Cara Matthews

Heaping pallets of high-interest books greeted new teachers on Aug. 13 at the United Federation of Teachers’ Bronx borough office, where they were able to choose 50 volumes each from among the thousands offered to build their classroom libraries as they start the school year. 

Wage gaps, lack of public support, burnout, a strong emphasis on testing, and cultural and political wars are all factors in a nationwide teacher shortage that has many school systems struggling.

A tour about pollinators and another that focuses on architecture are just two of the many educational tours that can serve as class trips at The Green-Wood Cemetery, a 478-acre National Historic Landmark chartered in 1838 in western Brooklyn.

The landmark class size bill passed by both houses of the state Legislature in June has not yet become law because it still lacks the governor’s signature.

The city and its Department of Education (DOE) have appealed an Aug. 5 court ruling that invalidated the City Council’s vote on the education portion of the 2022-23 budget, while the Council considers legal options to restore the funding cuts.

Hundreds of protesters demanded that the city Department of Education restore more than $215 million in school budget cuts at a rally on June 24 outside City Hall, where the City Council was holding an emergency hearing to probe the reductions in the recently adopted city budget.