DECEMBER 16, 2010

TWEED ORDERS RECORD 26

N E W Y O R K SCHOOLS CLOSED

Teacher
The DOE continues to insist that the best reform
strategy for struggling schools is to shut them
down. UFT President Michael Mulgrew charged
the DOE with mismanagement and blamed it for
not making any real effort to help troubled
schools.
Page 3 and Mulgrew column, Page 13
UNITED FEDERATION OF TEACHERS www.uft.org VOLUME LII, NUMBER 7

★ ★ ★ ★ WELCOME TO THE...
Travel with us to a world
in which common sense

The is overruled by nonsense,

Grand
byzantine rules are the
FOC
US order of the day and principals too often
O
PAR N
govern by fiat. In our inaugural column, read
about the principal who brings his puppy to
ENT
S work each day and the principal who defends
the textbook shortage at his school.

parents club
Page 5

TEACHING CHILDREN WITH

ASPERGER’S
Six-year-old Cole wants
to be an endocrinologist
one day and knows
Chinatown Duke Ellington’s entire
school breaks 1944 band lineup, but
down barriers had no idea how to interact with other kids. At the
Nest program at PS 9 in Manhattan, his teachers
Page 23
have taught him to be flexible and sociable. Read
his story in the first “Who We Teach” feature.
Page 2 and editorial, Page 12

FULL-COURT PRESS TO HALT

TEACHER DATA RELEASE
The UFT was in court on Dec. 8 to try to block
the public release of 12,000 Teacher Data
Reports. Union lawyers argued that the reports
are flawed and misleading, and that their release
would violate the written promises of DOE
officials as well as teachers’ privacy rights.
Page 4

BRONX PRINCIPAL RULES BY

More parent coverage: INTIMIDATION AND RETALIATION
Who’s the Bronx’s worst principal?
Teachers at PS 14 in Throggs Neck
• Unheralded activists keep the parent voice in public education strong
say their hands-down favorite is
Pages 26-27 their own Jason Kovac. The Leader-
• UFT parent conferences solidify the parent-school and community ties ship Academy graduate has run the school —
teachers say into the ground — since June 2008.
Pages 24-25
Page 5
 r esident
Me et t he p District
7
miller photography

Some 200 members from District 7 heard UFT President Michael Mulgrew warn of another state
budget deficit — this one of $9.4 billion for the fiscal year starting April 1 — at their Meet the
President event on Nov. 30 at the Bronx borough office. Making matters worse, Mulgrew added,
is that “we’ve got 4,000 fewer teachers than we had two years ago, and there’s no new hiring
unless it’s for special education or science.” Mulgrew also discussed issues such as the resig-
nation of Joel Klein and the naming of Cathleen Black as chancellor, after which members
asked the president questions. PS 154’s Jose Velasquez asked about contract bargaining.
“We’re heading into fact finding,” Mulgrew said. MS 224’s Caren Sharpe asked about the
mayor’s appointment of a chancellor with no education experience. Mulgrew agreed “that the
way the mayor did it was problematic, and we need to change the law.” PS 154 dance instruc-
tor Carrie Callender asked about the charge by critics that the union supports “bad teachers,” a
practice that “just makes us look bad in the media, and we lose credibility.” Mulgrew reminded
listeners “that just because [administrators] want to dismiss someone doesn’t mean they are
justified in doing so.” He agreed that teaching was not for everyone, and “that was one reason

we changed the evaluation system, to make it fair and objec-

tive.” He added that “the real problem isn’t bad teachers but
losing good teachers. When they say too many get tenure,
they never talk about the 50 percent who leave.” ABoVe: Mul-
grew (far right) makes a point. FAr leFT: evan lewis, an eng-
lish teacher at the Bronx’s leadership Institute HS in District
9, asks a question about differentiated instruction. leFT:
Alexandra Hormanski-Maida, a PS 385 guidance counselor,
asks Mulgrew why so many schools risked Department of
education closure.

10 / DECEMBER 16, 2010

 DOE accused of miscounting classroom space
MILLER PHOTOGRAPHY

By MAISIE McADOO
eaders of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, joined by UFT President

L Michael Mulgrew, elected officials and parent advocates, rallied in

front of the Tweed courthouse on Dec. 7 to demand solutions to chronic
school overcrowding.
The Campaign for Fiscal Equity, which led a 13-year fight for more re-
sources for city schools, released a new report showing that the way that
the city counts classroom space in school buildings is seriously flawed.
Over the last several years, the Department of Education has added thou-
sands of “available” classrooms to its official count of building capacity —
in school buildings that have not expanded.
The new findings harken back to the original court case, Campaign Ex-
ecutive Director Geri Palast said, when “the judges agreed that these reports
overstate capacity, mask overcrowding and, worse still, mask the encroach-
ment on specialized spaces including libraries, art and science rooms.”
“What does one plus one equal?” Mulgrew asked, referring to the fuzzy
math used by the DOE to count classrooms. “Every school kid knows. One
plus one is not six or 12. Stop playing games.”
City Comptroller John Liu has already begun an audit of the DOE’s ca-
pacity counts. Other elected officials demanded more transparency in how
the “Blue Book” — the city’s official tally of available space in school
buildings — determines building use.
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer told the rally that maybe
it’s fortunate that the city’s next chancellor is a former publishing executive.
“She can determine that the Blue Book is a work of fiction, not fact,” he
quipped.
The advocates called on the DOE to cease turning art rooms, labs and
libraries into classrooms and then shoehorning in more students — or a
whole other school — into the building. The group also demanded an over-
haul of the Blue Book report to provide stable and accurate assessments of UFT President Michael Mulgrew, with CFE Executive Director Geri Palast (second from right), asks the DOE to “stop
each school building’s use and capacity. playing games” when it comes to counting classroom space.

Classroom management professional development in District 20

Parents and teachers, working together Help spread

Some 50 members, mostly from District 20,
took part in a professional development con-
MILLER PHOTOGRAPHY
word about
ference on classroom management and spe-
cial education strategies on Nov. 23 at the
district office in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Both
UFT student
UFTers and members of the Community Edu-
cation Council expressed a need for PD on
the subject and the union worked together
scholarships
with the parent council to arrange for the
professional development, which was facili-
our students may be eligible to apply for

tated by the UFT Teacher Center. “It was just
what was needed,” UFT District 20 Repre-
sentative Ellen Driesen said. “What was
great about this is that both parents and
teachers identified this as an area that was
problematic in the district and did this together.” Participants called the
session “inspirational” and “usable in the classroom.” One said that the
“interactive, useful strategies make one mindful of things you are doing
well and can improve upon.” All vowed to make use of what they learned.
ABOvE: Taking part in an exercise are (from left) Melissa Gerlitz of Brooklyn’s
PS 229 and Staten Island PS 22 educators Jennifer Aiello and Melissa Kauf-
man. lEFT: Driesen (center) flanked by parent laurie Windsor (left), presi-
dent of the district Community Education Council, and Phyllis Walker of the
UFT Teacher Center.
Y
a $5,000 Albert Shanker College Scholar-
ship.
Each year the UFT awards $1 million in schol-
arships to academically excellent and financially
eligible New York City public high school seniors
through the Shanker Scholarship Fund.
To receive a scholarship from the fund,
those selected must be accepted in a full-time,
matriculated, degree-granting program at an ac-
credited college or university.
Alert students to the scholarships and advise
them to look into the requirements. More informa-
tion and application materials are available on the
UFT website at www.uft.org/scholarship-fund.
The deadline for students to mail the appli-
cation is Jan. 31, 2011.

DECEMBER 16, 2010 / 11

 AAron BAcAll

editorials
children with Asperger’s syndrome in
Embracing all students a wonderful program in a Manhattan
school, is on page 2 of this issue.
t’s time to spread the word about who we teach: Incredible

I
whiz kids, motivated students with lots of parental sup-
port, new immigrants struggling to learn English and try-
ing to fit into their new culture, students with mild to severe
physical and learning disabilities, homeless kids, pregnant
teens, students from chaotic homes who’ve grown up wit-
nessing things that no child should witness, artistic kids des-
tined for “Fame,” homebound students and students in
detention centers.
The list goes on.
You know that public schools, unlike private schools and
charter schools, take all comers. We don’t get to pick and
choose. We embrace all students and rise willingly to the
challenge of meeting their needs and helping them reach
their potential.
We take no child for granted and we accept none as lost.
All our kids are fit to teach and meant to learn. No matter
their fortune of birth or breaks in life, they are ours to educate
and prepare for college, life and work.
It’s not easy. It demands order, imagination, patience, tol-
erance and a big repertoire of teaching strategies, not to men-
tion dedication, commitment and a desire to help others.
But that’s why we entered this profession in the first
place. We are public school educators, after all.
With this issue, we’re pleased to announce a new feature:
“Who We Teach.” In each feature, we will focus on a dif-
ferent population of students and recount the techniques that
our teachers, guidance counselors, paras and others use to
engage them and educate them.
We hope this new angle on our amazing profession will
appeal to members interested in their colleagues’ work as
well as being eye-opening to the public.
In these days of teacher-bashing, teaching in public schools
is too often an unthanked job, but it is never a thankless one.
Hear the gratitude of parents and the kids themselves, and it’s
clear that our success is not achieved in a vacuum.
The first installment of Who We Teach, which features
We’d appreciate your feedback.
DREAM denied?
he DREAM Act, which was
T passed by the House of Represen-
tatives on Dec. 8, would give un-
documented immigrants brought here
CLOSING
SCHOOLS
illegally as children by their parents a
path to citizenship. If the legislation
fails to clear the U.S. Senate, which
appeared likely at press time, it would
be a missed opportunity to help these
deserving young people become pro-
ductive members of society.
A disinformation and fear-mon- “On the other hand, we could offer assistance and support.”
gering campaign has doomed the act’s
prospects of passage. The bill would not, as some detractors resulted in perhaps hundreds of thousands of additional col-
have claimed, mean blanket amnesty for illegal immigrants. lege graduates to help make this country more competitive
Those who were brought to the United States when they in the global marketplace. According to the nonpartisan
were under 16 and lived here for at least five years would Congressional Budget Office, it could have cut the deficit
have been eligible for a six-year conditional path to citizen- by $1.4 billion and added $2.3 billion in government rev-
ship. They all would have been required to pass a criminal enues over the next 10 years. A UCLA study concluded that
background check, have graduated from high school and over the course of those graduates’ careers, more than $3
have attended two years of college or signed up for the mil- trillion of taxable income could have enriched the federal
itary. Treasury.
The young immigrants would have been responsible for It’s a pity that due to the increased Republican leverage
all costs related to the application process, and taxpayers in the new Congress, the bill will probably not be considered
would not have picked up the tab for federal student aid be- again for at least two more years.
cause they would not have been eligible for it. That means two more years of missed opportunities for
According to the Migration Policy Institute, approxi- the nation and hundreds of thousands of young immigrants
mately 825,000 students, including 146,000 young New who simply want to give back and be part of the American
Yorkers who call this nation home, would have qualified for dream. We can only hope that the right-wing politicians
permanent legal status under the DREAM Act. The qualifi- who oppose the measure so fervently will take another
cation standards would have been strictly enforced. look and reconsider its merits. But we are not holding our
The legislation would have strengthened the military and breath.

teacher to teacher
hear every day but rarely see written down.

Teaching out of a paper bag

By JULIA MASI
he primary goal of graduate education classes is to pro-
that supports academic standards and most core curricula.
I started my career as a substitute and I frequently cov-
ered for cluster teachers who juggled a variety of grades
Math games are all over the Internet. The best ones will
incorporate the connection between basic skills and harder
concepts such as one-to-one correspondence and division.
Such games will ensure a minimum level of frustration and
a maximum of independent learning.
I often try to help develop students’ math, science and
problem-solving skills by incorporating props into my lessons
— for example, elaborating on a simple car ramp game using

T vide us with the skills to teach any class, any grade and
every child. Theory and rhetoric provide the confidence,
but what happens when you walk into an unfamiliar class-
room full of students and nothing else? Covering for a
teacher who has forgotten to leave a lesson plan but locked
up every pencil and textbook is almost as daunting as having
to set up a new class when the cupboards are bare. But there
is no need for panic. Creativity will help you handle almost
any situation that is thrown at you if you learn to teach out
of a paper bag.
It might sound unusual, but literally teaching out of a
paper bag works and gives educators additional versatility in
the classroom. It is a system of creating folders with generic
lesson plans in a variety of subjects that can be used across
the grades for most students, including special education and
English-as-a-second-language students. Like a grab bag, you
can put your hand in and pull out the prize of a lesson that
will provide any class with a fun and critical thinking activity
The writer teaches science and science for English-as-
a-second-language students at PS 24, the Dual Language
School for International Studies, in Brooklyn.
and genres from special education to bilingual classes.
Once I had to take over for a teacher who had virtually
stripped her room of grade-appropriate paraphernalia. Like
Mary Poppins’ mythical carpet bag or Batman’s utility
belt, my paper shopping bag made me look like a super
teacher in the eyes of the perplexed supervisor assigned to
help me settle in. Years later, I accepted the science cluster
position in a brand-new school. Supplies were ordered but
did not arrive until mid-January. I survived by creating a
hands-on curriculum where students worked in groups
sharing the dozen magnifying glasses and inexpensive
items I purchased out-of-pocket.
Setting up folders and a shopping bag is easy. You can
find vocabulary lists on the Internet to serve as a springboard
for creating impromptu word games. A perennial favorite is
to take a vocabulary word and have students scramble or
subtract letters to create new words. For example, photosyn-
thesis can yield a word list of at least 25 words as students
discover “photo,” “thesis,” “the” and “to.” Put a time limit
on the game, or challenge students to find a predetermined
number of words. Teachable moments abound as students
discover homographic and phonetic oddities in words they
toy cars. I provide three cars, each with a different weight and
size, and then ask students which car will go the greatest dis-
tance. I then challenge them to find a way to make the car go
faster and farther. Then I challenge them to build a ramp out
of some ordinary objects. This activity keeps every class from
pre-K to 6th grade engaged as they learn about angles, incline
planes, measurement, balance and motion.
One of my favorite props is a white Styrofoam coffee cup,
the kind with circular ridges on the outside. I hold up the cof-
fee cup and ask, “Why do you think this coffee cup reminds
me of modern art?” Inevitably, the students are stumped.
But, when I pull out a folder with a picture of the Guggen-
heim Museum on the cover, they perk up and discover the
connection between art, math and science.
This folder contains pictures from the museum’s Kandin-
sky collection as well as a smattering of noncontroversial
classics such as Jackson Pollock, Robert Ryman and Frank
Lloyd Wright. Analyzing the geometric forms and use of
color in the picture fosters critical thinking and inspires dis-
cussions and essays on balance, rhythm and color.
Teaching out of a paper bag can help just about any edu-
cator, whether new or veteran. Always be prepared.

12 / DECEMBER 16, 2010

president’s perspective By MICHAEL MULGREW
President, United Federation of Teachers

Tweed fails when

schools are closed
s educators, we design a baseline plan
give them the proper support. Sadly, how-
children. In the process, we’ll also shine a
touted school closures as victories while con-
veniently ignoring the fact that those closings
were clear evidence of the DOE’s failure.
Last year, by closely monitoring and doc-
umenting the happenings at each and every

A for our entire classroom of students,

but we also recognize that each one of
those students is unique and so we develop
ways to meet their individual needs as well.
It is a comprehensive and labor-intensive ef-
fort, but it is necessary when your goal is to
help all children. We never ignore our re-
sponsibilities to each and every student in
our care; turning your back on a child in
need is unthinkable.
And yet, that’s exactly what the Depart-
ment of Education has done in the case of
our city’s struggling schools. Rather than
provide those schools with resources and tar-
geted supports, the DOE simply sat on the
sidelines — or, in some cases, stacked the
deck against them — and ignored the pleas
for help. That the DOE has been able to get
away with neglecting them for so long is
nothing short of scandalous.
Closing a school is a tragedy for a com-
munity; the ripple effects are felt far and
wide in the neighborhood and nearby
schools. It is, quite simply, the wrong thing
to do unless other strategies have been tried.
And yet news now comes from the DOE
that it has decided to give up on 25 school
communities (and one charter), and the mes-
sage the administration is sending them
couldn’t be clearer: You’re not worth saving.
Of course, those who attend and work in
these schools don’t see it that way, and nei-
ther do the parents. To be sure, there are
challenges to be overcome and improve-
ments to be made, but teachers are ready to
do that hard work if only the DOE would
ever, all they can depend on from the DOE
are more budget cuts and a deaf ear to the
challenges that they face.
Some educators also believe that their
schools were set up to fail. PS 231 in
Closing a school is a tragedy for a community; the ripple
effects are felt far and wide in the neighborhood and
nearby schools. It is, quite simply, the wrong thing to do
unless other strategies have been tried.
Queens, for example, saw its population
grow by more than 20 percent in the last
three years, and the number of students in
temporary housing grew by more than 350
percent — all while budgets were being cut.
The union will once again give its full
support to the school communities that
choose to mount a fight against their closure.
It is up to each school community to decide
what direction they want to take moving for-
ward. Teams of UFT representatives are al-
ready assigned to each school, and we will
do what we always do, which is strongly ad-
vocate with our communities on behalf of
light on the horrendous practices of the DOE
so the public knows what is going on.
Under state law, the DOE has been clos-
ing schools since the early 1990s, but where
this administration differs from those in the
past is key: Education officials used to en-
gage in a comprehensive and respectful
good-faith process that involved all stake-
holders — including parents and community
members. Schools underwent a needs assess-
ment, and new supports and personnel were
brought in as part of a concerted effort to
turn the schools around. A special Chancel-
lor’s District was even created to provide in-
tensive supports to schools that were
struggling.
By contrast, the current administration has
never done that hard work or closed schools
in a respectful manner. On the contrary, it has
school slated for closure, the UFT and its
partners were able to successfully stop clo-
sures in court. It was a long and arduous
process, requiring a great deal of work and
commitment by members in those schools.
But fruits of that labor are already being
seen. Schools like the Harlem Choir Acad-
emy faced certain elimination last year, only
to come back stronger with robust programs
and a much-improved graduation rate.
Places like Maxwell HS and MS 344, reeling
from the loss of even more funding and get-
ting no support from the DOE, also saw
gains because teachers, students and parents
banded together. Outstanding work is being
done every day in these buildings, and spe-
cial programs and services are in place, mak-
ing a difference in children’s lives.
So as we get ready for 2011, we all need
to brace ourselves for some very intense and
very public battles on behalf of the school
communities that the DOE has neglected and
abandoned. We also need to take a proactive
role in all of our schools, no matter what
their status. If something is going wrong or
important needs are not being met, teachers
must stand up and say so, because problems
can’t be solved if schools suffer in silence.
After nine years, the DOE has yet to
demonstrate any capacity for fixing schools.
For the DOE, there’s only one approach, and
it’s “one size fits all.” But turning its back on
school communities in need is both practi-
cally and morally wrong. It’s time Tweed
recognizes where needs are not being met
and does something about it.

