New York TeacherSeptember 10, 2020
The 2020-21 school year got off to a rocky start. But the UFT prodded the city to follow a reopening plan for schools that was endorsed by independent medical experts. In this issue, we showcase the dedication and creative strategies of UFT members during this crisis.
![NYT Cover 2020-0910 - A Tough Start NYT Cover 2020-0910 - A Tough Start](/sites/default/files/styles/medium_auto/public/photos/NYT_2020_0910_cover-a-tough-start.jpg?itok=c5KhXrnj)
Latest News
![Union never quit](/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/photos/Union_never_quit_148_GSC_0041_0.jpg?itok=fbeUCR2o)
Union never quit on Census push
The UFT has been working tirelessly all year with its members and with public school families to try to boost New York City’s participation in the U.S. Census.
![Lisa-Erika James (left) addresses the press](/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/photos/Members_win_0120_VitaliyPiltser-37.jpg?itok=BSNHFNfi)
Members win discrimination suit
The New York City Department of Education has agreed to pay nearly $1.2 million to three African American teachers and an assistant principal to settle both a federal civil rights lawsuit brought by the U.S. Attorney as well as individual lawsuits brought by the affected employees.
Member Spotlight
![Victoria Kravets](/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/photos/What_I_do_Victoria_Kravets.jpg?h=16b9bb62&itok=R3amPKK7)
What I do: Victoria Kravets, occupational therapist
As an occupational therapist at PS 231 in Brooklyn, Victoria Kravets helps students with cognitive or physical disabilities develop adaptive skills. During the coronavirus pandemic, Kravets shifted her work online to support students through teletherapy.
![Patrick Coughlin](/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/photos/Shoutout_Patrick_Coughlin_186_O9A5868_0.jpg?itok=v2pZGr3q)
Kudos to Patrick Coughlin, IS 27, Staten Island
Chapter Leader Patrick Coughlin has allayed the fears and met the escalating needs of his members at IS 27 on Staten Island by providing solid, up-to-date information to them on a regular basis during the COVID-19 crisis.
Around the UFT
![A Zoom workshop](/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/photos/Empowering-most-important-partners-Michael-Mulgrew.jpg?itok=M6GsD6P6)
UFT online parent workshops
Weekly UFT online family workshops allowed public school parents to connect with each other and get solid information.
![Samantha Mercedes of PS 26](/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/photos/NYCATA-UFT_IMG_7167.jpg?h=58d90dba&itok=zqkSSJtc)
NYCATA/UFT Artist in Masks project
“I Will Not Die,” 3rd-grader Samantha Mercedes’ winning pandemic mask design, told the story of her grandmother’s victorious fight against the coronavirus.
![Future in Focus](/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/photos/Future_in_Focus_1.jpg?itok=11nW_j4D)
Future in Focus
The pandemic couldn’t stop New York City high school students from learning the benefits of unionized careers, thanks to the first virtual Future in Focus career fair on June 4 on Facebook Live.
![Zulnorain Ahmed from the HS of Computers and Technology in the Bronx, with his parents, Hina (left) and Basit. He’ll study computer science and neuroscience at Colgate.](/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/photos/181X_O9A5640.jpg?itok=1tVgZx2e)
Winners ready to make ‘world a better place’
More than 180 city public high school seniors and graduate students were honored this year with Shanker Scholarship Awards. The union-funded awards provide almost $1 million to high-achieving students from low-income families annually.
Your Rights and Benefits
Know Your Rights
![School reopening - Functional Chapter Leader Colored silhouettes hands](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/functional_chapter_icon-A.jpg?itok=9e4yq5-1)
School chapters and chapter leaders
The pandemic has changed our work world, but the role of the union remains the same, even as the stakes are higher than ever.
Your Well-being
![Stressed women with hand on head and gesturing stop](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photo/stressed-care-giver.jpg?itok=_i7Sp2np)
Work, grief and COVID
As we begin a new school year, many of us are grieving the loss of people — colleagues, family members and friends — and the way things were prior to the pandemic. Students need extra support, too.
You Should Know
Grants, Awards & Freebies
![A teacher with young students A teacher with young students](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/grants-awards-190385567_m.jpg?itok=QBA85Vo9)
Grants, Awards & Freebies
See our list of current opportunities for educators to receive funds and recognition for their hard work and dedication.
Secure Your Future
![Clock and Money - Generic Clock on a surface full of $100 bills](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/time-money-generic.jpg?h=a5c179cb&itok=5Kh2HeHS)
In uncertain times, count on a defined-benefit pension
While the opening of school this fall has been surrounded by uncertainty, one thing you can count on is your defined-benefit pension, thanks to the Teachers’ Retirement System and the UFT.
For Your Information
![Kristin Camarinos can spend quality time with her son, Luke, thanks to paid pare Kristin Camarinos can spend quality time with her son, Luke, thanks to paid pare](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photo/paid-parental-leave-godsend-new-parents-kristin-camarinos.jpg?h=4e944094&itok=zI3S41XD)
Expecting? Learn about parental leave
Are you a Department of Education-employed UFT member who is preparing to welcome a new child into your life? You can attend a virtual UFT Pathways to Parenthood workshop to learn about your parental leave benefits.
For Your Information
![UFT Legal Plan Man sits at table looking at paper work](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/Dan_Lupkin_Will.jpg?h=dad76606&itok=I38u6j41)
Union members get free legal plan
There is now another reason it pays to be a UFT member. The union has negotiated a free legal service plan for members only. The program gives UFT members access to an attorney who can answer legal questions, write letters on their behalf, review documents and prepare a will.
