Before I retired in January 2019, I had a Department of Education email address, at schools.nyc.org. I also had an email address with the school where I taught. I knew that when I retired, my school would remove my email address, and I took the necessary precautions. However, the possibility of the DOE removing my email address did not occur to me, because I knew of other retired teachers who still used their DOE email addresses.

The day that I retired, I was unable to log on. I contacted the DOE and was informed that room must be made in the computer system for newly hired DOE employees. This is understandable; however, there should have been an advance emailed warning, as a courtesy, of the upcoming termination of my DOE email address. 

Had I known in advance this would happen, I would have made my personal email address available to my students and to colleagues who might wish to keep in touch. It is disappointing that some of my former students who have not yet graduated are now unable to reach me in the event that they wish to request college recommendations. 

I would like to inform those who are considering retirement to prepare for this possibility. The loss of my DOE email address was not mentioned during retirement consultations, and I did not find this information elsewhere. I learned from experience.

Rosemarie Bugenis, 
retired