mail
Chancellor-elect not qualified
To the Editor:
The next person to oversee the New York City public
school system must be a person who has some educational
background and who has worked in education. The public
school system is not a corporation, and it cannot be run as
one.
Cathleen Black has no educational experience or back-
ground. She is not qualified — in my opinion, and the opin-
ions of many — to run this school system.
Mayor Bloomberg should listen to what the majority of
the public wants: a person with a background in education.
John Amato, IS 259, Brooklyn
Black won’t lead effectively
To the Editor:
Mayor Bloomberg’s appointment of a new chancellor
without any educational experience is symbolic of a far
greater problem in academia: Principals and other supervi-
sory personnel with limited or no educational experience do
not know the fundamental nature of the academic positions
which they oversee.
They may understand teaching as a prosaic mental exer-
cise; however, they could not know the emotional or the psy-
chic energy demands of the profession.
Chancellor-elect Cathleen Black cannot ever understand
any of the emotional requirements and stresses of what it
means to be a teacher or a principal. With such a limited ac-
ademic resume, she will not be an effective leader as many
will be reluctant to follow.
Larry Hoffner, LaGuardia HS
Post editorial ignores facts
The following letter was sent to the New York Post:
Your editorial “The Evil Empire Strikes Black” [Nov.
24] simply ignores the facts. First, much to the consterna-
tion of many of my colleagues, the UFT has taken no of-
ficial position on the most grossly underqualified
chancellor designee in my lifetime.
Second, Cathleen Black is so lacking in qualifications that
PTAs across the city (including my own son’s school) have
spoken out against this secretive appointment process.
Third, if your newspaper were truly concerned about
waste in government you would investigate why the DOE
is using its own website at taxpayer expense to gussy up
this corpse [see http://bit.ly/djzT1m].
Finally, mayoral control, which has harmed my sons and
my students, does not mean that this is a dictatorship ruled
by Mayor Mike “Vader” Bloomberg and Clown Prince Ru-
pert Murdoch.
Commissioner Steiner, a real educator, should have lis-
tened to his committee, as well as the thousands of par-
ents, teachers, and students who, unlike you, actually have
had to live with the multitude of failures of Mike and Joel.
David S. Pecoraro, Beach Channel HS
Continued on page 39

DECEMBER 16, 2010 / 13

 VPERSPECTIVE
A report from one of the UFT vice presidents
Keeping a politics of hope and change alive
By LEO CASEY
VICE PRESIDENT
FOR ACADEMIC HIGH SCHOOLS
e live and teach in increasingly dark
W times, with a politics of fear and re-
sentment on the rise. In the midst of
the worst economic crisis since the Great
Depression, punctuated by a painfully slow
and faltering recovery, those who prey on
economic hardship and insecurity have
found fresh political game to hunt.
The signs of a politics of fear are many.
They appear in the scapegoating of im-
migrants for widespread unemployment,
perhaps most dramatically in the Arizona
law which provides legal sanction for the
racial profiling of Latinos as undocu-
mented.
They are found in the wave of anti-Muslim
intolerance which has spread across the coun-
try, as city after city — including our own —
has witnessed campaigns to prevent the open-
ing of mosques and places of worship.
They are visible in a recent wave of vio-
14 / DECEMBER 16, 2010
earnings of private-sector workers, who
lence against the lesbian and gay community
which has included two high-profile local in-
make up 80 percent of the American work-
force, rose just 1 percent. Over the same time
cidents — the kidnapping, rape and sexual
torture of two gay men in the Bronx and the
period, the productivity of those same work-
ers rose a remarkable 60 percent.
online bullying and persecution of a gay Rut-
gers student that led to his suicide.
And increasingly there are public figures
who fuel these manifestations of fear for
These productivity gains have been pock-
eted by the American corporate elite: in
1978, the average CEO salary was 35 times
greater than the average worker salary; in
their own selfish political gain.
2007, the average CEO salary had mush-
As educators, we have a special responsi-
roomed to 344 times greater than the average
bility to be forceful advocates of diversity and
worker salary.
mutual respect. It is our calling to serve as the
“There’s class warfare, all right,” billionaire
guardians of all students, especially the most
investor Warren Buffet said in an unguarded
vulnerable, placed in our care. [See box at right
moment, “but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s
for resources you can use in your classroom.]
making the war, and we’re winning.”
Having decimated the salaries, benefits
A politics of resentment
and working conditions of private-sector
In times of economic crisis, a politics of
working people, leaving their unions se-
resentment is the companion of a politics of
verely weakened and on the defensive, cor-
fear as corporate power seeks to bring edu-
porate power is now turning its guns on
cators and public-sector workers into the
public-sector workers and our unions. Our
“race to the bottom” that it has imposed on
salaries are too high, our pensions and health
private-sector working people in recent
care insurance are too expensive, our work
decades.
days are too short, and our vacation days are
Between 1979 and 2007, the real hourly
too many: this is the refrain one hears again
and again in the tabloids and on right-wing
network television and talk radio. Every-
thing that could possibly be wrong in the
public services to which we dedicate our
professional lives is our fault and the fault of
our unions.
To build resentment, the denizens of Wall
Street and their apologists cynically ask pri-
vate-sector working people: Why should you
pay, through your taxes, for public-sector
workers to keep a middle-class standard of liv-
ing which so many of you have lost? Why
should public-sector workers possess defined-
benefit pensions that allow them to retire in
dignity and with security, when so few of you
still enjoy them? Why should public-sector
workers have comprehensive health insurance
(what they call “limousine” health benefits, as
if we somehow enjoyed the lifestyle of the rich
and famous that they take for granted), when
you have to worry about a serious health crisis
bankrupting your family? Why should public-
sector workers be organized into strong unions
that provide a check and balance on the power
of management when you have been forced
into the “race to the bottom”?
Having created this economic crisis with
their sheer greed, the corporate elite now use
it against working people without the slight-
est sense of shame. And having done such
damage to our economy, they now pro-
nounce themselves as those best fit to lead
and manage our schools, using the very same
policies of unfettered and unregulated mar-
kets and privatization that brought us to eco-
nomic ruin.
A ‘race to the bottom’ in education
There is an undeniable need for thoughtful
and sustainable change in American public ed-
ucation, as we work to fulfill at long last the
Teaching resources
for dark times
Morningside Center for Teaching
Social Responsibility [www.teachable
moment.org]: The Teachable Moment
website of this New York City-based or-
ganization features lessons and classroom
activities in countering prejudice of all
sorts, as well as notices for professional
development activities.
Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education
Network [www.glsen.org]: A ton of very
practical resources from an organization
dedicated to fighting the epidemic of anti-
gay bullying.
Anti-Defamation League [www.adl.
org/education/curriculum_connections]:
Its curriculum page has a wealth of anti-
bias lesson plans, including some specifi-
cally on bullying.
Teaching Tolerance [www.toler
ance.org]: Resources, classroom activi-
ties, professional development and more,
plus a blog of educators’ experiences.
promise of Brown v. Board of Education — a
quality education for all — and transform
schools designed for an industrial economy
into schools for the emerging knowledge
economy. But we ignore at our own peril the
ways in which corporate power is attempting
to use that necessary change process, together
with the current economic crisis, to impose
their “race to the bottom” on American edu-
cators.
Today, there is one sector of the American
economy — K-12 education — which re-
mains organized in powerful unions. The
anti-union forces of the corporate elite under-
stand only too well that our defeat would be
devastating for a labor movement struggling
to rebuild itself, and would remove the only
political force between them and the privati-
zation of public education. That is why the
Wal-Marts and the Wall Street hedge-fund
managers — all without any meaningful
stake in education — are spending millions
and millions of dollars in campaigns against
us.
A politics of fear and resentment can only
be countered with a vibrant, compelling poli-
tics of hope and change. Our disappointment
in the myriad ways that the Obama adminis-
tration has dropped that political standard and
fled the field of political battle cannot be an ex-
cuse for abandoning that crucial work our-
selves.
If we do not defend our students targeted
by a politics of fear, who will advocate for
them? If we do not make common cause with
all of American labor to restore to private-sec-
tor workers the middle-class standard of liv-
ing that we possess, who will take up that
cause?
insight Analysis
Good evaluation
(Hint: It’s more than test scores or rubrics)
etting effective teachers means making
G teachers effective.
Yes, that sentence came out as in-
tended. Bear with me. The problem with
trying to identify effective teachers —
whether by student test score or principal
observation or both — is that there is noth-
ing inherent in either plan to make teachers
effective. Sorting and ranking your teach-
ers, which is what New York City’s current
test-based value-added assessment is
about, doesn’t improve the profession, un-
less you buy the version of school im-
provement that says that getting rid of
instructional “underperformers” is all
that’s needed.
Such sorting and ranking is the brainchild
of widget-minded executives, and it won’t
turn around a school. The fiction is that you
rid your schools of “dead wood.” But it’s just
as likely that you’ll rid your schools of new
teachers, unconventional teachers and un-
lucky teachers, while maybe missing the one
who should go.
Few educators or researchers endorse
value-added assessments as the sole tool
for judging teachers. The new teacher eval-
uation system hammered out by the UFT,
NYSUT and the State Education Depart-
ment last spring calls for basing 20 percent
on student growth on state exams, 20 per-
cent on locally selected measures of stu-
dent achievement (to be negotiated with
the local union) and 60 percent on such
measures as observation and peer review.
But even that framework has its prob-
lems. Who’s doing the observing? And what
are they looking for?
Evaluation as it used to be
Not long ago, our evaluations were
worse. When I applied for the (now de-
funct) substitute social studies teacher’s li-
cense in 1992, I was sent to the old Board
of Examiners where a man wordlessly
looked at my paperwork and asked one
question: What would I teach about India?
Well, um, colonialism, I mumbled, and I
guess also Gandhi. That was it. A few
weeks later my license arrived in the mail.
Granted, that was an interview, not an
evaluation, but it was the only evaluation I
had before I was put before a room full of
students.
So we probably don’t want to go back to
the good old days since they weren’t all that
good. What we want is an evaluation system
that succeeds in enhancing the education of
the children we teach. That is not going to
happen via a sort-and-fire scheme of any
kind.
fro m th e UF T Re s e a rc h De p a rtme n t
By MAISIE McADOO
But turn the whole enterprise 180 de-
grees and you get a different mindset.
What are the conditions that build teaching
skills?
Recently researchers have determined
that standard teacher credentials — educa-
tion and experience — are not the only pre-
dictors of student achievement. They see
other “teacher quality” measures they strug-
gle to identify. Is it enthusiasm, classroom
management skill, verbal ability? The re-
search is ongoing and fascinating.
But they are looking at the individual
teacher level, and what this misses are the
school conditions. Those may be the most
important teacher quality factor of all.
Good schools make good teachers
“Teacher effectiveness has less to do with A recent study finds that when teachers receive time and tools to collaborate with their peers, they
individual attributes and far more to do with are “more likely to teach effectively and to remain in the high-needs schools that need them the
the extent to which teachers work with each most.”
other and provide collective leadership for
their schools and communities,” write Bar- mula gives great weight to classroom ob- There are some ineffective teachers, but
nett Berry, Alesha Daughtrey and Alan servations where an administrator watches as Berry and her colleagues say, “(m)any
Wieder in a 2009 paper, “Collaboration: and rates teachers in action, using a rubric of those ineffective teachers were never
Closing the Effective Teaching Gap,” from of agreed-upon good teaching practices. sufficiently prepared or supported to suc-
the Center for Teaching Quality. “Working This step forward acknowledges that good ceed in high-needs classrooms — and sim-
conditions seem to matter a great deal for teaching is about more than test drills. It ply removing poor performers will not
teacher effectiveness.” may also give teachers some feedback on ensure that effective teachers will be wait-
Which conditions? Based on a national what, specifically, they need to improve. ing in the wings to replace them. Specific
survey, they identify four: ample common But the next big step is to build collab- strategies to spread the expertise of the
planning time (“collaboration rarely ‘just hap- orative practice into the daily routine of most accomplished teachers may be the
pens’”); vertical collaboration across multiple schools so teachers can learn from and key to turning around low-performing
grades as well as in a single grade; a struc- build upon each other’s work. schools.”
tured agenda for looking at practice and stu-
dent work; and an atmosphere of mutual trust.
“When teachers are given time and
tools to collaborate with their peers, they
are more likely to teach effectively and
more likely to remain in the high-needs
schools that need them the most,” the Cen-
ter for Teaching Quality authors find.
Another recent study cited in the July
2010 paper “Professional Development in
the United States” by Stanford University
researchers and the National Staff Devel-
opment Council found that in high-
poverty schools teaming teachers led to
vastly better student outcomes than in
matched comparison schools in the same
district.
Yet such teaching conditions are actu-
ally becoming rarer. “Teachers were only
half as likely to report collaborative efforts
in their schools in 2008 (at 16 percent) than
in 2000 (when 34 percent did so),” the
Stanford authors write. They also found
that American teachers have much less time
in their day to collaborate than do teachers
in higher-achieving countries.
The new Race to the Top evaluation for-
DECEMBER 16, 2010 / 15
 Know your rights about ...
Absences and leaves for
paraprofessionals
f you are a paraprofessional, have you ever wondered
I what your rights are in terms of leave time and absence
from work?
You earn one sick leave day for every month in which
you are in service for at least 16 calendar days. The maxi-
mum number of sick leave days earnable in a school year is
10 for September through June.
Those who work in the summer earn two additional sick
leave days. Paraprofessionals can use earned sick leave and
be paid if they meet the following rules:
1. Self-treated absences. You cannot use more than three
consecutive self-treated sick days. The fourth consecutive
day will result in an absence without pay. No more than five
self-treated days can be used in a five-month period, or 10
self-treated days in a 10-month period.
2. Personal business days. Annual employees are enti-
tled to up to three of their 10 self-treated days for personal
business during a given school year. The number of personal
business days you use reduces the number of self-treated
days you have.
3. Medically certified absences. Medically certified ab-
sences are without limit as long as the balance in your Cu-
mulative Absence Reserve (CAR, commonly known as your
16 / DECEMBER 16, 2010
“sick bank”) permits. Absences exceeding the reserve will
result in absences without pay.
Be aware that days off for both self-treated absences and
personal business are intended to be used only for those express
purposes. If a supervisor suspects that is not the case, he or she
may investigate and attempt to deny payment if it is discovered
that you were not really ill or did not have personal business to
conduct which could only be accomplished during school hours.
‘Non-attendance’ days
Absences due to childhood illnesses that are listed in the
contract (measles, mumps and chicken pox), for the death of
a member of your immediate family or to appear in court as
a juror or witness are considered “non-attendance” days and
are not deducted from your CAR. Your chapter leader can
advise you about the forms that you must submit to the prin-
cipal for these days.
Leaves without pay
Paraprofessionals are eligible for leaves without pay
under certain conditions and with the proper application
filled out. These include leaves for personal illness, includ-
ing pregnancy-related disability, which can be granted
with the approval of the Department of Education’s Medical
Division.
You are entitled to return within one year on the basis of
seniority, and retain the seniority and other rights you had
before leaving.
The federal Family Medical Leave Act provides up to
12 weeks of unpaid leave for the birth and care of a newborn
child, new adoption, start of foster care, care for an immedi-
ate family member with a serious health condition or when
you yourself have a serious health condition.
You are eligible if you have worked for a total of at least
12 months as of the date that the leave commences or 1,250
hours (the 12 months need not be consecutive). The leave
can be intermittent or involve reducing your work schedule.
Your health benefits will continue during a Family Medical
Leave Act leave.
A child care leave without pay begins six weeks after the
birth of the baby and can last for a period of up to four years.
If you have worked for two or more years and take a child care
leave, you regain your seniority and will be credited with any
prior sick leave that was left in your CAR upon your return.
Teach/serve as a school secretary: Paraprofessionals
with three or more years of seniority may be granted a max-
imum of a one-year leave without pay to teach or to serve
as a secretary in a New York City public school. If you re-
turn within one year, you regain your seniority and any days
left in your CAR when you return to work as a paraprofes-
sional.
Leave with pay
Paraprofessionals who are on military leave receive all
benefits for a period of up to 22 working days or 30 calendar
days per year.
 Know your benefits about ...
New travel assistance benefit
Plus accidental death and dismemberment insurance
with Zurich Travel Assist
s we enter the holiday season, many
A UFT members will pack their bags and
head out to join family and friends in
hometowns or vacation locations all over the
globe.
They will return home with photos, mem-
orable experiences and renewed bonds. But
sometimes, travel can also present unpre-
dictable circumstances.
Consider facing the challenges associ-
ated with accidents and illnesses, natural
disasters, political unrest, or something as
simple and commonplace as losing your
luggage. Where can a traveler turn for assis-
tance?
UFT members can access a travel assist
program that their state affiliate, NYSUT,
has negotiated with Zurich Travel Assist
to provide global travel assistance cover-
age.
The program is free of cost and you don’t
need to register — it’s
an automatic benefit of
membership.
This travel assis-
tance program can
offer you peace of mind,
when you arrive at your des-
tination and before you leave.
The program puts you in touch
with a network of providers that can ad-
dress the medical, legal, information and
personal assistance needs of travelers.
So if you or a covered family member
traveling with you become seriously sick,
need a prescription refilled, require a legal
referral or lose your travel tickets when trav-
eling 100 miles or more from home, Zurich
Travel Assist can help.
The program also provides access to es-
sential information such as physician and
hospital information, travel advisories,
weather forecasts and immunization require-
ments.
This medically based travel assistance
program focuses on providing positive med-
ical outcomes to sick or injured travelers.
With more than 1,600 dedicated profession-
als working around the clock, members have
access to a network of physicians, hospitals,
clinics, medical transportation companies
and other emergency professionals when the
need arises.
Zurich Travel Assist has a 24-hour call
center and global communications net-
work, with a multilingual staff of physi-
cians, nurses, travel assistance specialists
and assistance coordinators who can pro-
vide medical or legal information or per-
sonal help.
The service provides emergency medical
referrals, medical evacuation, medical and
nonmedical repatriation, prescription assis-
tance, passport and visa information, lost
baggage services and emergency ticket re-
placement.
These no-cost benefits are available to all
UFT members in good standing.
As a UFT member, you are also automat-
ically insured in the event of death or dis-
memberment due to accidental injuries
only, for up to a total of $1,500, at no cost.
This coverage is continuous as long as your
active UFT membership or agency fee payer
status is maintained.
For more information, call NYSUT
Member Benefits toll-free at 1-800-626-
8101, weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
You can call Zurich Travel Assist directly
at 1-800-263-0261 in the U.S. or Canada, or
1-416-977-0277 from anywhere else in the
world. Identify yourself as an insured of
Zurich in North America. Your policy num-
ber is GTU 3809940, and the company name
you should give is New York State United
Teachers.
DECEMBER 16, 2010 / 17
news briefs news & v ie w s a b o u t e d u c a tio n a n d la b o r
By MICHAEL HIRSCH

