UFT Vice President for Middle Schools Richard Mantell writes that after holding his annual Middle School Anti-Bullying Conference in October, he learned his 28-year-old daughter had been bullied when she was in middle school. While he was shocked, he...

District 79 math teacher Samuel Berck instructs incarcerated students at the East River Academy at the Rikers Island jail complex.


New York City has taken the first steps to support students in the foster care system by beginning to establish a government team dedicated to that purpose. It must go the rest of the way and help these kids get everything they need to thrive.

The New York State accidental death benefit for in-service UFT members and other public employees who have passed away due to COVID-19 has been extended through Dec. 31, 2024, thanks to the advocacy of the UFT and other public employee unions.

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposal to lift the regional cap on charter schools and put the licenses for defunct charters back into circulation resurfaced in the final weeks of state budget negotiations after former Mayor Bloomberg and other Wall Street...

Lately the media have been overrun by charges that the teachers union is the 800-pound gorilla in the room whenever education policy is discussed in the halls of power — and it’s not meant as a compliment!

Educators at The Young Women’s Leadership School of Astoria in Queens utilize their ability to have a flexible schoolday schedule to engage students with two weeks of intensive immersion in a single project. The Progressive Redesign Opportunity...

Here are some helpful digital resources to support teaching and learning for grades 3 to 5.

NYCDOE consultant Marilyn Friend identifies six team teaching models.

The newly expanded career ladder for teachers offers them opportunities to be instructional leaders and compensation for their time and commitment.

As the DOE's mandated Algebra I math curriculum has expanded from a few hundred high schools last year to citywide this school year, so have teachers’ concerns that it is a mismatch for city schools and is hampering their students’ academic progress.

On that fateful day I was awakened by a phone call. At the time I had just gotten my bachelors degree in Production Management from Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. I was still in the process of deciding if I was going into television production...

Ever the agent provocateur, Al Shanker reminded the large UFT Teacher Union Day audience last fall that in the 1950s there was no shortage of naysayers who said teachers would never get their act together: “Can teachers ever be organized? Well, no...

I am sending this in on behalf of my son, Danny. Danny was 23 years old when he worked on the 55th floor of 2 World Trade Center when the first plane hit. He has suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder since then. He struggled to go right back...

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...

Educators need the summer months to rest and recharge. But it’s also a good idea to fit in a few books about teaching when you have the time and mental space to absorb new information and reflect on your practice.

Fed up with the DOE’s delay in reimbursing them for travel expenses, itinerant related service providers went public with their frustrations in April. Occupational and physical therapists also called out the DOE for long delays in tuition...

When you retire, you have three choices for handling your money in your Tax-Deferred Annuity: 1) Defer; 2) Convert your TDA into a monthly annuity; or 3) Withdraw all the funds. Most TRS and BERS members elect TDA deferral status.

Jeannette DiLorenzo, was a champion of worker and senior causes who helped organize the UFT before serving as an officer of the union for many years.

As we wrap up another school year and begin also to plan for the upcoming one, school social workers across the nation, and certainly within New York State, cannot avoid addressing the recent developments in the nation’s "war on terrorism." The death...

I teach at the High School of Economics & Finance, which is located at 100 Trinity Place, one tiny block away from where the World Trade Center complex stood. That morning I got off the train at Chambers St. and, as was my usual routine, I made my...

We have a new family resource hub on the parent section of the UFT website where you'll find the latest information from the city Department of Education about immediate services including grab-and-go meals and devices for remote learning. You'll...

New York City schools, particularly in District 75, are in dire need of paraprofessionals, who provide essential support services for children with disabilities. The shortage won’t get resolved until the city Department of Education streamlines its...

The month of November is recognized as a time to celebrate and honor the history, culture and contributions of Native Americans, Alaska Natives and all Indigenous people of North America.

Tom Brown, the assistant treasurer of the UFT, was reelected in May to serve his fourth three-year term as a trustee on the board of the Teachers’ Retirement System. Brown was appointed chairman of the board in January after Debra Penny, the UFT...

The state's new class-size law designated the 2022-23 school year as a planning year, but there is little evidence the city Department of Education has done any planning to implement it. In fact, the city’s recent budget proposal and co-location...

We provide a safe, nurturing and educational environment for thousands of the city’s children, who range in age from six-week-old infants to rambunctious school-age children who come to us after school.

See DOE resources that will help you implement special education programs and services »

The mayor has made the decision that K-8 schools will pivot to remote instruction on Monday, Jan. 26. Stay warm, stay safe.

The UFT Course Program offers certificate programs from Brooklyn College, The College of Mount St. Vincent, New York Institute of Technology and St. Francis College. These programs will not lead to NYS initial certification. Before choosing a program...

With careful planning and thoughtful collaboration, students with disabilities can thrive in accelerated education.

“We make a difference” was the theme at the UFT’s Paraprofessionals Festival and Awards Luncheon on March 5, celebrating paraprofessionals for rising to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last held in person in 2019, the luncheon was held at...

You may not be an in-service employee anymore, but you haven’t left the UFT. Now it’s time to become a member of the union’s Retired Teachers Chapter (RTC) and participate in what’s considered the nation’s best retiree program for public school...