Opinions
VPerspective
![Vision board - goals Colored post-it notes on a bulletin board](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/skills-competence-knowledge-success.jpg?itok=gogibZSt)
COVID creates challenges — and opportunities
UFT Vice President for Special Education MaryJo Ginese writes about how special education teachers and related service providers are figuring out how best to serve their students with disabilities amid the challenges presented by the pandemic.
Editorials
![Betsy DeVos cartoon figure Betsy DeVos cartoon figure stands in a doorway with flowers to her left](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photo/betsy-devos_0.jpg?h=afa3e77a&itok=Hudowu6a)
Devious DeVos
It’s a moment in history when the nation needs a strong and nimble education secretary to guide the course. Instead, Betsy DeVos has only one thing on her mind: figuring out how to exploit the public health crisis to advance her political agenda.
Editorials
![November Election political - generic People holding picket signs](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/change-we-need.jpg?h=76e41ea6&itok=jMFYu2_n)
Change we need
In less than two months we’ll have the chance to put the country back on the right track. There’s never been a clearer choice. Voting for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be a vote for good government, public schools and working families.
Editorial Cartoons
Teaching Resources
Learning Curve
![Townsend Harris HS librarian Arlene Laverde Townsend Harris HS librarian Arlene Laverde](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/librarians-provide-path-to-digital-resources-185_Librarian_Arlene_03.jpg?h=77103052&itok=S6lv7s8c)
Librarians provide path to digital resources
What’s a library without a room full of books? It may sound like a riddle, but it became the reality for school librarians when New York City public school buildings closed in the spring of 2020.
Linking to Learning
![Alina Diner Alina Diner](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/The_benefits_of__Google_001_Alina_02.jpg?itok=BZYCL01n)
The benefits of Google Classroom
Teachers using Google Classroom have found that the platform has the potential to foster collaboration with colleagues and communication with families. It also poses a challenge: striking the right balance between consistency and flexibility.
Teacher to Teacher
![Sandra Fajgier Sandra Fajgier](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/Virtual_learning_Sandra_Fajgier.jpg?itok=Jw_BzcaS)
Virtual learning for early childhood students
Early childhood educators face a unique challenge with remote learning. In our classrooms, learning occurs through hands-on experiences guided by an intentional facilitator. How can we recreate this virtually?
Building Your Career
Inside My Classroom
![Classroom - IS 61 Leonardo Da Vinci, Corona, Queens Classroom - IS 61 Leonardo Da Vinci, Corona, Queens](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/inside-my-classroom-202009-izammito-9-10.jpg?itok=VOmpB8hJ)
A space at home that resembled my physical classroom
I wanted to create a space at home that resembled my physical classroom so that when my students saw me virtually they would feel at home.
New Teacher Articles
![A man at a computer A man at a computer](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/UFT_has_your_back.jpg?h=3ce2cd5a&itok=Ky1wBDic)
UFT has your back as you begin your career
This fall, as we begin a school year like no other, you will face many challenges, but you are not alone. The UFT is here to protect your rights and support you in your new career.
New Teacher Profiles
![Stone became the go-to person for colleagues at IS 364 in Brooklyn who needed help with remote learning. Stone became the go-to person for colleagues at IS 364 in Brooklyn who needed help with remote learning.](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/182_Phylicia_07.jpg?itok=2tjvesSR)
Taking control of the remote
Two things define Phylicia Stone, a third-year teacher at IS 364 in Starrett City, Brooklyn. First, she can’t sit still. “I don’t waste a minute,” she says. Second, she is self-reliant. “If I want to do something, I sit down and figure it out.”
Retired Teachers News
![Tom Murphy](/sites/default/files/styles/medium_auto/public/photos/tom-murphy-column-art-2022-2.jpg?h=9659f490&itok=fJ346Xdd)
It’s time to take action
Lily Tomlin: “Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain.”
In the White House, the occupant has been whining, finger-pointing, dividing and complaining since Day One. Imagine having him in your classroom as a student. But the complainer in chief isn’t alone. We all indulge.
My message is: Complain but act. There are times when nothing satisfies like verbally licking our wounds. That works for a while but then we must take action to do something that makes things better.
From its earliest days, the labor movement has been optimistic, believing that problems created by mankind are open to solutions. But those solutions depend on moving from complaint to action. Campaign 2020 offers redemption to all of us who complain. Let’s take the opportunity to consign this national nightmare to the pages of history.
We face three crises simultaneously: the…
![The refurbished Florida Retiree Center in Boca Raton was packed on March 7 to hear from Jill Biden (inset), the wife of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.](/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/photos/florida-rtc-office-gets-facelift-202009-biden-3.jpg?itok=c5AZoXPn)
Florida RTC office gets facelift for members
The 7,500 UFT retirees who live permanently in Florida, as well as thousands of winter part-timers known as “snow birds,” continue to await the reopening of the remodeled Florida Retiree Center in Boca Raton, the busy hub that serves them all.
![Retiree Jennifer Hardy](/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/photos/Former_Brooklyn_teacher_IMG_9166.jpg?h=9ce504e9&itok=ckYpzq9A)
Former Brooklyn teacher finds ‘Joy’ in retirement
Jennifer Hardy’s new life as a competing equestrian in the state renowned for the Churchill Downs racetrack and the Kentucky Derby is a dream come true.