More than a hundred 3- and 4-year-olds with disabilities at the Mosaic Pre-K Centers in Queens will now receive the related services they need to thrive, the culmination of a two-year organizing effort by the union and the broader school community.


The city's speech teachers and their students were honored at the UFT's Better Speeh and Hearing Celebration, where a wide variety of therapies that speech teachers provide were highlighted.

The 17th annual Better Speech and Hearing Month Celebration at UFT headquarters on May 25 recognized 29 members for creative projects that highlighted the diversity of speech teachers' work.

A bilingual speech therapist who “loves to talk,” Fergie Cantos helps students at P 186, a District 75 school in the Bronx, make themselves understood.

The city’s superintendents gathered at UFT headquarters in early October. UFT Vice President for Special Education MaryJo Ginese said the union made it clear to them at this introductory meeting that when special education compliance issues are brought to their attention, the UFT will be checking in to make sure they’re working in earnest to solve the problem.

Thanks to the union’s advocacy, UFT-represented educators will be reimbursed for some out-of-pocket expenses through Teacher’s Choice at the same levels as the previous school year. Teachers will once again receive about $250.