1,000+ L.A. school workers cut
Some 1,000 Los Angeles Unified School District employ-
ees — including school office staff, library aides and custo-
dial workers — were furloughed on Dec. 1 following the
state’s latest round of budget cutting. Thousands of others
were shifted to new workplaces, with many demoted to
lower-paid positions with fewer hours. Layoffs and reassign-
ments affected 4,700 employees, though teachers were un-
touched this time. Since June, some 6,100 district employees
have either lost jobs or been shunted to new positions.
In one case, a library aide without the seniority to stay at
her school was offered a 15-hour-
per-week job far from her home
and at a 50 percent pay cut.
United Teachers Los Angeles
members, carrying signs reading
“Don’t Disrupt Children’s Educa-
tion” and “Great Schools are Fully
Staffed — Take a Stand for Our
Schools,” protested outside of a
school board meeting on the day of
the announcement.
Schools Superintendent Ramon
Cortines said the district had no
choice but to lay off workers and
reduce the wages of others. The district faces a $142 million
deficit for the 2011-2012 school year — this in addition to
big cuts in previous years.
School board member Steve Zimmer did credit the unions
with implementing protections that prevented the layoffs
from becoming worse.
Los Angeles Times, Dec. 1
Associated Press, Dec.1
Duncan OK with class sizes growing nationwide
With packed classrooms becoming a national trend, some
are calling it an “opportunity for innovation.”
“Yes, small class sizes do help, but it’s not the only way,”
said one New Hampshire middle school
principal. “What we need to focus on is
how schools are becoming more flexi-
ble to meet the different needs of kids.”
According to the U.S. Department of
Education, the current average class
size is 25 students. U.S. Education Sec-
retary Arne Duncan said he expected
those numbers to rise, with states relax-
ing class-size restrictions, and offered
fiscal realities as an excuse.
“It’s either class-size increases or the
loss of music, arts and after-school pro-
gramming,” Duncan said at a late No-
vember forum. “We support shifting away from
class-size-based reduction that is not evidence-based.”
Sorry, Duncan: it is evidence-based. The gold standard,
Tennessee’s Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio project,
begun in 1984, found children in smaller classes as a whole
significantly outperforming peers in regular-size classes,
with poor and minority pupils doing better still. Follow-up
studies of these children — now 30 — show them continuing
to do better than their peers in their school years and beyond.
Critics argue that most class-size-reduction programs are
too general, and improvements don’t justify the cost of shrink-
ing class sizes, an expensive education improvement strategy.
One of them is the Hoover Institute’s Eric A. Hanushek, the
rent-a-wonk defender of charter schools in “Waiting for Su-
perman.” He argues that schools should spend money to im-
prove current teachers, not hire more of them.
Duncan sees tightening budgets as an opportunity to ex-
periment with “modest but smartly targeted increases in class
size,” such as varying class sizes by teacher expertise or
bringing in part-timers to reduce class sizes in core areas.
Education Week, Dec. 1
Calif. high court rules district must provide phys ed
A California appeals court ruled that parents can force
public schools to provide state-mandated physical education.
State elementary schools are required to offer 200 min-
utes of physical education every 10 days, and middle schools
and high schools are required to offer 400 minutes, yet many
schools routinely ignore the statute.

18 / DECEMBER 16, 2010

 The 3-0 state Court of Appeal ruling on Nov. 30 over-
turned a trial judge’s decision against a parent suing the local
school board. The judge ruled that the state reg was merely
advisory and that a parent had no legal standing to demand
enforcement. The Appeals Court ruled instead that the law
was a mandate and that the parent had ample standing.
San Francisco Chronicle, Dec. 1
AFT proactive on common state standards
At a Nov. 23 AFT confab aimed at helping affiliates deal
with the 40-state Common Core standards rollout in math
and English language arts, attendees responded proactively
to the new wave of uniform state standards. Teachers from
AFT locals had already reviewed and modified the standards.
Showcased at the meeting was a presentation on how the
UFT’s Teacher Center is building school-level professional
learning communities that can constructively connect Com-
mon Core state standards with the realities of the classroom.
“What makes teachers crazy,” said UFT Vice President
Aminda Gentile, is when the principal hands standards to
teachers and says: ‘Figure it out for yourselves.’”
The group, now an ad hoc committee, is charged with of-
fering recommendations and guidance by the close of the
school year for successfully implementing the standards.
AFT LeaderNet, Nov. 30
Union buster by day; tax ‘reformer’ by night
Labor commentators say that joblessness and the yawn-
ing rich-poor divide — and not the federal deficit or an al-
leged “debt crisis” — are the root of the nation’s economic
problems. They decry what they see as a growing bipartisan
consensus for cutting spending on education, Social Security
and other social programs.
One group of Midwestern labor union members is target-
ing their boss, a member of the president’s Commission on
Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.
As part of their five-month pension battle with the Honey-
well Corp, locked-out members of United Steelworkers Local
Kindergarten literacy program boosts vocabulary development
By RHONDA ROSENBERG several K-PAVE required contexts: story- achievement. The schools were randomly
book reading, extension activities using assigned into either a treatment or control
A
recent study funded by the U.S. the target words in literacy, math and group, a research procedure that is the
Department of Education’s Institute other instructional activities and class- gold standard for isolating a program’s
of Education Sciences finds that room conversations with students impact.
kindergarteners who received the 24- throughout the day. Teachers are ex- In addition to its positive impact on
week K-PAVE vocabulary intervention pected to engage chil- vocabulary develop-
were one month further ahead in vocabu- dren in at least ment, the K-PAVE
lary development at the end of kinder- five-minute conver- program also re-
garten than their peers who did not sations, either alone sulted in students
receive the intervention. These results or as part of a small being one month
were produced even in schools that did group, at least three ahead in academic
not strictly adhere to the program’s proto- times per week. K- knowledge at the end
col, indicating that the program can be PAVE also uses the of kindergarten com-
replicated with some ease. family to reinforce vocabulary learning by pared with students in the control group.
The K-PAVE program is a kindergarten sending home the week’s vocabulary K-PAVE did not have a statistically signifi-
vocabulary instruction program designed words for use in the families’ conversa- cant effect on kindergarten listening com-
to supplement regular classroom literacy tions with their children. prehension.
instruction. It has a standard protocol Participating in this study, which was Three issues not addressed in the
built around 240 target words introduced conducted by Goodson, Wolf, Bell, Turner study that should be explored in future re-
in 24 weekly units of 10 words per unit. and Finney of the University of North Car- search are whether the gains are main-
The words introduced each week are as- olina’s SERVE Center, were 64 schools, tained over school breaks, whether the
sociated with a common theme that is 128 kindergarten classrooms and teach- children learn skills that can be applied
aligned with curriculum guidelines. ers and 1,296 kindergarten students from toward vocabulary development in higher
Children are taught the target words the Mississippi Delta, a rural area charac- grades and whether the program is suc-
using conventional methods which are re- terized by a high level of poverty and his- cessful with children from non-English-
inforced through repeated exposure in torically low performance on reading speaking families.
7-669 took their case to commission hearings on Dec 1, sound- ment workers ... [and] seeks to eliminate our pension plan,”
ing the alarm about Honeywell CEO David Cote. The fervid said Darrell Lillie, the Illinois steelworker local’s president.
advocate for tax cuts for the richest Americans refuses to back Lillie also charged Cote with having a dubious political
down from demanding employee job and pension givebacks. agenda even as he personally stands to gain $1.2 million if
“It’s a joke that our CEO can serve on the fiscal commis- the Bush tax cuts are extended as he recommends.
sion while he has locked us out, hired hundreds of replace- PRNewswire, Dec. 1
DECEMBER 16, 2010 / 19

