Join our final push to block charter school expansion

With negotiations on a state budget wrapping up, Gov. Kathy Hochul continues to push her proposals to reissue zombie charters (from closed schools) and lift the regional charter cap. We need to let our state representatives know we are counting on them to stand with public schools. So far, we’ve sent more than 2,100 emails asking them to do the right thing. We need to keep up the pressure, so please send your state reps our updated email asking them to oppose the inclusion of the governor’s proposal to expand New York City charter schools as part of the final budget agreement. Our message is clear: Allowing more charter schools in New York City will drain resources and take away valuable space from our public schools.

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Organize contract leafleting outside your school next week

On Monday, to kick off our Week of Action, the UFT will release the powerful results of our all-member survey on how we spend our time at the workplace. Next week, we will hand out fliers with the survey results to members of our communities and ask them to join our fight for a fair contract. Please work with other members of your school’s Contract Action Team to choose at least one day between Tuesday and Friday next week for members to leaflet outside your school. Fill out this online form to let us know which day(s) and times your chapter selects. In our digital toolkit, you will find a leafleting shift sign-up sheet to organize your members for leafleting. The flier with the survey results will be added to the toolkit by Monday, April 24, at noon. 

Come to the Spring Education Conference — and earn CTLE hours

Organize a group of members from your school to attend the Spring Education Conference, our premier conference of the year that celebrates, supports and inspires our work as public school educators. We’ll gather at the New York Hilton Midtown on Saturday, May 20, from 7:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Participants can earn two CTLE hours by attending two of the five timely and relevant workshops. The choices are Autism in the Classroom: A Multi-Sensory Approach to Behavioral Management; Digging into Data: Using "Street Data" to Advance Equity for All Students; Media Literacy in the Age of Algorithms; Mindfulness through Your Senses; and Naturopathic Program: To a Holistic Approach. Guests will also enjoy a town hall at breakfast, an exhibit fair where CTE students show off their skills, a chance to win raffle prizes, and a gala luncheon with surprise guests. If you register by May 1, the early-bird special is $40 per person. After May 1, the registration fee is $50. There is an additional cost of $30 per CTLE hour for teachers and $15 per CTLE hour for paraprofessionals and other UFT members who attend workshops for credit. School Leadership Team members may draw on funds allocated to the team to pay for registration fees by using their school purchase order. For detailed instructions on how to pay by purchase order, see the UFT Purchase Order Memo. 

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