Friday, November 02, 2007

UFT Weekly Update -- October 26h 2007 Issue

Lead teacher program: are there issues in your school?
Please assist us in ensuring that the Lead Teacher Program is being implemented appropriately citywide. We are collecting data to provide the DOE with information about where there are issues and concerns about program implementation.

The following are the critical elements of the program:

The program was designed to provide teacher leadership opportunities for classroom teachers.
In elementary schools, two lead teachers share one classroom. Each lead teacher teaches three periods (morning or afternoon) and is released for three periods to provide in-classroom support and professional development to colleagues.
In middle and high schools, while lead teachers do not share a class, they also teach three periods and are released for three periods for the same purpose.
Ideally, a lead teacher’s classroom also serves as a model and lab where colleagues can visit and view strategies and ideas they are interested in trying or learning more about.
Lead teachers receive an annual stipend. They are required to report for five additional days in the summer before school begins and to attend 40 hours of mandated professional development provided throughout the year by the UFT Teacher Center in collaboration with the DOE Office of New Teacher Induction.
If your school is implementing the Lead Teacher Program (see the list of schools and names of the lead teachers that were approved for this school year), please email UFT Vice President and UFT Teacher Center Director Aminda Gentile at agentile@uft.org immediately if there are any issues or concerns about the implementation. These may involve lead teachers’ schedules, roles and responsibilities, or programs that do not follow the guidelines above.


Rally doubleheader this Saturday
Make your presence and your enthusiasm known at two events tomorrow. First up, join a rally in Harlem to support Senator Hillary Clinton’s campaign to win the Democratic presidential nomination. UFT President Randi Weingarten and Congressman Charles Rangel will be speaking. The rally begins at 11 a.m. in the Abyssinian Baptist Church at 132 W. 138th Street (Odell Clark Place) between Adam Clayton Powell and Malcolm X Boulevards. The American Federation of Teachers, the UFT’s parent union, endorsed Clinton on Oct. 3.

Next up is the National Day of Action to end the war now and bring the troops home. The march, which UFT delegates voted to support, will be one of a number of anti-war rallies that day in cities across the country. You can join the labor contingent on 17th Street east of Broadway. Labor marchers will start gathering at 11 a.m., but the march doesn’t step off till 1 p.m.

Tune in this Sunday a.m. for Weingarten and former Chancellor Crew
UFT President Randi Weingarten and former New York City Schools Chancellor Rudy Crew are being interviewed on “Eyewitness News Close-Up” this Sunday, Oct. 28 at 11 a.m. on Channel 7. Crew, who became Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools in 2004, was schools chancellor in New York City from 1995 to 1999. The interview will also be available on www.7online.com.

Joe Torre and merit pay
When was the last time you were compared to Joe Torre or to post-season baseball players? A guest writer on the union’s blog, edwize, maintains that you and they are more alike than you might think.

When “Donors Choose,” your students win
Have a great idea for a project, but no way to fund it? The nonprofit organization Donors Choose may be able to help. Through its Web site, teachers submit project proposals for materials or experiences their students need to learn. At the same time, potential donors who would like to fund such worthy endeavors browse through the proposals listed, selecting the ones they will support. Teachers get funding, donors get thank-you letters and students get enriching experiences. The Donors Choose Web site has the details to get started.

To Do:

• Remember that safety planning is an ongoing process. The school safety committee in your school must meet at least once a month during the school year. See our Safety Plan Check List as a preliminary guide to what your safety plan should cover. Make sure that your school has a SAVE Room and a removal process as part of the Safety Plan. (Chancellor's Reg A443 1.05MB). If you have any questions, you should call your borough safety liaison.

• Although the awards for UFT Outstanding Paraprofessional won’t be given out until the March 15 UFT Paraprofessional Chapter Annual Festival and Awards Luncheon, nomination forms for honorees must be submitted to the Paraprofessional Chapter by 5 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 30. Two paras from each borough will receive awards, plus two from the high school division and two from District 75. Only UFT members may make nominations.

For your information:
Grants, awards & freebies: For those who need money for their classroom or just like to get free stuff (and who doesn’t?), the Grants, Awards & Freebies section at uft.org has ideas, updated on an ongoing basis. Don’t see what you want? Keep checking back.

New York City health benefits program transfer period: In-service members may transfer their health plan, add or drop Rider coverage, or add or drop dependents during the transfer period, which runs from Nov. 1, 2007 through Nov. 30, 2007. The new plan becomes effective in January 2008. The application (ERB form) is available through your payroll person.

File grievances online:
Remember that from now on chapter leaders must go to the UFT Web site to file all Step 1 grievances on behalf of members in their chapter. You must be logged in to the UFT Web site to have access to the private chapter leader section, where the grievance form will be housed under the heading “Grievance Briefcase.” If you have not already done so, you must also register for an account at www.uft.org and verify your union membership on the profile page of your account. If you have any questions about the new online grievance process, contact the grievance liaison/contract coordinator in your borough office.