Dennis Gault, cluster teacher and chapter leader at Manhat-
tan’s PS 19, speaks with Sheryl Nelson, mother of student Cole
Gushee-Nelson. She raves about the DOE’s ASD (Autism Spec-
trum Disorders) Nest program, developed by Dorothy Siegel of
NYU and Shirley Cohen of Hunter College. “I think they should
win the Nobel Prize,” Nelson said.
Adaptive physical education teacher Bill Schneider and special ed kindergarten teacher
Rachel Fleischer are part of the A-team in the Nest program. Others include teachers Melissa
Dolen, Keri Schachner, Brooke Coughlin and Gault, therapist Jennifer Goldberg and guidance
counselor Anna Constantatos.
Children ‘on the spectrum’
Gifted kids with Asperger’s learn to chill out, try new things and interact with peers
By ELLIE SPIELBERG
hey named him Cole. He is Sheryl Nelson and Charlie
T Gushee’s only child, a handsome 6-year-old with blonde
Prince Valiant hair who wants to be an endocrinologist
one day and knows Duke Ellington’s entire 1944 band lineup.
Cole Gushee-Nelson had always charmed grown-ups and
liked being around them. It was children he didn’t like.
His ear is so acute he can pick out the bass clarinet and
alto sax in music he’s never heard before. It’s the everyday
sounds in a school that he can’t always pick out, a cacophony
that can overwhelm him.
Inspired by his sax-playing dad, Cole has been into jazz
greats like Ellington from the time he was a toddler. Three
years ago, it seemed that sending him to private pre-K in the
family’s East Village neighborhood would be the perfect fit:
a focus on music, wonderful teachers and hours of unstruc-
tured creative playtime.
“Cole freaked out,” said Nelson. “He was standing in the
corner watching the children like they were from another
planet. He had no idea how to interact.”
At first Nelson thought it was because Cole was an only
child. But one day, when he started running away from chil-
dren who wanted to play with him, she and her husband
began to wonder about their bright beautiful boy.
So began the first quest. What was going on in the inner
world of Cole?
After an odyssey of seeking out professional evaluations,
a diagnosis emerged: Asperger’s, a high-functioning variant
of autism spectrum disorders. These children excel at aca-
demics but have trouble interacting with peers.
So began the second quest: Where should Cole go to school?
2 / DECEMBER 16, 2010
Occupational therapist Jen-
nifer Goldberg gives Cole
the kind of calming body
squeeze that children with
Asperger’s syndrome crave.
The squeeze was articu-
lated by Temple Grandin,
famous animal scientist
and autism self-advocate.
The Nest program is in-
spired by her work.
Cole and his classmates, including kids both with and without spectrum disorders, are intense readers
and relish their library session. Librarian Aileen Brignoni said that “children on the spectrum are so
eager to learn that they’re a delight to work with.”
Resourceful and determined, Nelson, a professional cal-
ligrapher, and Gushee, a Wall Street financial services exec-
utive, left no stone unturned, public or private. At last they
found the best place: the ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders)
Nest program at a nearby East Village school.
“We were over the moon that Cole got into the program
at PS 19 — even the private school people congratulated us,”
said Nelson, who is now class mother. “He’s doing fabu-
lously and he loves his school, his teachers and his friends.
Thank God we’re in New York City.”
In the spacious Team Room at PS 19, Dennis Gault, a
cluster teacher and the school’s chapter leader, is demon-
strating dotsies and squeezies, a kind of hand and arm mas-
sage that kids can do when they need a sensory break since
children on the spectrum experience sensory overload.
In the Chill Out area, sensory break opportunities abound,
such as bubble wrap to pop and tactile toys to squeeze. Kids
learn self-monitoring, bringing their “motor” up or down and
their voices up or down on The Incredible Five Point Scale.
“I had to change all of the practices intuitive to a teacher,”
says Gault who, after 19 years of teaching, went back to col-
lege in 2009 to learn how to educate these children.
“For one, the kids take things so literally you have to be
hypervigilant about expressions unless you explicitly teach
what they mean,” Gault says. (No off-the-cuff remarks about
eating your hat.)
They don’t easily understand body language and facial
expressions either, he adds.
The staff of this K-1 program — which includes classes
of four children on the spectrum and eight general education
children chosen for their kind hearts and social skills —
meets weekly to discuss each child and to problem solve. For
example they identify each child’s “rumbling stage,” a cru-
cial time just before a tantrum, so they can intervene. One
child, for example, flaps his ears with his hands and sweats.
Because children on the spectrum don’t like surprises,
even good ones, teachers give them a lot of priming as they
transition from one activity to another. The kids need struc-
ture and routine. At the same time that teachers provide that,
they gently work to prevent rigidity and obsessiveness.
There’s the “no thank you bite” for kids who are stuck on
only wanting crispy foods or red foods or white foods. They
can take just a taste or sniff of a new food and never have to
do so again if they don’t want.
There are superheroes to the rescue: Spiderman doesn’t
mind being in the middle of the line sometimes, he doesn’t
always have to be first (or last).
There’s the Floor Time technique: Teachers watch a child
play, join in unobtrusively and transform the solo activity
into two-way communication. They help kids branch out
from a specific interest — be it trains or jazz — lest those
interests become obsessions.
The advantage of this tendency toward single-minded-
ness, he explains, is that these children will go on to have a
lifelong intense focus on their areas of interest and will be
highly employable.
“They have spectacular concentration spans and are eager
to learn. They need us mostly to support their social skills,”
Gault says. “When I am old and gray I will be reading about
these children. Among them will be the one who finds a cure
for cancer. They will go on to do great things. I am honored
to work with them.”
To find out more about the ASD Nest program, visit the
Autism and More website at http://bit.ly/ehBsmL.
secure your future
2010 a big year for member
retirements
his is the last issue of the New York
T Teacher for 2010 so we would like to
take this opportunity to wish you a well-
earned, wonderful rest. When we come back
we will be working under a new chancellor
and hopefully one who will understand all of
the difficult, excellent work that you do. This
would be a welcome change since the last
chancellor had no respect for you and, while
you produced some great gains in the school
system, he never gave you credit for your
success.
In 2010, about 3,100 Teachers’ Retire-
ment System members retired (the highest
number since 2005 out of a much smaller
pool of eligibles). This, we believe, shows
how the morale of the staff has fallen to new
lows.
The good news is that the vast majority
of retirees get on the Teachers’ Retirement
System payroll with an advance and partial
payment within a month or two of retiring,
and get their first full check with all retroac-
tive payments in about four months. This is
a huge improvement from the time that there
were no advance payments and it took six
months or more to get the first check. We at
UFT are very proud that we were able to pro-
cure the resources for the retirement system
to make this improvement.
Puerto Rico introduces new birth
certificate
The government of Puerto Rico recently
enacted legislation calling for new birth cer-
tificates to be issued to Puerto Rican-born
20 / DECEMBER 16, 2010
American citizens. After Oct. 30, 2010,
Puerto Rican birth certificates issued before
July 1, 2010, are considered invalid.
As a result of the new law, the Teachers’
Retirement System can no longer accept
Puerto Rican birth certificates issued before
July 1, 2010, as proof of date of birth. You
know that we urge you to file proof of date
of birth with the Teachers’ Retirement Sys-
tem; this makes it a little harder for those
born in Puerto Rico. If you are affected by
this new legislation, you can request a new
birth certificate from the Puerto Rican gov-
ernment.
There are other acceptable documents
that prove date of birth. You may file a valid
passport or two of the following: a baptismal
certificate, certificate of military record, dri-
ver’s license, government-issued identifica-
tion or life insurance policy. Photocopies are
acceptable and if any date-of-birth documen-
tation is in a language other than English it
must be accompanied by a translation.
Benefits from the Teachers’ Retirement
System cannot be paid unless date-of-birth
documentation is on file.
Holiday financial security check
Perhaps you can find time over the holi-
days to give yourself a financial checkup. To
find out if you are on the way to a secure fi-
nancial future, take this test:
1. Have you identified your short- and
long-term financial goals?
2. Do you have an emergency fund
(enough money set aside to cover at least
VARIABLE ANNUITY
The unit value is computed during the latter part
of each month. Recent values are:
VARIABLE A VARIABLE B
September 49.212 19.273
October 53.481 19.260
November 55.253 19.249
three to six months of expenses) and con-
tribute to it regularly?
3. Do you have a budget and stick to it?
4. Do you have enough money to com-
fortably pay your bills each month? PENSION CLINICS
5. Do you know your current net worth?
T
6. Do you have a savings account? he UFT’s popular pension clinics — a
7. Do you have appropriate amounts of mini-course in pensions and related
life, disability, catastrophic health and liabil- retirement matters — have been
ity insurance (covering your car and your scheduled for the 2010-2011 school year in
residence)? all the boroughs.
8. Do you have a Tax-Deferred Annuity We urge all members to participate in
account (note: contributions to the Tax-De- these clinics two or three years before re-
ferred Annuity come after setting up an tirement. The clinics are only one part of
emergency fund)? the UFT’s many services devoted to helping
9. Do you increase the amount you save
members prepare for a financially secure
when your income increases?
retirement.
10. Can you locate your important finan-
This year the Pension Department held
cial papers including insurance policies, es-
tate planning documents, tax returns and clinics in Brooklyn and Staten Island in the
bills? fall, and will hold clinics in Manhattan in
11. Do you avoid buying on impulse and the winter and in the Bronx and Queens in
purchasing items you do not need with your the spring.
credit card? To be fully informed, Tier I/II members
The more times you answered yes, the should attend all of the three-part series,
closer you are to a financially secure future. and Tiers III/IV the two-part series.
Teachers’ Retirement System 4:15-6:15 PM
publications
These publications have been recently
updated. They are available on the Teachers’ Winter 2011
Retirement System’s website or by contact-
ing TRS: UFT headquarters, 6th floor
• “Fund Profiles”
• “TDA Program Summary” Tiers I/II
• “Your TRS Benefits in Brief” Thursday, Jan. 6
• “TRS Retiree’s Companion” Thursday, Jan. 13
TRS calendar Thursday, Jan. 20
The Teachers’ Retirement offices are
closed on Dec. 24 and 31 as well as on Jan. UFT headquarters, Auditorium B
17 (Martin Luther King Day) and Feb. 21
(President’s Day). Tiers III/IV
Jan. 1, 2011 is the effective date of in- Thursday, Feb. 3
vestment election changes filed in a timely Thursday, Feb. 17
fashion.
Once again, Happy Holidays! The UFT
central office Pension Department on the
Spring 2011
17th floor at 52 Broadway will be open on Bronx
Dec. 27, 28, 29 and 30 to answer phone calls
and deal with members’ urgent pension mat- 2500 Halsey St.
ters. and
Queens
“Secure your future” is compiled and
written by Mel Aaronson, Sandra March and 97-77 Queens Blvd., 5th floor
Mona Romain, teacher-members of the NYC Tiers I/II
Teachers’ Retirement Board. For further in- Friday, March 4
formation on items discussed, call your UFT Friday, March 11
borough office or the TRS. BRONX: 1-718- Friday, March 25
379-6200; BROOKLYN: 1-718-852-4900;
MANHATTAN: 1-212-598-6800; QUEENS: Tiers III/IV
1-718-275-4400; STATEN ISLAND: 1-718-605- Friday, May 6
1400; Teachers’ Retirement System: 1-888- Friday, May 13
8NYC-TRS (692-877), www.trsnyc.org.
grants, awards and freebies
Free seminars for teachers: The Cullman Center at The New
York Public Library’s landmark building on Fifth Avenue offers free
Spring Seminars. The program includes a seminar with Pulitzer Prize
winner Annette Gordon Reed on Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson;
creative writing workshops with The New Yorker writers Wells Tower,
David Bezmozgis and Geoffrey Brock; and seminars on “A Midsummer
Night’s Dream,” “The Odyssey” and more. DEADLINE: Jan. 3. CONTACT:
www.nypl.org/cullmanteachers.
School Librarian Digital Citizenship Grant: Today’s students
are often savvy users of technology but lack knowledge about privacy
concerns, plagiarism consequences, safety and ethics. The purpose of this
grant is to develop master K-12 lessons for each of the topics under the
strands of Safety and Ethics. Each successful applicant will be required to
write a detailed lesson plan on a selected topic and then create a Common
Craft video on the subject with students. Grantees will be awarded: a net-
book computer, projector, Flip camera, flash drive and one day of profes-
sional development on teaching digital citizenship and creating videos with
students. The lessons will all be put on a flash drive to be distributed city-
wide at the 2011 Fall Conference. DEADLINE: Dec. 22. CONTACT: The Digi-
tal Citizenship Curriculum Wiki! website at http://bit.ly/fswenr.
Earth science education award: The American Geological Insti-
tute is seeking applications for the 2011 Edward C. Roy Jr. Award,
which will honor a teacher for leadership and innovation in Earth science
education. A $2,500 prize will go to the winner as will a grant of up to
$1,000 to enable the recipient to attend the National Science Teachers
Association Annual Conference in March 2011 to accept the award. Full-
time U.S. classroom teachers who provide instruction in Earth science at
the K–8 level can apply. Applicants will be judged on their dedication to
and enthusiasm for teaching Earth science, as well as their expertise in
crafting and delivering Earth science for their students. DEADLINE: Jan.
5. CONTACT: www.agiweb.org/education/awards/ed-roy.
Toyota Tapestry grants: The National Science Teacher’s Associa-
tion and Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc., seek applications for the 2011-12
Toyota Tapestry Grants for Science Teachers program. The program pro-
vides grants for K–12 teachers for innovative science projects that en-
hance environmental science education in their school and/or district
over a one-year period. Elementary school teachers who teach science in
the classroom and middle and high school science teachers, with a mini-
mum of three years teaching experience, can apply for $10,000 grants.
Environmental education is this year’s theme. Educators are asked to
submit proposals in the following subcategories: Biotic (all living factors)
or Abiotic (all non-living factors such as pollution, oil, energy, human in-
terventions, water, soil, air, temperatures, etc.). Tip: Proposals should
demonstrate creativity, involve risk-taking, possess a visionary quality
and model a novel way of presenting science. Proposed projects should
promote exciting and innovative activities to motivate students in science.
DEADLINE: Feb. 23. CONTACT: www.nsta.org/pd/tapestry.
Free science experiments offered: The Charles Edison Fund
provides Science Teaching Experiments to stimulate an interest in sci-
ence and technology among elementary school students through easy-
to-perform experiments in basic scientific concepts. The science kits can
be downloaded for free from the fund’s website. Educators can also par-
ticipate in an awards program by evaluating a few of the experiments.
Each student in the awards program will receive an engaged certificate.
CONTACT: For more information, visit the fund website at
www.charlesedisonfund.org/Experiments/experiments.html.
Teaching prize: The American Historical Association Beveridge
Family Prize recognizes excellence and innovation in elementary, middle
school and secondary history teaching, including career contributions
and specific initiatives. K–12 teachers can apply for awards of up to
$1,500. DEADLINE: March 15. CONTACT:
www.historians.org/teaching/Beveridge.htm.
Intel School of Distinction awards: To be considered as an
Intel School of Distinction, schools must develop an environment and
curricula that meet or exceed benchmarks put forth by national mathe-
matics and science content standards. Up to three schools at each level
— elementary, middle and high school — will be named as finalists in
the math and science categories. These 18 schools will receive a cash
grant of $5,000 from the Intel Foundation and a trip to Washington,
D.C., for a four-member team from their school and district. Six winners
will be selected from the finalists and receive a $10,000 cash grant. One
of these winners will be selected as the “Star Innovator” and will receive
a $25,000 grant. All five winning schools and the Star Innovator will also
receive products and services from program sponsors. DEADLINE: Feb.
17. CONTACT: The Intel website at http://intel.ly/9wj4cL.
Fund for Teachers: The Fund for Teachers is accepting applica-
tions for Teachers’ 2011 Summer Learning Experiences. The grants will
provide support for teachers’ proposed summer projects, in which they
Compiled by SHERMAINE ANDREW
sandrew@uft.org
can pursue their passions to affect student learning. Teachers with
more than three years of experience can apply for $5,000 individual
grants and $10,000 team grants. DEADLINE: Jan. 28. CONTACT:
www.fundforteachers.org or 1-713-296-6127.
Explore Mars in your classroom: Explore Mars, Inc., in partner-
ship with the National Science Teachers Association and Planetary Soci-
ety, is accepting applications for the Mars Education Challenge. The goal
will be to challenge science educators to develop ingenious ways to fit
Mars science and exploration into the classroom. Regional winners will
receive $2,500 grants. The national winner will receive a $5,000 grant and
an expense-paid trip to NSTA’s 2011 National Conference on Science Edu-
cation in San Francisco where he or she will be recognized at a special
awards ceremony. DEADLINE: Jan. 19. CONTACT: www.exploremars.org.
Science project: Chrome Battery is accepting applications for the
BatteryKids Science Project contest, which asks teachers and students to
create and film their own electricity- or battery-focused science project for
a chance to win cash and prizes. Grand prize winner will receive $1,000
for his or her classroom. Thirteen runner-up classrooms, one per grade
level, will receive a pizza party. K–12 schools can apply. Educators can
also find free science project and experiment ideas on the company’s
website. DEADLINE: Jan. 31. CONTACT: www.chromebattery.com/battery-
kids.
Cameras for the classroom contest: Teachers, it’s your turn to
write an essay. A new contest called Cameras for Classrooms is encour-
aging teachers worldwide to write essays on why their classroom
should receive a free motion-activated or time-lapse camera.
Wingscapes, the manufacturer of the BirdCam and the PlantCam cam-
eras, is sponsoring this contest. Teachers should write an essay of 500
to 750 words telling why their classroom needs the BirdCam or Plant-
Cam and how they will use the camera to benefit students. The cameras
can be used to speed up time and give you a closer look at shy wildlife,
making natural science more accessible than ever. With no tools, wiring
or software required, Wingscapes’ BirdCams and PlantCams are easy to
use and ready for classroom curriculum. Up to 50 winners will be se-
lected. Cameras will be shipped free of charge by Feb. 28. DEADLINE:
Jan. 31. CONTACT: www.wingscapes.com/CamerasForClassrooms.
Editor’s note: Some URLs are shortened using bit.ly. These URLs are
case-sensitive.
DECEMBER 16, 2010 / 21
22 / DECEMBER 16, 2010

PS 1 grandparents take time out from their twice-a-week walk for
some stretching exercises. Gee Wan Leung (left) is 82.
Grandparents Club breaks down barriers
Group members benefit from their growing role at Chinatown school
By DOROTHY CALLACI
very day, the grandparents of students at Man-
E hattan’s PS 1 are out early in the morning, rain
or shine, with one, two and even three children
by the hand, delivering them to the Chinatown school
and picking them up later in the day.
These grandparents are raising their grandchildren
because the parents work far away and only get home
once or twice a week, or they work such long hours
they don’t get home until very late.
Until recently, the grandparents’ connection to the
school ended at the front door.
For teachers, the parents’ long work hours coupled
with the language barrier mean that they have no one
to talk to at home if there are academic or behavioral
problems at school.
Devoted as the grandparents are, many speak little
or no English and some don’t read or write. They have
their hands full dealing with a new and different culture
— several are responsible for as many as seven grand-
children ranging from toddlers to teenagers — as they
bring up the next generation of Americans. It’s a chal-
lenge that most young parents would find formidable.
It was in this context that PS 1’s Grandparents
Club got its start. If parents have the PTA to bring
them into the school community, why shouldn’t
grandparents have a similar organization? The grand-
parents of PS 1 have now become so vital a part of
the school community that one of their own, Tsui
Ting Li, is now the PTA president.
Li, who came to the United States from China
when she was 43 and worked as a seamstress in a fac-
tory, cares for five grandchildren. Her three children
are pharmacists and all seven of her grandchildren
have attended PS 1.
At a recent monthly meeting of the Grandparents
Club, members were discussing the difficulties of raising
grandchildren in our western culture. They smiled and
They add some aerobic arm thrusts at the half-way mark.
Photos by Miller Photography and Dave Sanders Grandma Xue Xian Shi beams her pride in granddaughters Ka-
terina Chen, 6, Ashley Zheng, 7, and her sister Jennifer, 10.
nodded when Ruth Blackman, a program coordinator
from the city’s Department for the Aging, with the help
of the school’s community coordinator and translator
Livia Cheung, brought up the issue of what to do when
kids want to be like everyone else — listening to loud
music and wearing miniskirts or drooping pants.
Kam Wah Chui, who came to the United States
from Hong Kong when he was 28 and went on to own
a restaurant, explained that he minimizes conflict with
his seven grandchildren by having their parents make
the judgment calls. “If they approve their children’s
appearance and behavior, I will go along,” he said.
As Gee Wan Leung, 82, pointed out, “The parents
do the shopping for them so we can’t say much.”
Cheung explained that while many of the grand-
parents have been here for 30 or 40 years, they have
been living isolated lives. Many have never left the
neighborhood, speak little or no English, and can’t Grandpa Kan Wah Chui records the pedometer readings at the end of the
communicate easily with each other because they morning walk.
speak different Chinese dialects, she said.
But that is changing now. The Grandparents Club
is breaking down barriers and expanding the horizons
of their world, and friendships are forming.
A group of about a dozen grandparents, ages 61 to
82, take part in a two-mile walk twice a week. They
keep stretching the boundaries as they push for longer
walks to discover new places, going as far as Gover-
nors Island for a picnic.
Support from the local Charles B. Wang Commu-
nity Health Center has raised the group’s awareness
of the health benefits of physical activity and provided
the walkers with pedometers.
With the encouragement of Principal Amy Hom,
the grandparents’ relationship to PS 1 now begins at
the school’s front door.
See more photos in the Grandmas including (from left) Gee Wan Leung and Ya Ying Liao discuss the
gallery at www.uft.org. challenges of modern fashion and loud music as they help to raise their
grandchildren.
DECEMBER 16, 2010 / 23
 bruce cotler pat arnow

ABOVE: Speaking at a podium with a photo

of Jessica Tush, who was murdered in
2008 by her boyfriend of eight months, UFT par-
ent liaison Joan KcKeever-Thomas addresses
the issues of bullying, cyberbullying and teen
dating violence that parents throughout Staten
Island deemed most important for their Oct. 23
conference. “We are lobbying for legislation to
prevent bullying, and we want to see these
messages infused in the curriculum from kindergarten all the way through
high school,” McKeever-Thomas said. The conference was dedicated to
Tush, whose mother, Dina, has become an activist on the issue of teen dat-
ing violence. BELOW: Nancy Valez and her son Samuel, at IS 63, attended
TOP: Manhattan parents (from
workshops together.
Philips and Hanne Kjeldgaard
forces in a “Networking Tool K
Nov. 6 conference to help them
their advocacy work. ABOVE: Am
tive, helps empower parents i
teams, Community Education

TOP: Strrrretttccchhhing their way to better health are parents (and a few chil-
dren) who attended the Bronx parent conference on Nov. 6, which had the
theme, “Health and Wellness,” and featured workshops on healthy eating,
exercise and self-esteem. ABOVE: At a “Gangs and Bullying” workshop,
Rosario Velazquez (center) from Astor Services for Children and Families
goes back in time to describe the bullying she experienced.
INSET: UFT Parent and Community Outreach Director Anthony Harmon wel-
comes parents to their conference and encourages them to be active in their
children’s education.

Solidifying the parent-sch

By CARA METZ This year, the UFT organized smaller conferences in each tions of the parents locally is what we needed to do,” Harmon
borough, on weekends in October and November, instead of said.
tating that he hoped to forge “even stronger bonds be- one large parent conference in Manhattan. At each conference, In a comment that rang true for all five conferences, UFT

S tween communities, schools and parents,” UFT President

Michael Mulgrew thanked the parents who took time out
of their busy lives to attend one of the UFT’s five borough par-
ent conferences this fall sponsored by the union’s Dial-A-
Teacher program.
“The partnership between schools, parents and communities
is essential to achieving our mutual goals of excellence in pub-
lic education and creating community centers in schools,” said
Mulgrew.
parents joined in workshops, listened to experts in various
fields, made connections and picked up literature and resources
to help advance their children’s education and lives.
In all, some 2,000 parents participated in the conferences,
and UFT Community and Parent Outreach Director Anthony
Harmon said that the additional work of staging five events was
well worth it.
“If our global goal is to build parent relationships and par-
ent advocacy, then acting locally and meeting the expecta-
Brooklyn parent and community liaison Betty Zohar said,
“What makes this conference special is that it was organized
by parents, for parents.”
Introduced by Harmon as a leader “who really believes
in the community-home and school partnership,” Mulgrew
addressed each of the parent groups and emphasized the im-
portance of working together for the betterment of the chil-
dren.
Parent planning committees in each borough came up with

24 / DECEMBER 16, 2010

 Miller photography Miller photography
below: UFT President Michael Mulgrew shares the latest devel-
opments in New York City education news and policies with the
400 brooklyn parents who came to the Nov. 14 conference.
INseT: Rosemary Ganspot led a workshop on parent leadership
bruce cotler
and came with her son
Cheavon. boTToM: Parent Iso-
nia Ricks grabs her UFT bag
filled with literature at the
start of a day that would be
filled with workshops, talks
and parent empowerment.

above: Queens parents (from left) sukana Meah,

Nakicha beard, Cheryl ann Ghany and sharnetta
Roberson at the Nov. 20 parent conference get into
the nuts and bolts in a “Resolving Conflicts”
workshop intended to help make home life more
harmonious and provide insights into their chil-
dren’s perspectives. below: The Queens child care
center was busy enabling parents to partake fully in
the day’s events. Helping out were UFT vice Presi-
dent for elementary schools Karen alford (seated),
Queens borough safety Representative Tabio Da
Cruz, teacher Kristian lisowski and paraprofession-
als ann Gustave and Karen Harden.

left) sandra Hyatt, suzanne lanier

, parent coordinator for Ps 33, join
Kit” workshop, which was offered at the
m harness social networking tools for
my arundell, UFT special representa-
n their roles on school leadership
Councils or other arenas in her work-
shop on “How
to Read a
budget Flu-
ently.” leFT:
lisa lau
(right) of the
union’s safety
and Health
Department
shares infor-
mation on
quitting
smoking with
parent Tina
Crockett.

hool and community bond

their own themes for their conference based on an assessment
of the needs of parents in each borough.
In the Bronx, an epicenter of childhood obesity and asthma,
the focus was on health, including exercise, healthy food and
building self-esteem; in Staten Island, the focus was on bullying
in all its manifestations, from cyberbullying to teen dating vio-
lence.
Manhattan parents, meanwhile, focused on advocacy and on
how to build voice among parents in the borough. They chose
from workshops that included “It’s Your Turn,” for those
who are looking to return to school or re-enter the work
force; “Networking Tool Kit,” about advocacy and outreach
using online social networking tools; “High School Transi-
tion”; and the practical, nuts-and-bolts “How to Read a
Budget Fluently.”
In Queens, the guest speaker was award-winning author and
screenwriter Caroline Leavitt, whose novels often deal with
young adult themes. Workshop topics included writing and the
core standards, child development, special education, the high
school application process, the college search, test-taking tech-
niques and strategies, and the popular “Help! I Have a
Teenager.”
“I’ll be bringing this information back to school,” said par-
ent Lois Schwartz.
Parent Rita Harrison liked the community-building aspect
of the gathering. “It’s good to know that a lot of people are in
the same situation I am and that there are people to help us out.”
She praised the workshops and said, “I’m leaving here feeling
good, I learned a lot.”
Another parent, Ann Bannister, agreed, saying, “the work-
shops give you insight into things you’d normally have to go
all over for.”
Parent Portia Marriott found her workshop on juvenile jus-
tice “eye-opening.”
“As parents and community members, we have to take own-
ership and educate ourselves,” she said.

