New York TeacherNovember 2, 2023
A group of dedicated New York City educators is advocating for the integration of climate education across the curriculum. There are many high-quality materials online for teachers to use.
Cover Story
Shedding light on a crisis
Between orange skies, extreme heat and dangerous floods, the effects of climate change are already having a serious impact on our lives in New York City. And yet, according to a 2021 survey of city educators, just slightly more than half of us teach students about climate change, and those who do only address it for about two hours per year.
A group of dedicated educators is trying to shift that paradigm. Joining forces through groups such as the Climate and Resilience Education Task Force and the DOE’s Climate Education Leadership Team, these educators advocate for policies to integrate climate education across the curriculum and produce teaching resources to speed their adoption.
With the introduction of four citywide Climate Action Days this school year, the DOE is finally recognizing the importance…
Latest News
UFT focuses on four contested City Council races
The UFT has made endorsements in all but one City Council race and in the district attorney races in the Nov. 7 election, but the union’s borough political action committees have been focusing on four contested Council races: one in the Bronx, one in Brooklyn and two in Queens.
Implementing new contract is ‘main focus’
At the first Delegate Assembly of the school year on Oct. 11, UFT President Michael Mulgrew stressed the importance of making sure all parts of the new DOE-UFT contract get implemented.
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Feature Stories
Teacher’s ‘superpower’ kicks in
Jouleni Cruz had parent-teacher conferences on her mind as she exited East-West School of International Studies in Flushing, Queens, and headed for her car on Sept. 28. Suddenly, she heard the sickening sound of a vehicle making an impact with something.
“I knew from the sound that a person had just been hit,” she said.
She immediately dialed 911 and headed toward the sound. When she got there, she saw a student lying injured beneath a car.
Cruz quickly snapped photos of the car involved, including the license plate. When she reached the student, who turned out to be a 6th-grader from co-located IS 237, she knelt next to him.
By then she was on the phone with EMS. Cruz provided the location by getting the address of a home in front of the accident, then pleaded for immediate help as the boy was bleeding and losing consciousness.
“He said, ‘Help me.’ He was in a lot of pain and…
No longer alone
A pre-K teacher and the UFT chapter leader at PS 150 in Queens, Jeanine Bradley has found her voice as an advocate, both in the community and at her school, for people with Crohn’s and for her fellow educators. And she makes sure her students, no matter the challenge they face, never feel alone.
Teaching for the crop
The class trip for 1st-graders at PS 234 in Manhattan to Battery Urban Farm in lower Manhattan was a feast for the senses. The Battery Conservancy created Battery Urban Farm to teach students, residents and visitors about sustainable farming and healthy eating.
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Member Spotlight
Kudos to Dan Wever, Sunset Park HS, Brooklyn
Art teacher Dan Wever said he ran for chapter leader at Sunset Park HS in Brooklyn in 2021 knowing that at some point the union chapter would have to organize to demand the removal of the school’s longtime principal, Victoria Antonini. Less than two years later, he did just that.
William Valentin, paraprofessional for hearing impaired students
As a one-on-one paraprofessional in a third and fourth grade DHHES classroom at PS 333 in the Bronx, William Valentin supports Deaf and hearing impaired students with their communication, educational and behavioral needs.
Around the UFT
Finding ‘inspiration to fight on’
UFT members in all five boroughs and on Long Island participated in this year’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walks on two separate Sundays in October. “We’re here to honor the survivors in our building and to call attention to this disease, which impacts our profession at disproportionately high rates,” said one UFT chapter leader.
A celebration of determination
On Oct. 11 — the second Wednesday in October — UFT members across the city wore pink to work to celebrate survivors, pay tribute to loved ones and colleagues they have lost, and emphasize the importance of early detection and treatment.
Anti-Bullying Conference 2023
About 300 students from 18 middle schools came together at UFT headquarters to watch plays, role-play and discuss their experiences with bullying.
Future in Focus career fair 2023
The students at the fair had the chance to speak with representatives from 25 unions about the advantages of pursuing a career in which workers are unionized.
Invitational Golf Outing 2023
The UFT’s Invitational Golf Outing on Oct. 9 raised close to $110,000 for the UFT Disaster Relief Fund and victims of the August wildfires in Hawaii.
Your Rights and Benefits
Know Your Benefits
Cancer care and prevention
The UFT offers programs with compassionate support and excellent clinical care for members facing a cancer diagnosis: 3D mammograms, MSK Direct and the Health and Cancer Helpline
Know Your Rights
Salary, steps and longevity
In addition to the regular pay increases negotiated in each DOE-UFT contract, UFT-represented teachers and other pedagogues receive differentials, step payments and longevity increases based on their level of education and years of service.
