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Educational support team key to District 75 hydroponics lab
The hydroponics lab at P141K at IS 71, a District 75 site that serves students with profound learning challenges, allows students to participate in gardening activities year-round. The students have the opportunity to witness the plant life cycle...
New Member Handbook
With topics ranging from your salary to your professional growth to where to go for help, this handbook will provide answers to many of your questions, information about enhancing your professional and economical status, and help in making sense of...
School Counselors Chapter Newsletter - September 2023
Information about 55 minutes for remote work, repurposed time and hours, student services managers and suspensions.
Members’ pandemic efforts lauded on Teacher Union Day
"You have all gone above and beyond the call of duty," UFT President Michael Mulgrew said at the UFT's annual Teacher Union Day on Nov. 7 that honored the courage and hard work of members during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Brief Chronology of the Life of Albert Shanker
Albert Shanker was born to immigrants from Czarist Russia, Morris, who delivered newspapers, and Mamie, a garment worker holding union cards in both the International Ladies Garment Workers Union and Amalgamated Clothing Workers Union.
Switching schools
Ready to apply for a new opportunity or wish to transfer to a new school? This Q and A explains what educators need to know about the Open Market Transfer Plan.
Education caught in cro$$fire
UFT President Michael Mulgrew warned of the serious repercussions for public schools stemming from the Trump administration’s attacks on health care and education.
Job opportunities for new applicants
Public schools in New York city may hire external teachers (not currently employed by the Department of Education) in certain license areas and are restricted in others.
Introducing UFT Childcare Connection
This summer, the union launched Childcare Connection, a benefit to help UFT members find out if they qualify for free or reduced-cost child care as well as to find home-based child care providers near their home or work.
Union urges action on city’s special education failures
The UFT has asked the State Education Department to investigate the city Department of Education for its continued failure to provide mandated special education services to students.
Delegates OK 3 resolutions
The Delegate Assembly approved resolutions to support paraprofessionals' fight for a living wage and better benefits; acknowledge the work of the union's founders on the UFT's 64th anniversary; and honor the impact that women have had on the union.
A push for the ‘RESPECT check’ bill
At the UFT’s annual city legislative breakfast, 28 City Council members heard how critical an annual “RESPECT check” would be in reversing the paraprofessional shortage in schools. They also heard appeals from union representatives for continued city...
UFT helps reverse para shortage
A Herculean effort by the UFT helped turn the largest-ever shortage of New York City public school paraprofessionals into a record number of new paras joining the ranks.
Using sick days
One of the many benefits of union membership is having paid leave to rest and recuperate when you are sick. Learn how UFT members earn, use and even borrow days from their Cumulative Absence Reserve.
Need for ‘RESPECT’ is great
The chapter leader at PS/IS 384 in Brooklyn urges his fellow UFT members to fight to "Fix Tier 6" and improve retirement and pension benefits.
Paras get Teacher’s Choice money
After years of advocacy by the UFT, paraprofessionals will be included in the Teacher’s Choice program for the first time this school year.
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...
Albert Shanker
As his fledgling union teetered on the brink of a strike, Albert Shanker was the linchpin of a last-minute settlement that laid out the goals that would dominate his thinking for the rest of his life.
The United Federation of Teachers partners with Vibrant Emotional Health to launch mental health helpline for nearly 200,000 educators
Vibrant Emotional Health, one of the nation’s leading mental health organizations, announces a new partnership with the UFT to introduce a mental health and emotional well-being helpline designed for its union members.
Special class staffing ratios
Special classes offer different levels of staffing intensity depending upon the intensity of a student's academic and/or management needs.
Student Debt Relief Program
Are you concerned about paying back your student loans? The Student Debt Relief Program, brought to you by the UFT, is here to help.
Action Center
Get involved and share your voice! Review our active campaigns and support issues that matter to our members.
Environmental health workshops
The UFT Health & Safety committee offers environmental health workshops to our members on staff development days, extended days, union meetings, etc. If you would like to have one of these workshops offered at your school, please contact us.
Stay in the fight for RESPECT and Tier 6
UFT President Michael Mulgrew commends members on the new heights of union activism this year, especially in their advocacy for Tier 6 reform among state lawmakers and to push for passage of RESPECT check legislation in the City Council. He urges...
Personnel Memorandum #4, 2002-2003: Policy and Procedures on Line of Duty Injuries for Pedagogical Employees
This circular consolidates and updates the Department of Education’s policies and procedures on line of duty injuries for pedagogical employees previously detailed in Special Circular No. 32, 1989-90: Personnel Memorandum No. 19, 1986-87 and...
Deadline extended to complete special education remote learning plans
The deadline to complete Special Education Remote Learning Plans has been extended to Wednesday, April 8.
‘We all have a story to tell’
Ten students from P396 K, a District 75 school in Brownsville, Brooklyn, read books they wrote during a Zoom presentation on Feb. 11, as part of an evening with the Sid Miller Academy Authors, a program begun during the pandemic to foster literacy...
The ins and outs of state certification
Summer is a good time to check on any outstanding items needed for state certification or to review state education policies if you are being appointed under a different license this upcoming school year. Read answers to common questions below and be...
Special Education and the Role of The Guidance Counselor
Presented at the Guidance Counselor Membership Meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010 by Carmen Alvarez, Vice President for Special Education and Emma Mendez, UFT Liaison to Division of Students with Disabilities and English Language Learners. This...
Where can I find out what the requirements are for my certificate/license?
The requirements for New York State certificates can be found at www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert. There are no separate requirements for a New York City license other than the availability of a vacancy in the certificate area and the recommendation of a...
Para’s allergy alert
A student-friendly book and seminar on food allergies was created by Fatima Straughn, a paraprofessional at MS 45 in the Bronx, as a way to teach young children about the effects of food allergies.
A mosaic memorial
Colleagues and students create a mosaic mural to remember Rulx Dagus, a paraprofessional at P 369K in Park Slope, Brooklyn, who died of COVID-19.
Icing out ICE
What will the next four years under President Donald Trump mean for public education in New York City? UFT President Michael Mulgrew told the Delegate Assembly on Jan. 15 that many parents are fearful of the ramifications.
UFT on NYC's inability to provide special education services
UFT President Michael Mulgrew sent a letter to NY State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa outlining concerns with the city's inability to provide mandated special education services.