DECEMBER 16, 2010 / 25

 mazing
parents
They work to make
schools better
— for everyone’s kids
they stepped up to become decision-
makers on school leadership teams and
Community education Councils. they
log countless hours communicating with
teachers, principals and fellow parents.
When they go to seminars and work-
shops (which they frequently do), they
share the resources with other parents.
they are the often unheralded activists
who keep the parent voice in public edu-
cation strong. here are a few of the many
parents who go above and beyond to en-
sure a quality education not just for their
own children, but for all children in all
parts of the city.
By CARA METZ
PhotograPhS: aidan Corridan, BruCe
Cotler, Cara Metz, MiChelle gaMaChe,
Miller PhotograPhy.
26 / DECEMBER 16, 2010
Patricia Heron-Lawrence
‘It’s all about teamwork’
lthough she would never say it, Patricia heron-
A lawrence has seen it all and is doing it all, as
a volunteer in schools, with the uFt and in her
Crown heights community.
a parent of five, including two foster children,
heron-lawrence has children ranging in age from 8
to 20 and from elementary school through college.
She was on the parent planning committee for
this year’s first uFt Brooklyn Parent Conference
[see story, page 24], where she and other parents
helped to determine what the workshop topics would
be and prepared packets for participants.
She also volunteers with learning leaders,
which brings her into classrooms to help out —
“teachers come to teach, so a second set of eyes can
help,” she said. “you really have an impact on chil-
dren’s lives when you’re in the school, volunteering:
they think it’s cool.”
her children attend PS 289 and MS 334 in Crown
heights and the Brooklyn hS for Music & theatre
in Prospect heights.
as a district 17 Community education Council
member, she serves as the council’s liaison for three
schools, sitting down with the principal, staff mem-
bers and parents to see how they all can help.
“it lets you know what the concerns are at that
school and you can take it back to the community
and city council members to get help. it’s a commu-
nity effort and it’s all about
BROOKLYN
teamwork,” she said.
heron-lawrence is also in-
volved in her foster parent or-
ganization, doing fire-safety and
CPr trainings for parents, and
taking part in the foster parent
workshop at the uFt Parent
Conference.
Why does she do it all? “For
me, the bottom line is to help
children and to do that, i have to
educate myself, go to workshops
and trainings, interact with dif-
ferent people,” she said. What-
ever resources her children may
need, heron-lawrence knows
that they will also be useful to
other parents as well and she
makes sure to share the knowl-
edge.
“When it comes to children,
there’s no end to activism,” she
said in what may well be her
motto in life.
Marge Kolb
Fighting oversized classes
y plan has always been to live in new
“M york City ’til i die, and i think public ed-
ucation is such a key thing in the health and
wealth of our city,” said Marge Kolb, who has three
sons ages 9-21. “We need kids who can earn a living
and we need an educated populace.”
She’s been active from the start as president of
various Ptas, a member of the school leadership
team and Community education Council, and now
as president of the President’s Council for district
24 in southwestern Queens.
a big issue in her district: overcrowding, she
says, emphatically.
“We’re the second-hardest-hit district in the city
with oversized classes — we have multiple schools
with trailers and annexes,” she said.
Kolb described one excessively stuffed school
which had been K-5, but is now broken into two sepa-
rate buildings, separated by Queens Boulevard, with
no space for physical education due to the overcrowd-
ing.
at another school, kids are shuttling between two
buildings, with lunch, computer, gym and cluster
classes in one building and everything else in an-
other.
“We had a couple of hundred parents at a meeting
in Corona asking for a canvas-covered walkway so
kids don’t get wet in the snow and rain,” Kolb said.
“they weren’t even asking for a new building.”
another school had its entire kindergarten bused
to another location five miles away, which meant
that the youngest students had an extra hour added
to the beginning and end of their day.
that’s the kind of situation that gets Kolb angry,
involved and activated. her
biggest success to date has been
QUEENS
to get a new school built in
Maspeth, because there was no
school for the children streaming
into neighboring Woodside and
overcrowding those schools.
Kolb’s oldest son graduated
from City as School hS, her mid-
dle child is in the 8th grade at
Baccalaureate School for global
education and her youngest at-
tends PS 229 in Woodside. “i’ve
seen it before, during and after
[Chancellor Joel] Klein,” she said.
She noted that while she likes the
emphasis on writing from an early
grade, she’s concerned about cuts
in funding for music and art,
which are also important.
one thing is for sure: Kolb is
in it for the long haul.
Viviana Santiago
The breakfast club and beyond
s a single parent of three teenagers,
A aged 13-15, Viviana Santiago says that
it’s not easy, but she always stays in-
volved with her children’s education.
“When they were in the same school, I
used to go and help the teachers in their
classrooms, either with reading, or taking
students to the cafeteria and watching them,”
she said.
She was also active as a PTA committee
member, regularly attending meetings and
helping out where needed.
The school had a family room, where par-
ents and staff would have breakfast (and
sometimes lunch) together and enjoy the
chance to catch up, share homemade dishes
and help each other out with suggestions for
how to deal with challenges that they were
having with their kids.
It’s tougher to keep the same connection
now that her children are in three different
schools — JHS 142, Theodore Roosevelt HS
and Bronxwood Preparatory Academy. But
she makes the extra effort despite a busy
work schedule. She visits each school
monthly, checking in with the teachers to see
how her kids are doing.
“The teachers always give me their phone
numbers just in case,” she said. “ We always
keep in communication.”
Communication, in fact, is the key tool in
her tool kit, one that she uses not just for her
relationship with teachers and other school-
related professionals, but with her kids at
home. “I talk to them every night, check on
their homework, ask them about school,” she
said. “The important
thing is always commu-
nication.”
BRONX
˚Michelle Ciulla Lipkin
‘It’s not just about my children’
ichelle Ciulla Lipkin hit the ground running.
M With two children, ages 6 and 8, at PS 199, she’s al-
ready co-president of the school’s PTA and president
of the District 3 President’s Council, and she sits on both the
school and district leadership teams and is a member of the
Chancellor’s Parent Advisory Council. This stay-at-home
mother says it’s virtually a full-time job.
“If I can do anything, I can do all of it,” she said of her in-
volvement on the school, district and citywide levels.
Overcrowding was the issue that got her off the sidelines
and into the fray.
“Our district had a staggering population growth — the
kindergarten population doubled,” she said.
When her daughter almost didn’t get a seat in her son’s
Upper West Side school, she jumped in.
“It’s the normal story, you get involved because something
hits you at home and then you stay involved because you want
to help in any way you can for the whole community,” she said.
Some of her issues at this moment in no particular order:
space utilization, PCB toxins in the schools, bed bugs and
budget cuts.
There are about 700 schools that need to be tested for PCBs,
Ciulla Lipkin said, and pilot programs are
under way in three schools, including her
MANHATTAN
children’s.
“This is one of those issues that started
in our school, but affects most New York
City buildings and schools,” she said.
“Children’s exposure needs to be limited
citywide. You don’t think PTA presidents
are dealing with this kind of stuff, but we
are.”
And although she feels lucky to live in
a community where parents have the re-
sources to help their schools, Ciulla Lipkin
feels that “there are many struggling
schools around us, which is why I got in-
volved on the district and citywide levels.”
Her goal is to help other schools get the
resources they need. “It’s not just about my
children, but being an advocate for all the
students in our district,” she said.
Ciulla Lipkin brings districtwide issues
to light at community events and forums,
brainstorms ways to share fundraising
ideas — “you don’t have to reinvent the
wheel all the time” — and shares informa-
tion about free, low- and higher-cost edu-
cational resources available for children.
“It’s really rewarding work and I have
a lot of energy,” she said. “I love that I
found something I can do and still be pres-
ent for my kids when they need me. It’s
truly wonderful.”
Michele Faljean
‘Keeping kids in mind and parents updated’
ou might say Michele Faljean is a triple threat, in her
Y roles as president of the Staten Island Federation of
Parents, co-president of the Tottenville HS PTA
where her youngest child goes to school and president of
the high school president’s council.
She is keenly aware of what goes on in the Staten Island
school community and aims to share as much information
with parents as she can.
“Whether it’s about the curriculum, common core stan-
dards, school leadership teams, what’s going on at the De-
partment of Education and the UFT” or more local,
school-based concerns, Faljean makes it her business to
stay informed and keep other parents in the loop as well.
“A lot of people don’t like parents — administrators,
the DOE — so we always have to
fight for the parent voice, so we can
STATEN ISLAND
have a say in decisions that involve
our children,” she said. “That’s my
main goal.”
Her children, now 15 and 19, were
the motivating factors that got her in-
volved, beginning when her first child
entered kindergarten.
Faljean is enthusiastic about the
annual scholarships that the Staten Is-
land Federation distributes —
$28,000 last June, all of it from dona-
tions.
“It’s the most wonderful event,”
she said. “You walk away feeling
goosebumps. It’s that exhilarating.
Principals, parents, teachers, electeds
— everyone comes. We had more
than 500 people at our last event.”
Political action is another priority,
and the federation has an annual lobby
day in Albany to make sure educa-
tional issues don’t get lost in the shuf-
fle.
“Keeping kids in mind and parents
updated” is her motto. Toward that
end, the federation holds a legislative
forum at which parents can discuss is-
sues with their legislators.
They also offer workshops
throughout the year to all PTA offi-
cers “to help them with their role so
they’re up to speed the minute they
start working.”
DECEMBER 16, 2010 / 27
28 / DECEMBER 16, 2010
UFT HELP
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Key phone numbers,

e-mail
addresses MANHATTAN:
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DECEMBER 16, 2010 / 29

Tweed orders record 26
schools closed
By DOROTHY CALLACI
wenty-six schools, a record high for one year,
T
have been put on the block as the Department of
Education continues to insist that the best reform
strategy for struggling schools is to shut them down.
If those 26 schools are shuttered, Chancellor Klein
during his eight-year tenure will have closed a total of
117 schools, one third of them opened by him.
UFT President Michael Mulgrew said parents
and educators want schools fixed, not closed, and
promised full union support for any school that
chooses to fight back. A team of UFT personnel has
been assigned to each school.
He charged the DOE with mismanagement and
blamed it for not making any real effort to help trou-
bled schools.
“Any time a school closes, it is a tragedy for the
students, parents and educators in that community,”
said Mulgrew in a letter to members. “That’s why
shuttering schools should always be a last resort
taken only after all other remedies have failed.”
Hardest hit again is the Bronx, with the DOE an-
nouncing its plans to close 10 of the borough’s
schools. Six schools in Brooklyn and Manhattan are
on the target list, while Queens has four. Only Staten
Island escaped the ax.
BRUCE COTLER
More than 2,000 staff, students and administrators at
Sheepshead Bay HS — which was threatened with clo-
sure but wasn’t on the final list of closing schools —
made it perfectly clear at an after-shool rally on Nov. 19
that they were ready to fight for the school’s survival.
Cathie Black speaks — and sounds like Joel Klein
By DOROTHY CALLACI
reaking the silence that she maintained throughout her
B appointment process, Schools Chancellor-designate
Cathleen Black has so far disappointed educators who
had hoped that the change in leadership at Tweed would
mean a fresh start for students and teachers.
In her first interviews with the news media in early Decem-
ber, Black pronounced herself in “complete alignment” with
the policies of Chancellor Joel Klein, whose final day is Dec.
31. She opposed tenure as “a job for life,” called for a change
in the practice of layoffs in order of seniority and criticized
the teachers serving in the Absent Teacher Reserve pool.
UFT President Michael Mulgrew expressed concern with
Black’s early grasp on the facts. “Clearly when they’re brief-
ing her, they’re not telling her all the facts,” he said, referring
to Black’s comments on tenure. “Tenure only guarantees due
process before teachers are fired; nobody is promised a job
for life.”
District
schools
Bronx:
A: John F. Kennedy HS
B: School for Community Research and
Learning
facing
shutDown
C: New Day Academy
D: Urban Assembly Academy for History
and Citizenship for Young Men
E: Frederick Douglass Academy III
F: PS 102
Of the 26 marked schools, 12 are high schools Manhattan: G: Monroe Academy for Business and Law
and one is a charter school. Q: Kappa II H: Performance Conservatory HS
Of the 19 schools slated for closure last year that I: Global Enterprise HS
R: Academy of Environmental
won a reprieve as a result of a successful lawsuit Science Secondary HS J: Christopher Columbus HS
filed by the UFT and the NAACP, four no longer S: IS 195
face closure: the Choir Academy of Harlem, W.H. T: Academy of Collaborative A
Education
Maxwell Career and Technical Education HS, the U: Norman Thomas HS J BRONX
Middle School for Academic and Social Excellence I
and the Business, Computer Applications and En-
D
E H F
trepreneurship HS. The first three schools scored a
B on their most recent Progress Report. But showing
C G
the arbitrariness of the DOE’s decisions, Business, S
Computer Applications and Entrepreneurship HS T B
will stay open even though it received a grade of D Q
both this year and last, while other schools that re-
ceived a C this year are slated to be closed. R
Mulgrew gave fair warning that the union will not
hesitate to return to court if the DOE again flouts the
MANHATTAN
law: “The UFT, our lawyers and the teachers in the
closing schools will be closely monitoring the process U
this year,” he said. “If we find any substantial viola-
tions of the statute that covers school closings, the
DOE can expect to see us in court.” Y
He said that the union will continue to advocate
W
for the resources and support that struggling schools L
need to thrive.
P O N QUEENS
The city is required to hold public hearings for each
of the 26 schools before the mayor’s Panel for Educa- K
V
tional Policy votes on the proposed closures in Febru- BROOKLYN
ary. Thousands of community leaders, parents, M
teachers and students fought for their schools until
after 3 a.m. last January before the panel voted to close
them all, a decision later reversed by the court.
The DOE’s latest push to close more schools will
send more and more teachers into the ATR pool that
the DOE, in turn, attacks for adding to the school X
budget crisis. Queens:
Except for Kappa II, a middle school, and the V: IS 231
Academy of Collaborative Education, a high school, Brooklyn: W: PS 30
which will be shut down completely at the end of the X: Beach Channel HS
K: PS 260 Y: Jamaica HS
school year, the rest will be phased out grade by grade. L: MS 571
“When schools are struggling, parents want them M: PS 114
fixed, not closed,” said Mulgrew. “The DOE should N: PS 332
stop giving lip service to this idea and make a real O: Paul Robeson HS
Ross Global Academy in Manhattan’s District 1 is
effort to help schools in trouble, rather than sitting P: Metropolitan Corporate
the charter school to be closed.
back and watching them get worse.” AcademyHS
Black, chairwoman of Hearst Magazines, takes over at a tion Commissioner David Steiner for her new job on condi-
critical time for city schools. She faces a budget crisis, a tion that a chief academic officer serves at her side to com-
record number of closing schools, rising class sizes, Regents pensate for her lack of educational credentials. Deputy
demands for curriculum redesign, a UFT contract that is 14
months overdue and low staff morale from relentless teacher
bashing and an obsession with test prep.
Chancellor Shael Polakow-Suransky, a former middle school
math teacher and high school principal, will fill that role.
Several lawsuits have since been filed by parents seeking
The weeks of political turmoil surrounding her nomination to block Black’s nomination as chancellor on the grounds
coupled with ongoing opposition from some parents, commu- that she does not have the necessary qualifications required
nity leaders, politicians and education experts that the mayor’s in state law.
secretive selection process set in motion will not make it easy Some of the criticism and concern that continues over the
for Black to begin the heavy lifting that lies ahead. appointment of Black, who will begin her tenure on Jan. 3,
“If Cathie Black wants to work with us in a professional centers on the question of how the creation of a chief aca-
and respectful fashion to tackle these issues, we will be more demic officer will work in terms of accountability. Accord-
than happy to work with her,” Mulgrew said. “If she doesn’t, ing to the mayor, “There will be one person in charge. Make
we will still continue our advocacy for a curriculum that no mistake about that.”
gives students a well-rounded education, new and better in- Acknowledging the Black appointment, which was made
terventions for struggling students and early action to turn by the mayor with little consultation even among his own ad-
around failing schools.” visers, as “technically” legal, Mulgrew said, “If the law allows
Black was granted a waiver on Nov. 29 by state Educa- for a process to be done so badly, it needs to be changed.”
DECEMBER 16, 2010 / 3
 Conference Registration Form
Fill out coupon below and enclose $25 check or money order, payable to UFT/Parapro-