Your Well-being
Effective communication
Communication is essential for building positive relationships at work. It fosters teamwork and collaboration, and it helps everyone to thrive. But what are the building blocks of good communication?
You Should Know
Grants, Awards & Freebies
Grants, Awards & Freebies
See our list of current opportunities for educators to receive funds and recognition for their hard work and dedication.
Q&A on the Issues
Integrated co-teaching classes
Students in Integrated Co-Teaching classes are intentionally grouped together based on similarity of need to receive specially designed instruction. Specific protocols have been established to ensure this model is successful for all participants. Here are answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about ICT classes.
You Should Know
The over-80 crowd
Of the 80,000-plus retirees and spouses who receive a pension check each month, more than 17,000 are 80 or older.
Secure Your Future
Tax-deferred annuity can boost retirement income
If you are a member of TRS or BERS, you have a voluntary, supplemental savings plan in addition to your define benefit pension. This savings plan with low fees allows you to build personal savings on a tax-deferred basis.
Opinions
President's Perspective
Support for asylum-seeking families
We are facing a crisis in our school system that we are handling largely on our own: Over the past 18 months, more than 20,000 children from asylum-seeking families have arrived in our schools. Yet no one in leadership seems to be talking about or figuring out how to provide the meaningful support these new students need.
VPerspective
Better tool to assure special ed compliance
The new contract establishes school-based Special Education Committees and annual training of all staff on special education rules and regulations. Vice President for Special Education MaryJo Ginese writes that these new rights will empower members with knowledge and give them an effective vehicle to have their voice heard.
Editorials
Cool the classrooms
In June and September each year, classroom temperatures spike when the city experiences a heat wave. It is outrageous to expect students to learn and teachers to teach in these circumstances.
Editorials
Climate preparation
When record rainfall caused serious flooding in New York City on Sept. 29, city officials were caught off guard and then botched communication with schools about how to deal with it. There are much better ways to deal with a significant weather event.
Editorial Cartoons
Teaching Resources
Linking to Learning
Lessons about climate change
If you are planning to create lesson plans related to the DOE's Climate Action Days or want to integrate the topic of climate change more regularly in your classroom, there are many high-quality materials online.
Grants, Awards & Freebies
Grants, Awards & Freebies — November 2, 2023
See our list of current opportunities for educators to receive funds and recognition for their hard work and dedication.
Teacher to Teacher
Make connections with hexagonal thinking
How do you teach elaboration, “adding on” and targeted vocabulary without making student discussion feel forced? Enter hexagonal thinking.
Building Your Career
Inside My Classroom
A calming corner
Evdokia Gasparis, a 1st-grade teacher at PS 70 in Queens created a calming corner in his classroom for when students need a little break. —
New Teacher Articles
Important tips to help manage your classroom
New teachers may erroneously believe that effective classroom management comes from being stern and no-nonsense. But veteran educators know that there are better ways to establish a calm classroom. Here are some tips.
New Teacher Diaries
Success depends on community
That success depends on your community is something I only truly understood after my first year of teaching. When I was a para, I was committed to supporting my students and my teachers. When I first became a teacher, I forgot that I needed to ask for support as well as offer it.
Retired Teachers News
Staying vigilant vs. Big Pharma
It’s unclear whether the pharmaceutical corporations like being called Big Pharma. Nicknames for monopolies, such as Ma Bell for AT&T, were comforting in an earth mother sort of a way. But in senior circles, Big Pharma is uttered with contempt.
For decades, lobbyists for the pharmaceutical industry have promoted legislation that, in the name of preserving fair competition, protected its ill-gotten profits. In 2003, at the industry’s behest, Congress enacted a law forbidding Medicare from using its high-volume bulk purchasing of prescription drugs to negotiate lower prices.
The Veterans Administration has long set a positive example for how directly negotiating drug prices with the manufacturer can lower costs. A 2020 federal government report found the VA on average paid 54% less than Medicare for 399 brand-name and generic drugs in 2017.
UFT retirees have access to free legal assistance
In addition to having legal letters written or phone calls made on a UFT retiree’s behalf, the UFT Welfare Fund Retiree Legal Plan with Elder Plan Supplement provides access to attorneys who can give advice, answer questions, review documents, prepare a will and more. Telephone advice and consultations are unlimited.
Targeted support for retired paraprofessionals
A monthslong UFT initiative to reach out to retired paraprofessionals, connect them with union services and support, and encourage them to get involved in the Retired Teachers Chapter culminated with a meet and greet at UFT headquarters on Sept. 19.