Members of the UFT Educational Vision Services chapter are educators in the New York City public schools who serve the blind or visually impaired in every grade and at every developmental level.
We have a range of job titles, from teachers of the visually impaired to orientation and mobility teachers to orientation and mobility paraprofessionals. We work across the city in a variety of educational settings. Many of us are itinerant-related service providers. Others of us work in self-contained classrooms in community schools or in high school resource rooms.
We work for the Department of Education through Educational Vision Services (EVS), the largest organization of vision educators in the United States. We also work closely with many guidance counselors and social workers and psychologists in our schools.
As Educational Vision Services educators, we:
- teach braille
- teach strategies for students with low vision
- teach students with multiple impairments
- teach technology innovations to help our students to become as independent as possible
This is a very difficult job. It takes skill, specialized training, experience, dedication and the right balance to ensure that children are receiving what they really need to do their best. Our chapter and our union are here to support you.