Paraprofessional fessional Festival, and mail to Shelvy Young-Abrams, UFT/Paraprofessional Festival,

52 Broadway, New York, NY 10004. This coupon may be duplicated. Do NOT staple
check to coupon. Please fill out completely and clearly so we can best accommodate
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1335 Avenue of the Americas AVAILABLE WORKSHOPS:

Saturday, March 12, 2011 1. Educating Children with Autism

2. Gang Awareness
5. Social Networking
6. Pension & TRS
3. More Than Just a Paraprofessional 7. Stress with a Twist
8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. 4. Know Your Contract
Health Fair open to all

30 / DECEMBER 16, 2010

DECEMBER 16, 2010 / 31
 Federation of Nurses/UFT Professional Issues Conference
Advocating for patients remains top priority
By MICAH LANDAU
he pride, professionalism and union
T
spirit of the 4,500 nurses who make up
the Federation of Nurses/UFT were on
display at their 31st annual Professional Is-
sues Conference on Nov. 19 and 20 in mid-
town Manhattan.
Several hundred registered nurses and li-
censed practical nurses attended the two-day
conference, representing their colleagues well
with a fighting spirit that regularly wins on-
time contracts and has earned them a reputa-
tion as one of the UFT’s strongest chapters.
Special Representative Anne Goldman,
addressing the group, spoke of the “war,
the battle of economics and of advocacy”
that Federation of Nurses members face on
a daily basis.
The irony, she said, is that “most of us
are very gentle, but if you stand in the way
of our work — we won’t accept that. The
priority [in nursing] has to be regaining
health.”
That’s why the Federation of Nurses
fought so hard to pass legislation prohibiting
mandatory overtime for nurses and increas-
ing the penalties against those who assault
32 / DECEMBER 16, 2010
MILLER PHOTOGRAPHY
them, making hospitals safer for nurses and
patients alike.
The theme that management has pitted
patient advocacy and quality care against
profits resonated throughout the two-day
conference.
UFT President Michael Mulgrew talked
about the current assault against nurses and
all workers, the likes of which he said has
not been seen in generations.
He added that he was proud of the two
on-time contracts the nurses settled this
year with Visiting Nurse Services and
Lutheran Medical Center, describing them
as the chapter’s “two biggest successes” of
the year.
Mulgrew also promised continued sup-
port as the nurses begin negotiations on two
other contracts this year.
“In terms of union activity and strength,
this is as strong as any chapter in the UFT,”
he said. Pain, Pounds and Pressure Workshop leader Dr. Edmund Shockey with retired Visiting Nurse
In a plenary on the politics of health care, Services member Roma Webb-Greene (left) and Xiwei Li of Lutheran Medical Center.
UFT Legislation and Political Action Direc-
tor Paul Egan spoke of the importance of its legislative priorities. their message loud and clear,” Egan prom-
COPE, the union’s political action commit- The UFT has some 200,000 members ised.
tee, and the value of nurses’ personal testi- who will go to the streets and go to the Mary McDonald, the AFT’s health care
mony on lobby days as the union fights for polls to make sure the politicians “hear director, provided a window into national
 Federation of Nurses/UFT Professional Issues Conference
politics, which she described as “extremely
difficult” and akin to “hand-to-hand com-
bat.”
She said the Republicans’ top priority is
to make President Obama a one-term presi-
dent and that “what you saw in 2010 [in the
midterm elections], you’ll see it on steroids
in 2012.”
Much of the rest of the weekend was ded-
icated to workshops covering topics such as
autism, substance abuse, memory loss, pain
management and women’s health.
“Every time I come [to the conference], I
go back to the team and teach them what I
learned,” summed up Casserene Cassells, a
Visiting Nurse Services nurse and Federa-
tion of Nurses/UFT borough coordinator for Legal workshop leader Janine Fiesta (right), health care director at the UFT President Michael Mulgrew flanked by (from right) Jewish
the Bronx. “I’ll definitely come back next Pennsylvania State Education Association, with Dawn Tyrrell (left) and Judy Home and Hospital Chair Cynthia McDaniel, Visiting Nurse Serv-
year.”
Lerman of Visiting Nurse Services. ices Chair Cora Shillingford, Special Representative Anne Gold-
man and Lutheran Medical Center Chair Renee Setteducato.

Setteducato (second from left)
with Lutheran members (from
Several hundred left) Robert Quiambao, Nancy
members attended Martinez, Radmila Lyashenko
the conference. and Alena Pazniak.

DECEMBER 16, 2010 / 33


Social Security, Medicare troubles ahead
By TOM MURPHY
CHAPTER LEADER
don’t like to say “I told you so,” but I
I
told you so.
Way back in May, this column warned
retirees that the newly formed and grand-
sounding national Commission on Fiscal
Responsibility and Reform might well pro-
pose solving the nation’s deep-seated
budget deficit by eviscerating Social Secu-
rity and Medicare. The commission came
to be known more popularly as the “entitle-
ment commission” for exactly that reason.
And now the cards are on the table. The
commission’s chairmen have proposed a
plan that would:
• raise the retirement age to 69;
• reduce cost-of-living adjustments;
• cut Social Security benefits; and
• cut Medicare benefits.
The average senior is already spending
30 percent of his/her Social Security bene-
fits on Medicare Part B and Part D in out-
of-pocket costs alone; this proposal would
increase that amount.
There are also a number of other propos-
als aimed at the middle class that would af-
fect us as retirees.
Barbara Kennelly, president of the Na-
tional Committee to Preserve Social Secu-
rity and Medicare, reacted immediately,
noting, “This proposal relies far too heavily
on benefit cuts which will hurt millions of
Americans. Lowering COLAs which hit
even current retirees, raising the retirement
age, and making benefit cuts in Social Se-
curity have nothing to do with solving this
fiscal crisis and do not offer a balanced so-
lution to debt reduction by any stretch of
the imagination.”
Terry O’Neill, president of the National
Organization for Women, also weighed in,
pointing out that women would take a
harder hit than men because they earn less
— 77 cents for every dollar earned by men
— and so are less able to save to supple-
ment retirement income.
Medicare Part D: New income-related
monthly adjustment deductions
New in 2011 is an income-related
monthly adjustment amount (IRMAA) for
enrollees in Part D prescription drug plans.
Similar to the Part B IRMAA, the Af-
fordable Care Act of 2010 requires Part D
enrollees whose incomes exceed certain
income thresholds to pay a monthly adjust-
ment. The income-related adjustment will
be deducted from your Social Security
check.
The Social Security Administration state-
ments that are being sent to members now
include the income-related monthly adjust-
ment amounts for Medicare Part D. The new
amount is to be paid by recipients based on
the chart on the right.
The chart will indicate how much you
will have deducted for Part D from your So-
cial Security in 2011.
34 / DECEMBER 16, 2010
RETIRED TEACHERS CHAPTER NEWS
Fearing what was coming, the Retired
Teachers Chapter and the UFT Executive
Board passed a resolution in April calling
on the president and Congress “not to
balance the budget on the backs of sen-
iors.” Labor and retiree groups across the
country took similar action to make peo-
ple aware of the commission’s mandate,
especially since it was well known that
many of the commission’s 18 members
were not strong supporters of entitlement
programs.
At every juncture, they duck
any fiscal measures that
might impact the super
wealthy, choosing instead to
stick working people with the
bill for Wall Street’s party
— Richard Trumka,
AFL-CIO president
Former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisen-
hower prophetically observed in 1952,
“Should any political party attempt to abol-
ish Social Security and unemployment in-
surance, and eliminate labor laws and farm
programs, you would not hear of that party
again in our political history. There is a tiny
splinter group, of course, that believes that
you can do these things. Among them are a
few Texas oil millionaires and an occa-
sional politician or businessman from other
areas. Their number is negligible and they
are stupid.”
Unfortunately that “tiny splinter group”
has mushroomed. Today, after the midterm
elections have left us with far fewer friends
in either house of Congress, the number of
Congress members who would support just
such an attempt are in the ascendancy. Tea
Party members and conservatives can’t
wait to get their hands on our benefits.
We are in trouble.
The proposals of the commission
chairmen, Erskine Bowles and Alan
Simpson, were reworked by the full com-
mission to meet a Dec. 1 deadline. Those
proposals will be presented to the Con-
gress for an up or down vote. We are not
expecting the full commission’s proposals
to be approved.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka
took sharp exception to both the entitlement
commission plan and an alternative pro-
posal by a committee headed by Pete
Domenici, a Republican and former senator
from New Mexico, and former budget di-
rector Alice Rivlin.
“Neither of these plans is minimally
credible,” Trumka said. “At every junc-
ture, they duck any fiscal measures that
might impact the super wealthy, choosing
instead to stick working people with the
bill for Wall Street’s party. By cutting So-
cial Security and Medicare benefits, both
plans threaten the retirement security of
millions of Americans.”
We must get ready for what lies ahead.
When the entitlement commission plan
emerges and we have a chance to evaluate
it, we must be prepared to act with the same
solidarity and energy we showed when we
forced the Bush administration privatizers
to back down.
We have direct contact with thousands
of our members by e-mail and are ready to
enlist our concerned members in an e-mail
campaign at a moment’s notice. Do we
have your e-mail address? Please send it
to us at retirees@uft.org so you can be part
of the action to preserve your hard-earned
benefits.
Membership meeting
Tuesday, March 15, 1 p.m.
UFT headquarters, 52 Broadway
2nd Floor
Pensionable coverage benefits coming
starting January 2011
Although the UFT won a court victory
making per-session work pensionable in 2002,
it took five years of concerted effort before the
city agreed in 2007 that classroom coverages
would be pensionable, and it has taken a few
more years to hammer out the terms of the
benefits. But eligible retirees will begin to see
these benefits starting January 2011.
In 2007, it was agreed that the pensions
for those who have retired since September
1993 would be recalculated to reflect cover-
ages. The recalculation would be retroactive
to September 2001; or, for members who re-
tired after 2001, the recalculation would be
retroactive to the date of retirement. Retirees
who did coverages during the time period in
which their final average salary was com-
puted are eligible for the revised retirement
benefits. Generally that period is the last 12
months for Tier I and the last three years for
Tiers II and III/IV retirees.
The recalculations were to start in late 2009
and be completed in 2010. However, the Of-
fice of the Actuary informed the Teachers’ Re-
tirement System that it also would need to
collect back contributions on each member’s
coverage pay, even those whose coverage pay
wouldn’t give them a higher benefit. The TRS
found that a few thousand retirees would not
receive higher benefits even if back contribu-
tions were collected. That is because the re-
tiree did not do coverage assignments during
the last years of work. At this point, the UFT
insisted on further discussion with the actuary
to ensure eligible retirees would receive their
benefits.
Eventually, all sides agreed to a solution
that will deliver coverage benefits to all
qualified retirees and will also expedite pro-
cessing. Members’ benefits are being deter-
mined by a formula called an algorithm. An
algorithm makes certain estimations
throughout the period that the coverage
work was done.
Under this method, no back contribu-
tions will be due. The algorithm will be ap-
plied for members who retired through
February 2010. The TRS began taking pen-
sion contributions on coverages in March
2010, so members retiring after February
2010 will have coverage earnings included
in their Final Average Salary, where appli-
cable, in the regular calculation of their pen-
sion. If contributions are required, these
members will be billed.
Now, the TRS can complete its recalcu-
lations reasonably soon and send the cases
to the actuary for certification (which is stan-
dard procedure). The actuary has agreed to
certify 1,000 coverage cases a month, and
will meet with the UFT in a few months to
see whether more cases can be completed
each month. More than 22,000 recalculations
will be done. Those who are entitled to a
benefit increase will receive it.
The first of the benefit increases will hit
payroll at the end of January 2011. The TRS
will contact you with specific benefit infor-
mation before you receive any increased
payments.
 WWW.UFT.ORG — SELECT ‘RETIRED TEACHERS’ UNDER ‘OUR CHAPTERS’
SHIP 2011 premium notices
Supplemental Health Insurance Programs
2011 premium notices will be sent in early
January to retirees who have not elected to pay
premiums via automatic pension deduction.
As previously advised, retirees who are
eligible for automatic deductions will be
charged a $30 administrative fee, in addition
to the premium.
If you are receiving a pension check that is
not enough to cover the SHIP monthly pre-
mium of $10 per person, you must submit a
copy of your pension stub along with the pre-
mium payment and the $30 fee will be waived.
Surviving spouse and COBRA enrollees
are exempt from the $30 fee because they are
not eligible for automatic deductions. If you
wish to have automatic deduction for future
years and avoid this $30 fee, please request a
pension deduction card when making payment.
Please wait until you have received a bill
before submitting your premium. Your can-
celed check is your receipt. SHIP cannot con-
firm receipt of payments over the telephone.
Most new retirees may be receiving
dues refunds
Retiree outreach meetings/luncheons
Speakers: Tom Murphy, RTC chapter leader;
Candy Cook, director, UFTWF Retiree Programs;
Sandra March, UFT liaison to the RTC; and
Florida Section Coordinator Ken Goodfriend (at
Florida meetings only).
ATLANTA: YI801 Friday, Jan. 7, noon-2:30
p.m. Atlanta Hilton & Towers, 255 Courtland St.,
NE, Atlanta.
ARIZONA: ZI600 Monday, Feb. 7, noon-3 p.m.
Holiday Inn Casa Grande, 777 No. Pinal Ave., Casa
Grande. Cost: $15.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA: GI600 Friday, Feb.
4, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Donatello Hotel, Zingari
Ristorante, 501 Post St., San Francisco. Cost:
$20.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: LI600 Saturday, Feb.
5, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. New location: Radison,
4545 MacArthur Blvd., Newport Beach. Cost:
$15.
LAS VEGAS: VI600 Tuesday, Feb. 8, 11:30
a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monte Carlo Hotel, 3770 Las Vegas
Blvd. So., Las Vegas. Cost: $15.00.
Intersession
BROOKLYN: JAZZERCISE Classes are held
on Mondays from 10 a.m. to noon. Instructor: K.
FLORIDA
Event/seminar/meeting
BOCA/DELRAY: FI810 Tuesday, Jan. 11, 1-3
p.m. Temple Anshei Shalom, 7099 W. Atlantic
registration form
Ave., Delray Beach.
NAME SS # (last 4 digits)
BROWARD: FI820 Thursday, Jan. 13, 1-3 p.m.
Leonard Weisinger Community Center, 6199
ADDRESS
Northwest 10th St., Margate. Call 1-954-972-6458
for directions. CITY STATE ZIP
DADE: FI830 Wednesday, Jan.12, 1-3 p.m.
Young Israel of Bal Harbour, 9592 Harding Ave., PHONE
Surfside.
ORLANDO: OI802 Saturday, Jan. 8, 10 a.m.-1 SPOUSE NAME
p.m. Hilton Orlando/Altamonte Springs, 350 S.
Northlake Blvd., Altamonte Springs. _____ UFT member _____ Spouse
WEST PALM BEACH: FI840 Tuesday, Jan. 11, 1-3
_____ NYSUT _____ AFT _____ PSC
p.m. Temple Anshei Shalom, 7099 W. Atlantic Ave.,
Delray Beach. (Bus pickups to Boca/Delray: Noon be-
hind McDonald's, Okeechobee Boulevard and Jog Seminar/Mtg # Title Fee
Road; 12:20 p.m. from Lake Worth Road at Nassau _______________ ______________ ______
Square Shopping Plaza, East of the Turnpike.)
WEST COAST: SI802 Monday, Jan. 10, 1-3 _______________ ______________ ______
p.m. Laurel Oak Country Club, 2700 Gary Player _______________ ______________ ______
Blvd., Sarasota.
_______________ ______________ ______
Mail to: UFTWF Retiree Programs,
52 Broadway, 17th floor, New York, NY 10004.
Health and pension meetings
Please fill out coupon below and return it to
UFTWF Retiree Programs, 52 Broadway, 17th

