educators for additional state funding for public schools paid off when the governor and Albany lawmakers on April 1 finalized a new state budget that contained a $1.4 billion increase in state education funding, with...

Pedagogues — teachers, guidance counselors, school secretaries, psychologists, social workers and lab specialists — injured or made sick on the job are covered by the Injury-in-the-Line-of-Duty provision of the UFT-Department of Education contract.

Public-sector unions nationwide survived a serious threat when the U.S. Supreme Court deadlocked on March 29 over a challenge by conservatives to the fair-share fees that public-sector unions collect from workers who don’t become members.

UFT members have health benefits that they can count on if serious illness strikes them or a close family member. Most Americans, without a union, are not so lucky.

Boxing was a savior for Femi Guri growing up in war-torn Kosovo. Now 27 and a physical education teacher at PS 65 in the South Bronx, he believes that boxing could be a savior for his students.