Incorporating strategies used by occupational, physical and speech therapists into classroom teaching can not only greatly benefit students with disabilities, but can also improve learning for all students. And the more teachers normalize using these...

After three years without their annual luncheon, UFT Retired Teachers Chapter members reunited to celebrate their service to the union and the integral role retirees play in strengthening the power of the UFT. More than 400 retirees attended the...

This year's Retired Teachers Chapter Luncheon celebrated the "visionaries" on whose shoulders stand retirees and in-service members alike as some 500 attendees were urged to continue advocating for political change and the rights of educators...

The popular Teacher’s Choice program continues this school year, with eligible UFT-represented educators receiving a reimbursement for some of the supplemental instructional supplies they buy.

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. 


The LEAP to Teacher Program is offered by the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies in collaboration with the UFT and participating colleges in all five boroughs. The LEAP to Teacher program helps place UFT paraprofessionals at participating...

Minimum Qualifications Education: Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree in Education required Certification and License: NYS Certification and/or NYC License Knowledge, Skills, Experience: Knowledge of student academic growth and development Extensive...

New York City schools are required to adhere to state certification requirements. If you work in special education, you know that certification requirements are complicated and frequently change.

After years of advocacy by the UFT, paraprofessionals will be included in the Teacher’s Choice program for the first time this school year.


If you do not wish to participate in Teacher’s Choice, you should submit a Request for Non-participation (opt-out) form to your school by the deadline indicated for that particular school year.

The Miami-Dade County School Board on July 28 accepted two health and sexual education textbooks for use in middle and high schools, reversing a decision from just the previous week to reject the curriculum over fears it could violate the state’s...

New speech teachers have many questions. Here are some of the issues you have raised at meetings, with answers that should help you understand your rights and responsibilities.

As it has for more than 35 years, the Teacher’s Choice program will again reimburse UFT-represented educators for some of their out-of-pocket expenses for supplemental instructional supplies and materials of their choice.


As a student teacher, Sorangel Acosta was “amazed and mesmerized” that it was possible to respect both languages equally in a dual-language class. She tries to bring that experience to the 3rd-graders in her English/Spanish classroom at PS 280 in...

Retiree Rita Kelly is setting the world ablaze in her second act as a Dragon Sister, one of an all-woman crew of dragon boat racers in Florida, where she and her teammates brave the waters in a thousand-year-old sport of endurance and speed.

UFT Vice President for Career and Technical Education High Schools Leo Gordon writes that as the Success Via Apprenticeship program celebrates its 40th year, it is imperative that this unique pathway for new CTE teachers receive the support and...

Pasha Durr teaches Brooklyn high school students in their homes when they’re unable to physically attend school.

The 2024 Retired Teachers Chapter elections will take place this spring. The elections will determine various leadership positions, including chapter leader, vice chairs, secretaries, treasurer, and executive board members.

Candidates for New York City mayor must fulfill a new prerequisite this year if they want to be considered for the UFT’s endorsement: They have to spend a day in a New York City public school classroom helping educators.

A retired New York City public school teacher responds to a New York Teacher article about one of her former students.

Schools around the United States are canceling in-person instruction with very little notice due to staffing issues, including teacher shortages and staff fatigue, exacerbated by the pandemic.

After spending 12 years of my own education in conservative private schools, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I applied here. I was immediately welcomed by the warmest and most gracious staff I have ever had the pleasure of working with. One of the...

No. Professionals who are obligated to provide services as mandated on IEPs (including special education teachers, general education teachers in ICT classes, related service providers, and paraprofessionals) must serve each student as mandated and...

An independent arbitrator has ruled that New York City teachers with certain documented medical conditions must be offered non-classroom assignments. Other staffers reluctant to take the vaccine must be offered either an unpaid leave that maintains...

Teacher salary schedule (2022–27)

Co-teachers may not be assigned to other duties (such as exam scoring or coverage or test proctoring for other classes) that would prevent them from providing IEP-mandated services to their ICT class. If a co-teacher is routinely assigned to other...

Teachers with 0-3 years of experience should check out the New Teacher section of the UFT website. This section contains information about mentoring, certification, licensing, the New Member Handbook, and much more.