UFT/RTC members who received vaca-
tion paychecks for July and August at the end
of June may have noticed that deductions
were made for UFT dues. The checks were
FLORIDA
Sanson. Each session is $5. KI125 Jan. 10; Floor, New York, NY 10004.
KI126 Jan. 24; KI127 Jan. 31; KI128 Feb. 7. Speaker: Barbara Shiller, UFT-RTC special
MANHATTAN: ART HISTORY SERIES Classes representative.
are held on Mondays from 10 a.m. to noon at 52 NORTH CAROLINA: DI801 New date: Friday,

prepared before their retirements became ef-
fective and the usual deductions were made.
If you are one of these members, you are
Broadway, 19th Floor. Instructor: Lisa Small, cu-
rator of exhibitions, American Federation of Arts.
Each session is $5. CI105 Jan. 10; CI106 Jan.
24; CI107 Jan. 31; CI108 Feb. 7. CI406-CI410
ANNUAL
Feb. 11, noon-2 p.m. Country Inns and Suites,
201 Airgate Drive, Morrisville.
WASHINGTON, D.C. : HI801 Monday, Jan.
10, noon-2:30 p.m. AFT Headquarters, 555 New

entitled to a refund for these deductions after
the date of your retirement. But if you retired
at the end of August, you are not entitled to
any refund.
We just received the necessary data from
the Teachers’ Retirement System and we
will be processing these refunds.
2011 Annual Membership meetings
All meetings are held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.,
with coffee available at 9:30 a.m. There is no
fee.
Speakers: Tom Murphy, RTC chapter leader;
Candy Cook, director, UFTWF Retiree Programs;
Sandra March, UFT liaison to the RTC; Barbara
Shiller, UFT/RTC special representative; Irene
Lospenuso, director, SHIP; and Sasha Greene,
LMSW, director, UFTWF Retiree Social Services.
BRONX: XA001 Wednesday, Jan. 26, Bronx
Learning Center 2500 Halsey St.
BROOKLYN: KA001 Tuesday, March 8, UFT
headquarters, 52 Broadway, Shanker Hall.
MANHATTAN: MA001 Tuesday, Feb. 15, UFT
headquarters, 52 Broadway, Shanker Hall.
QUEENS: QA001 Tuesday, Feb. 1, Forest
Hills Jewish Center, 106-06 Queens Blvd.
STATEN ISLAND: RA001 Tuesday, March 1,
Li Greci’s Staaten, 697 Forest Ave.
NORTHERN NEW JERSEY: JA001 Wednes-
day, Jan. 19, Doubletree Hotel at the George
Washington Bridge , 2117 Route 4 Eastbound,
Fort Lee.
SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY: JA002 Wednes-
day, March 16, Monmouth County Library, 125
Symmes Road, Manalapan.
NASSAU: NA001 Monday, March 14,
Adelphi University, Concert Hall & Main Lobby
of the Performing Arts Center, South Avenue,
Garden City.
SUFFOLK: UA001 Monday, Jan. 24, Suffolk
County Community College, Michael J. Grant
Campus, Sagtikos Arts & Sciences Bldg., Van
Nostrand Theater, Crooked Hill Road, Brent-
wood.
WESTCHESTER/ROCKLAND/PUTNAM:
WA001 Wednesday, March 2, Holiday Inn, 3 Ex-
ecutive Blvd., Empire Pavillion, Suffern.
LUNCHEON
ADVANCED BEADING New Time: 11 a.m.- 2 p.m. Jersey Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C.
noon. Instructor: M. Mintzer.
Florida section
Coordinator of sections and
FI 204 DOO WOP: GREAT NYC GIRL GROUPS Feb.
15. 10 a.m.- noon. Instructor: H. Block.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
9:30 am - 3:30 pm
FI301 OPERA Feb. 9, 16; March 2, 9. 9:30 a.m.- Embassy Suites - Yamato Road
services: Ken Goodfriend 12:30 p.m.. Instructor: S. Glick.
Potomac Trail Building 661 NW 53rd Street, Boca Raton
FI403 BIRDING IN FLORIDA Jan. 27; Feb. 3, 10, 17.
3200 North Military Trail Cost: $32.00
8 a.m., at locations (call office for directions). Instructor:
(between Butts and Yamato Roads) L. Plotnick. Speakers: Tom Murphy, Candy Cook and
Suite 100, Boca Raton 33431 FI504 INTERNATIONAL CINEMA Feb. 4, 11; March Sandra March
1-561-994-4929 4, 11, 18. 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Instructor: M. Loman.
Medical record-keeping seminars MEMBER NAME
Fourth Wednesday of each month, except
where noted. Dates: Dec. 22, Jan. 26, Feb. 23. 10 FLORIDA COURSE REGISTRATION
SS NO. (LAST 4 DIGITS)
a.m.-noon. All seminars are held in the conference Check one:
room. To register, please call the Florida office at ___ UFT member ___ Spouse ADDRESS
1-561-994-4929. Check one:
Special events ___ NYSUT ___ AFT ___ PSC CITY STATE ZIP
Please call the Florida Office at 1-561-994-4929
for additional information. MEMBER NAME FLORIDA PHONE
MALTZ THEATER: Jolson at the Winter Garden,
Sunday, March 13, 2 p.m. at $41. SS NO. (LAST 4 DIGITS) LAST SCHOOL DISTRICT
FLORIDA GRAND OPERA: Thursday nights at 8
p.m. and $48 per ticket. “Tales of Hoffman,” Feb. 10. ADDRESS Select ONLY one:
KRAVIS CENTER: “Young Frankenstein,” Thurs-
____Fish
day, Feb. 3 at $56.11; “West Side Story,” Thursday, CITY STATE ZIP
____Chicken
March 10 at $56.11.
PALM BEACH OPERA: Saturday nights at 7:30 FLORIDA PHONE
NOTE: The above information MUST be indi-
p.m. and $44.25 per ticket. “Tosca,” March 26.
cated for each person attending and should
SPOUSE NAME
Courses be included ONLY if the person has regis-
Each course has a $5 nonrefundable registration Course # Title Fee tered and paid. Please sit me with:
fee. How to register: Each participant must fill out a
separate registration form along with separate checks. ______ _________________ _______ 1.______________________________
FI102 HISTORY OF JAZZ VOCALISTS Feb. 14, ______ _________________ _______ 2.______________________________
28; March 7, 14, 21; April 4. 10 a.m.-noon. Instruc-
tor: A Guastafeste. ______ _________________ _______ 3.______________________________
FI201 ADVANCED BEGINNERS BRIDGE Jan.
18, 25; Feb. 1, 8, 15. 9:30-11:30 a.m. Instructor: J. Please mail check/money order payable Make checks payable to UFT/RTC Special
Fasman. to UFTWF Retiree Programs and coupon to:
UFT/RTC Florida Office, Potomac Trail Bldg., Events and mail to UFT/RTC Special Events,
FI202 ADVANCED BEGINNERS BRIDGE Jan. 18,
3200 Military Trail, Ste. 100, Boca Raton, FL Potomac Trail Building, 3200 No. Military
25; Feb. 1, 8, 15. Noon-2 p.m. Instructor: J. Fasman. 33431. Trail, Suite 100, Boca Raton, FL 33431.
FI203 OPERA Dec. 14, 21; Jan. 4, 11, 18. 10 a.m.-

DECEMBER 16, 2010 / 35

36 / DECEMBER 16, 2010
 Parents on Community Education Councils meet with UFT
cara metz

Working together for children

and union leaders during the meeting.
Anthony Harmon, UFT director of
parent and community outreach, wel-
comed the parent leaders to their sec-
ond quarterly meeting and thanked
them for their involvement and for
“helping to keep public input in public
education.” The meet and greet was
set up in response to parents’ requests Benjamin Greene (foreground), co-president of the Chancel-
last year for a forum to express their lor’s Parent Advisory Council, during a lighter moment.
ideas and to hear from the union lead-
ership on how to best work as partners with their teachers and community partners to help shape and
on behalf of all children. build the education system, something he said can only be
Mulgrew spoke about the interest- achieved through collaboration.
ing — yet challeng- Parents asked questions on topics ranging from curricu-
ing — time in lum to smaller class size to Teacher Data Reports. 
education now, Mulgrew assured the parents that the UFT will con-
UFT Director of Parent and Community Outreach Anthony Har-
when “education is tinue to fight for what’s best for children. He also thanked
mon (standing) welcomes the parent leaders to the meeting
in the forefront of those who participated in or helped to organize the bor-
and thanks them for their involvement.
the news every ough parent conferences that were held this fall and at-
arent leaders from across the city came to UFT head- day.” He added that tracted 2,000 parents citywide [see story on page 24].

P quarters on Nov. 22 to share their educational con-

cerns with UFT President Michael Mulgrew.
Members of the city’s 32 Community Education Councils,
partnerships
tween parents and
teachers are more
be- Benjamin Greene, co-president of the Chancellor’s Parent
Advisory Council, said, “We want to get this city in line with
real goals and educate the children with a vigorous curriculum
the Chancellor’s Parent Advisory Council and the four City- crucial than ever. that will prepare them for graduation, college and careers.”
wide Education Councils that advocate on behalf of high Paola de Kock, who serves on the City- He urged the par- Parents said they were thankful for the opportunity to
schools, English language learners and special education stu- wide Council for High Schools, makes ents to find common hear directly and honestly from the union leadership and
dents all had a chance to discuss their issues with each other a point. ground and work were looking forward to the next meeting.

Jewish Labor Committee Educators’ Chapter Autumn Gala New playground at PS 50, Queens

Mulgrew honored miller photography

Time for fun!
bruce cotler

A diverse crowd of educators and labor and community leaders gathered at midtown’s S. Dy-
nasty Restaurant on Nov. 18 to honor UFT President Michael Mulgrew at the annual Autumn
Gala sponsored by the Jewish Labor Committee Educators’ Chapter/UFT Jewish Heritage Com-
mittee. After opening remarks from committee co-chair Joel Shiller and JLC Executive Director
Martin Schwartz, and words from Sterling Roberson, the UFT vice president for career and tech-
nical education high schools, Mulgrew was presented with a plaque by UFT Special Represen-
tative Barbara Shiller. it recognizes Mulgrew’s “dedication to trade unionism and human
rights” and his “commitment to the preservation of the state of israel.” Noting that the money
raised at the event would be used to send teachers from all across the country on a trip to study
the Holocaust in israel, Poland and Washington, D.C., Mulgrew applauded the group’s work to
foster peace and unity and to promote the cause of labor across all racial, ethnic and other di-
vides. “in times like these, it is easy to look for things that divide us,” the union leader said.
“The real challenge for us as a nation is to focus on the things that unite us.” ABOvE: Mulgrew
shows off his award, flanked by (from left) David Kazansky and Joel Shiller, committee co-
chairs, and Barbara Shiller.
Thanks to the Trust for Public Land’s New York City Playgrounds Program, PS 50 in Jamaica,
Queens staged a ribbon-cutting ceremony and official opening of a beautiful new playground on
Nov. 18. Designed by students, staff, parents and community members, the playground includes
a running track, slides, a gazebo, outside classroom and theater. “The playground is a fantastic
addition to the surrounding community and the PS 50 students. Together we worked very hard to
transform our once nonexistent schoolyard,” said Rina Manjarrez, the school’s principal. The
recreational area will be used exclusively by PS 50 students during regular school hours, but
thereafter until dusk, and on weekends, holidays and during the summer, it will be available to
all other community residents also. The importance of a close relationship between schools and
neighborhoods was one of the points made by City Councilman Leroy Comrie, one of several
speakers at the event. Other participants included Erica Atwater’s 2nd-grade class; Florence
Daniels, a teacher of dance who per-
formed; and numerous boys and
girls whose delight was a joy to be-
hold. TOP: Students cut the ribbon to
officially open the playground. RiGHT:
On hand for the ceremony are (from
left) Chapter Leader Angela Morgan,
teacher Tonnie Robinson, Principal
Manjarrez, Councilman Comrie and
UFT District 28 Representative An-
gela Artis.

DECEMBER 16, 2010 / 37

 Teachers Network Awards
MILLER PHOTOGRAPHY

Lesson-plan authors honored

here is nothing like a great — and free — lesson plan.

T
That’s why educators will be happy to hear that a se-
lection of some of the best lesson plans designed by
New York City public school teachers is available at no
charge at http://teachersnetwork.org/TeachNet/.
All the plans on the site are award winners selected an-
nually by the 30-year-old nonprofit Teachers Network, which
supports talented educators with grants and fellowships.
This year’s lesson-plan authors were honored by the
Honorees, including Rachel Carr of PS 130, Manhattan, stand
and receive applause.
group at an awards ceremony at
McGraw-Hill in Manhattan on
Nov. 24 for creating engaging les-
son plans that raise student per-
formance.
Mary Kate Blakeman from the
Bronx’s PS 88 has twice won
awards, for her lesson plans
“Amazing Asia” and “Tourism in
South America.”
“Teachers Network is such a
great resource to get innovative
ideas and to collaborate with other
schools and professionals,” Blake-
man said. “If I find my students
struggling in one area, I can log on
and see another approach a teacher Awardees (from left) Chris Gibson of MS 80 in the Bronx, Sojourner Greer of PS 335 in
has taken.” Brooklyn and Meghan Dunn of PS 335 in Brooklyn.
Twenty-seven teachers, all UFT
members, won grants for lesson-planning this year; another for students primarily classified as emotionally disturbed.
41 were honored at the event in recognition of their selec- “It’s a really valuable community space,” she said of the
tion as Teachers Network Leadership Institute fellows who fellowship program. “I love sitting down with other teach-
will explore the link between policymaking and student ers who are working on problems in their own classrooms
learning. and their own schools and researching solutions to affect
Emily Clark of District 75’s Manhattan HS was selected change.”
as a fellow. Clark is researching how the term “effective For more on the 2011 grants and programs and how to
teacher” is defined in a self-contained special education school apply, go to www.teachersnetwork.org.

Read Aloud at PS 211, the Bronx

PAT ARNOW

Having fun raising funds

Second-graders at PS 211, the Bronx, completed a project in social responsibility while
having fun being read to as they took part in the school’s semi-annual Read Aloud, which
included a penny collection and canned food drive. All donations go to the nonprofit Com-
mon Cents Penny Harvest. BELOW: Second-grade teacher Diana Paredas (back left) and her
students join school Principal Betty Gonzalez-Soto and librarian Richard Feldman (holding
penny-collection
bags) in celebrat-
ing a successful
fundraising ef-
fort. RIGHT: Com-
mon Cents’ Philip
Panaritis reads
aloud a story
about fierce
pirates as
Chapter Leader
Theresa Massaru
looks on.

Corrections
At the Teacher Union Day celebration on
Nov. 7, the prestigious Jules Kolodny Award
was given to Ann Rosen, the union’s long-
time special representative for certification
and licensing. Rosen, the product of a union
family who joined the UFT in the midst of
the 1967 strike and who went on to teach and
serve as chapter leader at Brooklyn’s PS 169
for 18 years, has helped thousands of new
and aspiring teachers to obtain their New
York City public school teaching credentials.
Mention of Rosen receiving the award
was inadvertently ommitted in coverage of
the event in the Nov. 25 issue.
An amendment proposed by Beach Chan-
nel HS Chapter Leader David Pecoraro, to a
Delegate Assembly resolution objecting to
the mayor’s process for selecting a new chan-
cellor, called on the UFT not to support the
waiver for Cathie Black unless she commit-
ted to personally visiting all the schools
slated for closure before shutting them. The
ammendment did not muster the support of
the majority of the delegates needed for ap-
proval. Pecoraro’s amendment was reported
incorrectly in coverage of the Nov. 17 D.A.
that appeared in the Nov. 25 issue of the New
York Teacher.

38 / DECEMBER 16, 2010

Mail
Continued from page 13
Union should have fought appointment
To the Editor:
Michael Mulgrew wrote in his [Nov.
25] column, “We as a union have never
and will never sit idly by and let people try
to hijack that important work with harmful
political and ideological agendas.” Yet
when New York City teachers, parents,
and citizens contacted Dr. David Steiner to
reject Cathleen Black’s appointment, the
union sat idly by.
Had the union mustered its 80,000
members to tell the State Education De-
partment that we require a chancellor to
have the same credentials and educational
qualifications that we have, it is doubtful
that a businesswoman would now be the
chancellor. If she is like her predecessor,
she’ll blame the union for problems in the
schools, and in this case I’ll have to agree
with her.
Carla Nordstrom, retired
Sentiment right; facts wrong
To the Editor:
Re: “Chancellor should be an educa-
tor” [Mail, Nov. 25], this reader, of course,
understands the writer’s point that just as
one could not become pope without first
being a priest, for example, a person
should not become chancellor without
substantial background and experience in
public education.
However, it must be noted that one
need not be a lawyer to sit on the Supreme
4th Annual Early Childhood Conference
Getting to the Core…
Court. Indeed, there are no Constitutional
or legislative qualifications for the posi-
tion.
Carole Tain Soskin, retired
Why no governor endorsement?
To the Editor:
In an article headlined “UFT-endorsed
candidates prevail in key local, state races”
[Nov. 11], there is a sentence: “The UFT
did not make an endorsement in the gov-
ernor’s race.”
Isn’t anyone curious besides me as to
why this should be so? After all, Andrew
Cuomo ran against someone who was
backed by the Tea Party with very anti-
union ideas.
I would like an explanation.
Michael Symons, retired
CONTACTING US
Letters to the editor should be a maximum of 250
words and must include the writer’s name, school or
if the writer is retired, home address, home phone
number and e-mail address. Only the name will be
printed; on request it will be withheld. Members must
include their file number. Letters may be edited for
space and clarity.
E-MAIL or STORY IDEAS: nytletters@uft.org
FAX: 1-212-510-6431
MAIL: New York Teacher, 52 Broadway,
New York, NY 10004 Attention: Mailbox
PHOTO REQUESTS: mhunter@uft.org
UFT CALENDAR ITEMS: sandrew@uft.org
ADVERTISING: jgottlieb@uft.org
or 1-800-448-4237
ADDRESS CHANGES: membership@uft.org
Saturday, March 26, 2011
8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Karen Alford, Conference Chair, Vice President Elementary Schools
52 Broadway, New York, NY 10004 ƒ www.uft.org
Student election at UFT Elementary Charter School
A lesson in civics MILLER PHOTOGRAPHY
Elementary school students running for president?
At the UFT Elementary Charter School they are!
The K-5 school in East New York held its annual
elections — for student president, vice president,
secretary and treasurer — on Nov. 24. The elec-
tions were preceded by six weeks of campaigning
during which, school leader Michelle Bodden-
White said, the candidates gave campaign
speeches, shook hands with classmates and even
kissed the occasional baby. “The kids take it
pretty seriously,” Bodden-White said, explaining
the rigorous nomination process candidates underwent. “You couldn’t just wake up in the morning and
say I want to run for president,” she said. In addition to seeking nominations from their teachers,
would-be candidates had to prepare written statements, which was good practice for the final presenta-
tions that candidates delivered to the entire school in a town hall on election day. Every one of the
school’s 475 students is eligible to run for office, Bodden-White said, and all students vote. This year’s
winners, whom Bodden-White enthusiastically congratulated along with “everybody who participated in
the election process,” were drawn from across the grades. The new officers will meet weekly to carry
out their leadership responsibilities. Past student
governments have planned schoolwide events in-
cluding a family movie night, attended by more
than 100 people, and an ice cream day; they
have also raised funds for causes like disaster re-
lief in Haiti. About the process, she said, “We
want our students to understand the importance
of having a voice and participating and voting the
same as UFT members do in the union and citi-
zens do in a democracy.” ABovE: Third-grade
teacher Eileen Campos instructs her students on
how to fill out their ballots. lEFT: Bodden-White
(background) watches as students cast their
votes.
Michael Mulgrew, President
DECEMBER 16, 2010 / 39
Full-court press to halt teacher data release
said UFT Special Representative Jackie Bennett. “We found
UFT to judge: Releasing misleading reports social studies teachers getting math reports and math teach-
ers getting English reports.”
would violate DOE promise, members’ privacy Bennett noted that the reports attach students to teachers
for a school year. “The reality on the ground is often much
more complex,” she said. “The reports don’t capture that
By MAISIE McADOO The UFT won a temporary reprieve in October to give complexity.”
both sides more time to submit written arguments to the Bennett gave several examples. Good instructional deci-
he UFT was in court on Dec. 8 in an all-out effort to court [see “DOE backs off release of Teacher Data Reports sions may require Academic Intervention Services teachers

