New Educator To-Do List

Here are some items to take care of right away and others that will help you prioritize and stay on track. 

Your union rights and benefits

Check with your chapter leader to see if your school has school-based options that will be up for renewal or if any new SBOs are proposed for next school year. SBOs allow UFT members the flexibility to collaboratively modify some contractual articles or create positions not automatically allowed for in the contract. Examples of SBO modifications include changing the date of parent-teacher conferences and creating compensatory-time positions such as testing coordinator. An SBO remains in effect for only one school year; it must be renewed every year to continue, which requires a vote of the chapter. The only SBO that doesn't need to be renewed annually is for changing an elementary school from an eight-period day to a seven-period day. Attend union meetings to discuss any SBOs under consideration and participate in the SBO vote. An SBO is ratified when 55% of the UFT members who actually vote support it.

Each spring, all teachers should receive a preference sheet to indicate, in order of preference, the classes they would like to teach the following school year. All teachers should ask for assignments in their license area. This is especially important for probationary teachers, who could have their tenure delayed if they teach out of license. Teachers should be given a reasonable amount of time — at least five school days — to submit the sheet, which can be issued either electronically or on paper. Before submitting their preference sheet to the principal, teachers should make a copy for their records. Elementary school teachers should be notified of their teaching assignment for the next school year by June 15. Middle and high school teachers should receive finalized programs at least five and 10 days, respectively, before the last day of school.

If you teach in a single-session middle or high school, your program includes five professional activity periods per week. If you teach in a multisession school, you have four professional activity periods and one self-directed Other Professional Work period each week. Teachers in eight-period-a-day elementary schools are programmed for one professional activity per week. Your school’s chapter leader and principal must consult with each other by no later than April 15 about the professional activity menu at your school for the 2025–26 school year.

The UFT is holding union elections for president and other officers, Executive Board members and convention delegates this spring. Ballots will be mailed on May 1 and will be counted on May 29.

It’s important that the UFT have your up-to-date mailing address, email address and phone number so you receive important information about your union rights and benefits. You can update your address online in the “My Account” tab or in the UFT Member Hub. If you need assistance, call the UFT at 212-331-6311.

If you or your partner is about to give birth or you are planning to adopt or foster, you can attend one of the union's free virtual Pathways to Parenthood workshops to learn about your parental leave benefits as a UFT member. 

Teacher evaluation

If you are a teacher who has not yet been granted tenure, you can expect to receive, at minimum, one formal observation and three informal observations this school year. (If you received a rating of Ineffective or Unsatisfactory for the last school year, you will receive one formal and four informal observations.) Half of the required minimum number of observations will be conducted during the spring term and must be completed by June 4.

Beginning April 25, your principal or other evaluator can start to hold summative end-of-year conferences, which must be completed by June 20. End-of-year student assessments, norming and scoring may begin on May 5 and must be completed by June 13.

Miscellaneous

If you’re thinking about transferring to another school, the Open Market Transfer system, which allows you to apply for a position at another school, opens April 9. Visit the Open Market Transfer page on the DOE’s Department of Human Resources website to fill out an application and search for open positions. Keep in mind that many principals will not list open positions until after the release of school budgets, so it may take until late May or June before a significant number of positions are posted.