UFT Vice President for Elementary Schools Karen Alford writes that it’s been a stressful year, and the pandemic is still affecting all our lives. Some UFT members have gotten a jump-start on their own social-emotional wellness, with training in mindfulness meditation and yoga they use in their own lives and bring to their students at school.

UFT Vice President Anne Goldman, the head of the Federation of Nurses/UFT, writes that as hospitalizations rise, we again find ourselves in a battle for adequate staffing. Staffing ratios are the foundation for safe patient care.

UFT Vice President for Education Mary Vaccaro writes that as we look ahead to September, when students and educators will be back together in school buildings, we must focus as strongly on social-emotional wellness as on academics.

UFT Vice President for Academic High Schools Janella Hinds writes that high school members from across the city joined forces with the union’s academic high school team in five safe spaces to talk about what works and what obstructs, to uncover better practices, and to find solutions to our challenges.

UFT Vice President Anne Goldman, the head of the Federation of Nurses/UFT, writes that nearly a year after the pandemic began, New York City hospitals are once again at full capacity, but this time our own ranks have been thinned by illness. But Federation of Nurses/UFT members continue to demonstrate courage, compassion and relentless dedication while caring for patients in battlefield conditions.

UFT Vice President for Middle Schools Richard Mantell writes that no matter what is going on around us, we tune out the noise and we plug away, fulfilling our responsibilities to our students, whether in person and/or remotely.