New York TeacherFebruary 15, 2024
The Progressive Redesign Opportunity Schools for Excellence program is marking its 10th anniversary this school year. Read about the celebration and two schools that have used the initiative to reimagine old practices and pursue deeper, more engaging units of study.
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Latest News
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UFT lawsuit takes on mayor’s budget cuts
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Union in a budget fight on two fronts
More in News Stories
Member Spotlight
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Shawnequa Holt-Pate, supervisor of school security
Shawnequa Holt-Pate supervises close to 60 school safety agents on Staten Island and coordinates between an NYPD precinct and the schools within it. She belongs to the UFT’s Supervisors of School Security Chapter.
![Catrina Como](/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/photos/Catrina_Como_120_Catrina_01.jpg?h=776dad04&itok=vKt_oOH5)
Kudos to Catrina Como, PS 376, Brooklyn
Around the UFT
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CTE Division’s Impact on Achievement Conference
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UFT African Heritage Committee’s awards dinner
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Clinicians Appreciation Day
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UFT holiday party and toy drive
Your Rights and Benefits
Know Your Benefits
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UFT Legal Services Plan
When you need legal assistance, it can be costly and stressful. That’s why the union created a Legal Services Plan exclusively for UFT members that provides in-service members with access to attorneys who will assist them for free or at discounted rates.
Know Your Rights
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Per-session activities
Your Well-being
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Acts of kindness
If you dwell on the negative, reliving frustrations and anger, you can feel trapped inside those emotions. Conversely, when you focus on the things you are grateful for, it can have a ripple effect on your mood and your entire day.
You Should Know
Grants, Awards & Freebies
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Grants, Awards & Freebies
See our list of current opportunities for educators to receive funds and recognition for their hard work and dedication.
For Your Information
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Tax deduction for educators now $300
Eligible educators can deduct from their federal income taxes up to $300 of unreimbursed expenses from 2023 for books, supplies, computer equipment and other materials they use in the classroom. The agency raised the deduction from $250 to $300 for tax year 2022.
Q&A on the Issues
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Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)
Secure Your Future
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Your pension options
As a member of TRS or BERS, you have options for the distribution of your retirement allowance under the Qualified Pension Plan. As with other major financial decisions, the choice depends on your situation and your finances at retirement.
Opinions
President's Perspective
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The fight to eliminate Tier 6 inequities
VPerspective
![Richard Mantell Richard Mantell](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/richard-mantell-2021.jpg?h=bced809e&itok=isN4cLUi)
If you want to help a student, ask a teacher
UFT Vice President Richard Mantell writes that the holidays may be long over, but the giving is not. It’s what we educators do. We provide our students with the resources they need to succeed in life, whether it’s educating them in the classroom, giving them extra support or that nudge, or acting as a cheerleader or a coach.
Editorials
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Halt ‘congestion’ plan
Editorials
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Voting site concerns
Editorial Cartoons
![Cartoon of Mayor Adams sitting on a bag of money Cartoon of Mayor Adams sitting on a bag of money](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/adamscolor.jpg?itok=9M6czvK6)
The city is broke. (Not!)
Mayor Eric Adams makes mid-year cuts to school budgets even though the city has reserves of more than $8 billion, a new record high.
Teaching Resources
Learning Curve
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Strategies to help new immigrant students
Linking to Learning
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Online resources to support newcomers
See exemplary teaching strategies and instructional tools to support newcomers.
Teacher to Teacher
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Collaborative roles key with small groups
The Department of Education has recently encouraged special education and integrated co-teaching teachers to prioritize targeted small-group instruction, including station teaching. That shift has meant that I’ve had to learn new classroom management and pedagogical strategies for my 12:1:1 special education class for 3rd- and 4th-graders.
Building Your Career
Inside My Classroom
![inside my classroom Bobblehead president dolls](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_3x2_scale_and_crop_330x220/public/photos/106-603A2128.jpg?h=af5aa1dc&itok=F4hSDqjG)
Bobbleheads of U.S. presidents
New Teacher Articles
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Fulfilling professional state certification
If you’re like many new teachers, you’re working under an Initial, Internship or Transitional B teaching certificate that will eventually expire. With the school year half over, now is a good time to take stock of the progress you’re making toward your Professional state certification.
New Teacher Diaries
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‘Wall of silence’ cracks
Retired Teachers News
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Getting in SHIP-shape will cover out-of-pocket costs
For $120 a year, UFT retirees who are members of the Retired Teachers Chapter can obtain supplemental benefits that reimburse them for some out-of-pocket expenses, including ambulance rides, dental work, hearing aids and private-duty nursing.
To obtain the special package of 15 benefits, which the RTC developed more than 40 years ago, members must enroll in the Supplemental Health Insurance Program (SHIP) within one year of retiring. There is no requirement for a medical exam to join. The maximum lifetime benefit for any SHIP participant is $100,000.
Enrollment in the program continues to increase. It currently covers 89,987 UFT retirees and spouses, who are eligible for the same benefits for the same fee. SHIP processed 20,547 claims in 2023.
“The UFT’s health care, social services and Si Beagle Learning Center programs for retirees are like stars in the firmament of earned benefits,” said Tom Murphy, the RTC chapter leader. “SHIP shines brightly for…
![Tom Murphy](/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/photos/tom-murphy-column-art-2022-2.jpg?itok=iFn-H-NC)
Remember the achievements
William Faulkner famously said, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” In our politically forgetful society, many forget what happened in politics last month, let alone what happened two or three years ago.
![UFT Florida Center](/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/photos/img-5661.jpg?itok=QhpoWSj7)
Florida Center wants you — in person!
The UFT Florida Center in Boca Raton is now open each weekday, and members can stop by any time from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.