Survey Results Show Impact of Bad Policies on Students

Educators at hundreds of New York City public schools are holding contract actions outside their schools starting Monday, April 24.

At a press conference Monday outside a Manhattan elementary and middle school, UFT President Michael Mulgrew called for a fair contract for teachers and other UFT members. Mulgrew also released results from a recent survey of city public schools that show how DOE policies and the lack of educator autonomy stand in the way of teaching and learning.

According to the survey:

• 87 % of educators report that administrative tasks get in the way of their students’ learning.
• 75 % of educators report not having enough time during the workday to properly plan to meet their students’ needs.
• Educators report that on average, 35% of their day is spent on tasks that don’t benefit kids. For a typical classroom teacher or para, that’s nearly 12 hours per week taken away from children.
• Nearly two-thirds of educators - 63% - say that mandatory assessments “always” or “often” cause unnecessary stress for students.
• Over 54% of educators say that mandatory assessments "always" or "often" get in the way of student learning.

“The teachers and paraprofessionals, all the people who work inside the schools of New York City deserve a fair contract. We were the ones who worked through the pandemic. Our contract expired in September.  We need to get a raise in order to maintain our ability to try to live inside of the city, which we all serve and love. And at the same time, we are sick and tired of having our time wasted by the Department of Education's ridiculous policies - that they just keep adding on and on. Paperwork, redundancies, and now assessing our assessments," Mulgrew said.

• UFT workplace survey
• UFT presser/video

The event kicks off a week of informational leafleting by UFT members at schools across the city. The demonstrations will be held before and after school, and during staff lunch periods, to engage parents and members of the community in the campaign. (Information on scheduling and locations for particular events is available through the UFT press office).