DIAL-A-TEACHER: Members should let students know they can get homework help over the phone by calling Dial-A-Teacher at 212-777-3380, Monday through Thursday, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Changes to personal information: Remind members that they must notify the Department of Education, the union and the Teachers Retirement System [] (TRS) when they change their address, name, telephone number or marital status. They can get forms from the payroll secretary to notify the DOE. To notify the UFT, members who are already enrolled in the UFT Welfare Fund can use the new online change of status process to: 1) make changes to your name; 2) update your mailing address, and 3) update your family profile including dependents and beneficiaries. Members may also continue to use the blue “Change of Status” packets that are available through your chapter leader or by calling the UFT Welfare Fund forms hotline at 212-539-0539. If you have not previously enrolled, please click this UFT Welfare Fund Enrollment link.

Know your rights: The UFT’s “Know Your Rights” manual, an abbreviated, A-Z ready reference, is online. Please share the link with your members.

In the News:
UFT gets an “A” in smarts: Teachers got a deal on pensions with 55/25 and gave up nothing in exchange, comments Diane Ravitch in the Daily News. She points out that teachers in participating schools can insure that money is shared by all UFT members, guaranteeing an equitable bonus plan despite mischaracterization of the plan by some in the media as a “merit-pay plan.” Ravitch goes on to explain how merit pay hasn’t worked anywhere it’s been tried anyway. “Union members will be able to collect their pensions at an earlier age; the new voluntary schoolwide bonus plan bears only a faint resemblance to merit pay and may ultimately bear none at all if the winning schools divide their bonuses without regard to the test scores reported for each teacher's classroom,” she writes.

Problem finding teachers? Grow your own: A few years ago, Chicago public schools would have passed over college dropout and teacher candidate Anita Sanders, a 42-year-old mother of three, because she lacked teaching credentials, reports U.S. News and World Report. However, after growing tired of seeing first-year teachers flee to suburban schools, the city is now targeting teachers like Sanders. Illinois is spending $7.5 million to help people like Sanders become teachers in underperforming schools as part of the Grow Your Own Illinois initiative which aims to prepare 1,000 teachers by 2016. The candidates, mostly women of color from low-income communities, will receive forgivable college loans of up to $25,000 in exchange for a minimum five-year commitment to teach in underserved schools. In order to qualify, candidates had to show promising ability, as gauged by transcripts, an interview and performance on a test.

Learning from Jena, so there isn’t another: In 2006, a survey conducted by Teaching Tolerance, the National Education Association and the Civil Rights Project found that most teachers claim their schools are free of ethnic or racial bias, yet recent news and a federal study, which found that one in four students are victims of racial or ethnic incidents every school year, suggest otherwise, reports Teacher Magazine. Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Law Poverty Center, who testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee about the Jena High School incident, pointed educators to "Six Lessons from Jena," a document that outlines what every school and educator can learn from the recent events and what they can do to hopefully prevent them. As a path to early prevention, the lessons include ways to examine a school’s climate and how to identify and respond to bias incidents, among others. The document includes suggested lesson plans.

Calendar:
Now till Tues., Oct. 30: Do you have an idea to enhance the learning environment in your school? Act fast, because the UFT Teacher Center Mini-Grant Program’s Oct. 30 deadline is approaching. Last year more than 70 educators received grants of up to $2,500 that in a variety of ways helped to spark students’ participation in their classrooms. Mini-grant-winning proposals also address issues that affect the entire school community. Grant guidelines include such topics as designing a family engagement program; promoting collegiality and raising morale in the work environment; unconventional approaches to instruction; and mentoring new teachers in a particular area or grade level.

Tuesday, Oct. 30: In There’s More to Google than Search, learn how to harness Google to make you a better teacher as you search for Web content, image, news, maps, U.S. government agencies and blogs. Learn how to use Froogle and Google Earth. We promise that you will leave this workshop amazed at everything you can do to enhance your teaching. This workshop is for both middle school and high school teachers. It is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. at 52 Broadway. To register or to get more information, call Sue Picicci at 212-598-9282 or email spicicci@uft.org. There is a $5 fee. Refreshments will be provided.

Saturday Nov. 3: A workshop focusing on classroom management called Managing the Middle School Classroom through Learning Styles will be offered on Saturday, Nov. 3. This workshop will enable middle school teachers to pinpoint the learning styles of their students while addressing classroom management concerns. It will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and be held at 52 Broadway. There is a $10 fee. Please share this information with your teachers, both new and experienced, as well as any of your substitutes. Call Sue Picicci at 212-598-9282 or email spicicci@uft.org to register or for further information. A light breakfast will be provided.


