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...

Review team meeting presentations, contract guidance and other important materials for our elementary school members.

Three teachers in Queens — the New York City borough with the most overcrowded classrooms — drive home the benefits of the state's class size law, which mandates smaller numbers of students per class, by sharing their experiences from the front lines...

Students enter our classes at different levels of learning. That’s why teachers are evaluated on their students’ progress, rather than on passing rates, which cannot capture the good work we do with students.

A. Assistance in Assault Cases The principal shall report as soon as possible but within 24 hours to the Office of Legal Services and to the Chief Executive of School Safety and Planning that an assault upon a teacher has been reported to him/her...

In 1996, New York Teacher reporter Jack Schierenbeck, a gifted writer and labor scholar, undertook to write a series of articles detailing the history of the UFT. The result, “Class Struggles: The UFT Story,” was a vivid and insightful retelling of...

UFT President Michael Mulgrew didn’t mince words about the current threats to public schools and public school communities at the union's 2025 Spring Education Conference. He asked the more than 1,600 members who packed the New York Hilton Midtown to...

Growing up near Coney Island, Brooklyn, Ariella Moshchinsky knew early on that she would pursue a career in the sciences — and she says it was her public school education in Brooklyn schools that helped inspire her to achieve that goal.


Nine educators at MS 137 in Ozone Park, Queens, graduated from the same school where they were middle schoolers. The teachers and paraprofessionals credit their own teachers' mentorship and cultural connectedness as the inspiration for their deciding...

Some 200 members and guests gathered as the UFT Speech Improvement Chapter hosted its 20th annual celebration of National Speech-Language-Hearing Month. 
Award-winning topics and projects, including those that raised awareness about cerebral palsy...

The UFT operates the Dial-A-Teacher program, which is a free, after-school homework help/tutoring service for K-12 students in New York City public schools. It is staffed by experienced classroom teachers who can provide help in all subject areas...

What teacher, guidance counselor, social worker or school psychologist hasn’t had to confront a professional disagreement with a supervisor? Professional conciliation provides a mechanism — a professional space — for attaining a win-win solution that...

Alaa Yousef was elected chapter leader at Park Slope Collegiate in Brooklyn this October, and in her first action in that role, she used the operational issues complaint process to get her members paid for instructional lunch periods. When those...

Chapter Leader Maia Baumgarth of Alfred E. Smith Career and Technical HS in the Bronx strives to educate herself and her colleague on the ins and outs of the DOE-UFT contract under which they all work, ensuring students receive the services they need...

The UFT calls on the DOE to recruit, hire and retain special education teachers, counselors, nurses, OT/PT, speech, social workers, paraprofessionals, hearing services and all titles that deal with special education to create a supportive learning...

Marna Davidson, the former coordinator of the Florida Retired Teachers Chapter office, has died at 89.

As part of their fight for a fair contract, educators across the city on March 30 set out to make their heavy workload visible to their school communities and to the city during a citywide grade-in.

UFT Vice President for Elementary Schools Karen Alford writes that we are excited to return to our classrooms to do what we do best after recharging over the summer. And we won’t let budget cuts or layoffs stop us from providing our public school...

A. Work Year The work year for employees in the bargaining unit will begin on the Tuesday following Labor Day and will end at the conclusion of the regular school year in June. Employees assigned to programs which start at the beginning of the school...

Information about Touro University courses offered in conjunction with the UFT Course Program.

Librarians are valuable colleagues in schools, but often their role is misunderstood. Here is a FAQ to answer many of the questions you may have.

Read the UFT's current legislative policy recommendations for New York City.

Students with disabilities who receive Integrated Co-Teaching services are educated with age-appropriate peers in the general education classroom. ICT provides students the opportunity to be educated alongside their non-disabled peers with the full...

UFT President Michael Mulgrew submitted testimony before the New York City Council Committee on Education's hearing on the New York City preliminary budget for fiscal year 2027.

UFT members came together in every borough on the union’s Day of Action on May 6 to demand improvements to Tier 6 of the state pension system.
In Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, members took part in simultaneous after-school rallies, while members on...

More than 70 educators gathered at union headquarters for the union’s Middle Schools Conference, gaining professional development and key insights on meeting the challenge of supporting students at a uniquely challenging age.

The contract requires that each school form a staff development committee to collaboratively review, consider and develop the professional development that is offered during the new time set aside for professional development. This section of the...

Fostering a respectful environment and establishing predictable classroom routines goes a long way toward helping students thrive. But for new and experienced teachers alike, this school year presents fresh challenges to traditional classroom conduct...

In my work as a 10th-grade social studies teacher, I’ve found that fostering student agency — allowing students some choices and control over how their day goes — increases engagement. 
Here are some ways that a classroom teacher can encourage...

As a middle school math teacher, I’ve learned that providing students with spiral reviews — having students revisit concepts throughout the year — created by their peers instills a sense of ownership of the work. It typically makes the problems more...

The UFT Muslim Educators Committee celebrated its second annual Iftar dinner at UFT headquarters on March 7 to break the fast during Ramadan.

The UFT in August won an important grievance filed on behalf of guidance counselors at a Queens middle school who were forced by their principal to cover for the teacher assigned to their school’s SAVE room, instead of meeting with students that they...

Assistance in Assault Cases back to top The principal shall report as soon as possible but within 24 hours to the Office of Legal Services, to the Chief Executive of School Safety and Planning and to the Victim Support Program that an assault upon a...