Sunday, Nov. 4: Teacher Union Day Award Ceremony & Luncheon, when the union celebrates its own, will be at the Waldorf Astoria. UFT Assistant Secretary Elizabeth Langiulli will receive the Charles Cogen Award. The conference registration deadline was Oct. 24.

Thursday, Nov. 8: The Ladder of Referral is a workshop targeting recordkeeping as it relates to discipline issues in middle school classrooms. Learn how to keep quality anecdotal records and write appropriate referrals for the disruptive, disrespectful and insubordinate student. Find out when to get deans, school safety, guidance counselors and administration involved with specific youngsters. This workshop is designed specifically for middle school teachers, and is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. at 52 Broadway. To register or to get more information, call Sue Picicci at 212-598-9282 or email spicicci@uft.org There is a $5 fee. Refreshments will be provided.

Friday, Nov. 9 and Friday, Dec. 14: At 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 9, the Professional Staff Congress, the union representing the 20,000 faculty and professional staff who work at CUNY, will be showing the film Culloden as the third of ten films about war as part of its ongoing series, Labor Goes to the Movies. The 2007-08 film series aims to create a forum to deepen the collective discussion across the labor movement about the current war and strengthen labor’s opposition to the war in Iraq. The films are shown at 6 p.m. at the PSC Union Hall, 61 Broadway, 16th floor in Lower Manhattan. There is a $2 suggested donation. The remaining 2007 movie is Ride with the Devil on Friday, Dec. 14. For more information, contact Dania Rajendra at (212) 354-1252 or at drajendra@pscmail.org.

Thursday, Nov. 15: The UFT Brooklyn Borough Office is presenting a Maternity/Childcare Workshop on Thursday, Nov. 15, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. Limited reduced rate parking is available after 2 p.m. at the Edison Parking Garage in the Renaissance Plaza Marriott Hotel with UFT validation only. (Additional charges apply for large SUVs) To register, call 718-852-4900 M-F between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 16: Come meet Dan Brown, author of The Great Expectations School: A Rookie Year in the New Blackboard Jungles. On Nov. 16, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., the UFT Salon, 52 Broadway, fifth floor, will be hosting Brown. His book is a memoir of his first year teaching at P.S. 85 in the Bronx. A light dinner will be served.

Saturday, Nov. 17: The UFT Teacher Center will host a seminar entitled “Assessing Current Assessments” on Saturday, Nov. 17 as part of its Urban Educators Forum. Speakers will include Robert Tobias, the director of NYU’s Center for Research on Teaching and Learning. The seminar will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 52 Broadway, 2nd floor.

Professional Committees
UFT Professional Committees offer a wide range of workshops, presentations, and exchanges enabling all members to take an active part in their professional growth. Unless indicated, meetings are at UFT Headquarters at 52 Broadway. Check lobby for location. For further information contact us @ 212-598-7772.

ATSS/UFT (Assn. of Teachers of SS)

• Saturday, Oct. 27, 9 a.m., Annual Fall Tour.
• Friday, Nov. 16, 4 p.m., Executive Board Meeting.
• Monday, Nov. 26, 9 a.m., TBA

ELAC/UFT (English Language Arts Council)

• Wednesday, Oct. 24, 4 p.m., Essay Writing…

ESL/Bilingual Committee

• Tuesday, Nov. 13, 4:30 p.m., Literacy in the ESL/Bilingual Social Studies Class.

HAEA/UFT (Hellenic-American Educators Assn.)

• Tuesday, Nov. 6, 4 p.m., Executive Board Meeting.
• Friday, Nov. 30, 4 p.m., Cinema Night.

Humane Education

• Saturday, Nov. 3, 9. a.m., Respecting People, Animals & Nature Conference.

NYCAFLT/UFT (NYC Assn. of Foreign Language Teachers)

• Saturday, Oct. 27, 9.a.m., Annual Regional Conference.

NYCATA/UFT (NYC Art Teachers Assn.)

• Saturday, Oct. 27, 8:30 a.m., Annual Artworks Conference @ Fiorello LaGuardia HS.

NYC Dance Educators/UFT

• Wednesday, Nov. 14, 4:30 p.m., General Membership Meeting/Elections.

NYC Music Teachers Association/UFT

• Saturday, Nov. 17, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Choral Workshop.

Outdoor-Environmental Education

• Saturday, November 17, 8 a.m., Saturday Science @ Francis Lewis HS.

Players

• Friday, Nov. 9, 6 p.m., Theater Improvisation.

Science

• Saturday, Oct. 27, 10 a.m., Hands on Science for Students @ The NY Hall of Science.
• Saturday, Nov. 3, 9 a.m., Physical Science Sampler Workshop @ Cornell Weill Medical Center.

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