T block the release of 12,000 Teacher Data Reports that

city media organizations are seeking under the Freedom
of Information Law.
Before a Manhattan state judge, UFT lawyers argued that
the reports are flawed and misleading, and that their release
would violate the written promises of Department of Educa-
tion officials as well as the privacy rights of teachers.
“The issue is can we allow ourselves to put out informa-
tion we know is wrong and we know will cause harm?” the
UFT’s lawyer Charles Moerdler summarized for the court.
“It’s ethically wrong.”
Justice Cynthia Kern could decide the case any time
within the next few weeks. Either side is likely to appeal her
decision.
Five New York City news organizations asked the DOE
in October to turn over the test-based data reports, with
teachers’ names attached. The Freedom of Information Law
allows citizens and the press to demand documents from
government agencies, but excludes intra-agency material un-
less it is purely factual or statistical, and excludes informa-
tion that, if released, would be an “unwarranted” invasion of
personal privacy.
The UFT sued to block the turnover, based on gross in-
accuracies in the data, teachers’ privacy rights and the fact
that the reports are experimental and internal. Lawyers for
the DOE and the media claimed that the reports are “factual”
and that the law gives the DOE no choice but to hand over
the information.
in face of UFT lawsuit” NewYork Teacher, Oct. 28].
The Department of Education has continued to put a po-
tential release of the data reports front and center, with
Schools Chancellor-designate Cathleen Black publicly ad-
vocating for the release.
Irreparable harm and inaccurate data
The UFT presented a tight case and hundreds of pages of
supporting documents to show that the data reports can
falsely and irrevocably tarnish teachers’ professional repu-
tations. The reports cannot identify effective and ineffective
teachers, the union’s attorneys said, citing the affidavits of
statistics professors, and it amounts to “false advertising” to
make such a claim. The problem is compounded by the high
number of outright errors in the reports.
Teachers have besieged the union with troubling accounts
of inaccuracies in their data reports. In some cases, the num-
ber of students they are being evaluated on does not reflect
the number of students they actually taught; in a few cases
where the teachers actually saw the student lists on which
the reports were based, the teachers found that they had been
assigned students they had never taught or were not given
credit for other students in their classes. In yet other cases,
the teachers were evaluated on subjects they didn’t teach or
given sole credit for classes that they co-taught.
“We found teachers who discovered their names were at-
tached to four different reports as co-teachers with different
teachers — and yet they had never taught with a single one,”
to pull out students from the same class with differing fre-
quency. Schools may regroup students in a grade over the
course of the year as they progress in reading, so students
may rotate among several teachers, she noted. Or, she said,
some schools bring in an additional teacher for math, so they
can work in smaller units for that one period.
“How can these students be assigned to a single teacher?”
Bennett asked.
Teachers not alone
On the same day as the court hearing, a parent group pre-
sented the Department of Education with 5,000 signed letters
from parents across the city, demanding that the data not be
released.
Principals have also called the UFT saying they are find-
ing multiple errors in reports and are concerned about the
potential damage they could do, Bennett said.
Expert testimony submitted by the UFT showed that re-
searchers consider the reports’ method of assessing teachers’
“value added” to be variable, unreliable and subject to ex-
tremely wide statistical margins of error.
The union’s lawyers argued that under the Freedom of
Information Law, the Department of Education had a choice
about whether to comply with the media’s request. Given
that choice, they argued, the agreement that the DOE made
with the UFT when the pilot project started mandated that
the DOE exercise its discretion to withhold the teachers’
names when releasing the reports.

NEW YORK TEACHER/City Edition Supporting the DREAM Act

VOLUME LII, NUMBER 7, DECEMBER 16, 2010 MILLER PHOTOGRAPHY

INDEX
36 Classified Ads 18 News Briefs
12 Editorials 13 President’s Column
21 Grants, Awards and 34 RTC News
Freebies 20 Secure Your Future
15 Insight 46 The Newer Teacher
40 Just for Fun 42 UFT Calendar
17 Know Your Benefits 20 Variable Annuity
16 Know Your Rights 14 VPerspective
13 Mail
UNITED FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
OFFICERS
PRESIDENT: Michael Mulgrew; SECRETARY: Michael Mendel;
ASSISTANT SECRETARY: Robert Astrowsky; TREASURER: Mel Aaronson;
ASSISTANT TREASURER: Mona Romain; VICE PRESIDENTS: Karen Alford,
Carmen Alvarez, Leo Casey, Richard Farkas, Aminda Gentile, Sterling Roberson.

NEW YORK TEACHER CITY EDITION

EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Deidre McFadyen; EDITOR: Joe LoVerde;
CONSULTING EDITOR: Ron Davis;
SENIOR EDITOR/ REPORTER: Cara Metz; STAFF REPORTERS: Dorothy Callaci,
Michael Hirsch, Ron Isaac, Micah Landau, Anne Millman, Ellie Spielberg;
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: Shermaine Andrew; ART & PRODUCTION: Douglas Rosensweig;
ART & PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: Ernst Raymond;
PHOTO COORDINATOR: Michelle Hunter; ADVERTISING SALES: Jacqueline Gottlieb.
E-mail: Letters to the Editor: NYTletters@uft.org
Other correspondence: NYTmail@uft.org Phone: 1-212-598-7750

The New York Teacher accepts paid advertising. The appearance of any advertisement does
not imply any endorsement by or connection whatsoever with the United Federation of
Teachers.
New York Teacher/City Edition (ISSN 1074-0503) is an official publication of the United UFT President Michael Mulgrew was among those speaking out in favor of the DREAM Act, legislation to give undocumented high
Federation of Teachers. Published bi-weekly September, October, November, February, March,
April, May and June. Monthly in December and January by the United Federation of Teachers, school grads in college or the military a path to citizenship, at a Nov. 30 press conference. The legislation was approved by the House
52 Broadway, New York, New York 10004. Annual subscription $15 (subscription cost is
included in UFT members’ dues).
of Representatives on Dec. 8, but at press time was expected to be defeated in the U.S. Senate. For our views on the matter, see the
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: UFT Membership Department, 52 Broadway, editorial on page 12. ABOVE: Mulgrew (right) at the press conference with S.J. Jung, president of the MinKwon Center for Community
11th floor, New York, N.Y. 10004. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT NEW YORK, N.Y. AND Action in Flushing.
AT ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES.

4 / DECEMBER 16, 2010

just for fun
NOTE $1 SERVICE FEE: Tickets for stage performances, sport-
ing events or any event of a commercial nature require a service
fee of $1 per event (not per ticket). Tickets are mailed two weeks
prior to the date of an event. For undated passes and discounts,
allow three weeks for processing. No cancellations or refunds.
TRIPS: For questions regarding trips, call Chris Santoro at
1-212-598-6861 or Rovenia McGowan, chair of the Social and
Recreational Committee, at 1-212-598-7778. Rates are based
on participation of at least 35 people. For overnight trips, in-
clude name of roommate.
“Goldilocks and the Three Bears”: Goldilocks leads the audi-
ence on a hilarious adventure into the woods. Saturday, Jan. 29, 11
a.m., at Queens Theatre in the Park. Tickets are $10.
“Seussical”: Dr. Seuss’s beloved stories collide in this unforget-
UT
SOLD O
table musical adaptation of the original Broadway production. Sunday,
Jan. 30, 2 p.m., Brooklyn Center at Brooklyn College. Tickets are $6.
QVC shopping: Spend Saturday, Feb. 12, at the QVC Studio in
Westchester, Pa. Cost of $99 includes a guided tour of the studio, a
visit to the stores, lunch at Simon Pearce Restaurant overlooking the
water, round-trip transportation and tip for the driver. Bus departs from
UFT headquarters at 8:30 a.m. and returns at 7 p.m. Bus departs from
97-77 Queens Blvd. at 8 a.m. and returns at 7:30 p.m.
“Madeline and the Bad Hat”: This original musical is based on
the much-loved heroine in the famous series of books by Ludwig Be-
melmans. Madeline, a happy-go-lucky Parisian girl with a mischievous
spirit, starts off on the wrong foot with Pepito, a nasty boy who be-
comes her neighbor. When Pepito finds himself in real danger, Made-
line embarks on an exciting adventure to save him and learns that first
impressions can be misleading. Sunday, Feb. 13, 1 p.m., at Queens
Theatre in the Park. Tickets are $10.
American Big Band: Take the A Train back to the days when
Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman lit up the airwaves and Duke Ellington
raised the roof at the Cotton Club in this swingin’ big band revue. Fea-
turing such memorable favorites as “String of Pearls,” “Caravan,”
“Green Eyes” and many more, this show will get you in the mood as it
spotlights how the “sound of hope” altered the course of American
music forever. Sunday, Feb. 20, 2 p.m., Brooklyn Center at Brooklyn
College. Orchestra seats are $22.
Philadelphia Flower Show: If you’re a flower buff, mark Satur-
Discount movie tickets
Tickets are $7.50 for United Artists/Regal, $7 for AMC/Loew’s/Cine-
plex and $7.50 for Clearview, and are not accepted the first 10 days of
a release. [In Manhattan, add $1 at the box office for Clearview, $2.50
for United Artists.] Write one check only for entire order, payable to
UFT/Movie Tickets. Bring exact change or money order if paying in
cash at Recreational Activities Dept., 52 Broadway, 11th Fl., Manhat-
tan. No refunds or exchanges. See back of ticket for details.
Discount movie ticket order form
NAME ________________________________________________________________
HOME ADDRESS __________________________________ APT __________________
CITY ________________________________ STATE ______ ZIP __________________
HOME PHONE (WITH AREA CODE) __________________________________________
E-MAIL ADDRESS _______________________________________________________
SCHOOL ______________________________________________________________
DISTRICT ____________________________ BOROUGH ________________________
SCHOOL PHONE (WITH AREA CODE) ________________________________________
SS# ________________________________ FILE# ____________________________
UNITED ARTISTS/REGAL:
HOW MANY: ____ @ $7.50 EA. TOTAL COST: $__________________
AMC/LOEW’S/CINEPLEX:
HOW MANY: ______ @ $7 EA. TOTAL COST: $__________________
CLEARVIEW CINEMAS:
HOW MANY: ____ @ $7.50 EA. TOTAL COST: $__________________
CHECK TOTAL: $__________________
Mail to: UFT/Movie Tix, 52 Broadway, New York, NY 10004.
Note: Orders for 15 or more tickets are sent by certified mail.
All orders of $100 or more require money orders only.
40 / DECEMBER 16, 2010
UFT Defensive Driving Course
A driving course that can save you
$35* Just-for-fun registration
Fill out entire coupon, marking all events you wish to attend. En-
money and maybe your life!
close a separate check, payable as indicated, for each event.
For credit you must attend one full-day course or both parts of a
two-session course, in sequence (if you miss the first class you [NOTE $1 SERVICE FEE: Tickets for stage performances, sporting
cannot take the second). Limit: 40 students. Currently being of- events or any event of a commercial nature require a service fee
fered at these borough offices:
*Members who have their auto insurance policies with MetLife of $1 per event — not per ticket.] Send to: UFT Recreational Ac-
through NYSUT are entitled to a $30 refund if they take a NYSUT- tivities Dept., 52 Broadway, New York, NY 10004, Attn: Vinicio
sponsored course; if the insurance is through an outside agency,
the refund offer does not apply. Also, family members will only be Donato. Please write event name(s) on outside of envelope. Tick-
reimbursed if they are NYSUT members. Refunds will be received ets for all events are limited in number and are on a first-come-
approximately six weeks after course completion.
first-served basis.
BRONX: One session, 8:30 a.m.-3:45 p.m.: Jan. 8; Feb. 12; Mar. 12;
Apr. 9; May 14; June 11. BROOKLYN: Two sessions, 4-7:15 p.m.:
Feb. 8 & 9; Apr. 27 & 28; June 7 & 8. MANHATTAN: One session, NAME ________________________________________________________________
8:30 a.m.-3:45 p.m.: Jan. 9; Feb. 19; Mar. 5; Apr. 10; May 15; June
11; July 6; Aug. 3. QUEENS: Two sessions, 4:15 -7:30 p.m.: Jan. 4 &
6; Mar. 1 & 3; Apr. 5 & 7; May 3 & 5; June 14 & 16. STATEN IS- HOME ADDRESS ________________________________ APT __________________
LAND: Jan. 11 & 13, 4 -7:15 p.m.; Mar. 19, 8:30 a.m. -3:45 p.m.;
Apr. 2, 8:30 a.m. -3:45 p.m.; June 18, 8:30 a.m. -3:45 p.m. Cost:
CITY ______________________________STATE ______ ZIP __________________
$35 per person. Checks must be received one month prior to first
preference and must be made payable to UFT/Safe Driving. Write
“Safe Driving” on envelope. Mail to: Vinicio Donato, UFT, 52 Broad- HOME PHONE (WITH AREA CODE) ______________________________________
way, New York, NY 10004, 11th floor. Payments are accepted in ad-
vance at UFT headquarters; bring exact change or money order.
Confirmation: A letter will be sent to you indicating admittance or E-MAIL ADDRESS ______________________________________________________
denial based on state class-size regulations. If you do not receive a
letter in two weeks, call 1-212-598-6861. Refunds: If you cannot at-
SCHOOL________________________________________________________________
tend, please submit a written request with a copy of your canceled
check (front and back). Allow four weeks to receive refund. Refunds
can only be given during the current school year that original re-
quest was submitted. Credit: You may take a course only once every
DISTRICT __________________________ BOROUGH ________________________
three years for insurance reduction benefits, and once every 18
months for point reduction. For active members only. SCHOOL PHONE (WITH AREA CODE) __________________________________
UFT Defensive Driving Course registration SS# ________________________________ FILE# ____________________________
PRINT CLEARLY: MEMBER’S NAME ________________________________________
EVENT COST PER PERSON HOW MANY TOTAL COST PAYABLE TO
HOME ADDRESS ________________________________________________________
Goldilocks 1/29 $10 ______ ______ UFT/ Goldilocks
CITY ________________________________ STATE __________ ZIP______________
QVC 2/12 $99 ______ ______ UFT/ QVC
HOME PHONE_________________________ SCHOOL PHONE ____________________
E-MAIL ADDRESS _______________________________________________________ Madeline 2/13 $10 ______ ______ UFT/ Madeline
SCHOOL DISTRICT _____________________ BOROUGH_________________________ Big Band 2/20 $22 ______ ______ UFT/ Big Band
SOCIAL SECURITY # ___________________________________ FILE # ___________
UFT Flower Show 3/12 $71 ______ ______ UFT/ Flower Show
Please register the following person(s):
Ladysmith 3/19 $30 ______ ______ UFT/ Ladysmith
_____________________________________________________________________
Lancaster 3/19 Single $252 ______ ______ UFT/ Lancaster
# OF REGISTRANTS @ $35 PER PERSON ________________________
SELECT FIRST CHOICE: DATE ______________ BOROUGH____________ Double $199 ______ ______ UFT/ Lancaster
SESSION SECOND CHOICE: DATE ______________ BOROUGH____________ Triple $188 ______ ______ UFT/ Lancaster
day, March 12, on your calendar to remind you about the country’s Betty Buckley 4/9 $36 ______ ______ UFT/ Betty Buckley
biggest and best-known indoor exposition. The theme is “Paris, City of
Light,” inspired by the French Impressionists and evoking the romance Charlotte’s Web 4/16 $10 ______ ______ UFT/ Charlotte’s
of springtime in Paris. This year’s floral fantasies will be based on the
work of Renoir, Monet and Van Gogh. Exhibits include: a marketplace
of garden gadgets and goodies; the International Wine and Spirits Gar- Christine Ebersole 4/16 $28 ______ ______ UFT/ Christine
den; and free expert gardening advice from the Philadelphia Horticul-
tural Society. Cost of $71 includes transportation, admission and tips. Neil Berg 5/1 $32 ______ ______ UFT/ Neil Berg
Add $1 service charge per order. Bus departs from UFT headquarters at
8:30 a.m. and returns at 7 p.m. Bus departs from 97-77 Queens Blvd.
at 8 a.m. and returns at 7:30 p.m. Beauty & the Beast 5/22 $6 ______ ______ UFT/ Beauty
Ladysmith Black Mambazo: Almost 25 years after they ac-
quired international superstar status with Paul Simon’s “Graceland” Rockvale Outlet where you will be given a coupon booklet. Lunch on
album, Ladysmith Black Mambazo continues to tour the world as South your own. Double occupancy, $199; single, $252; and triple, $188. Bus
Africa’s cultural emissary. With a career including more than 50 record- departs from UFT headquarters at 8:30 a.m. and returns the following
ings and three Grammy Awards, including 2009’s Best Traditional day at 7:30 p.m. Bus departs from 97-77 Queens Blvd. at 8 a.m. and re-
World Music Album, the group continues to thrill audiences with its turns the following day at 8 p.m.
rich a cappella arrangements and joyously energetic performances. Sat-
urday, March 19, 8 p.m., Brooklyn Center at Brooklyn College. Orches- Betty Buckley Gala: In “Broadway by Request,” Tony Award win-
tra seats are $30. ner Betty Buckley performs selections picked by the audience from her
illustrious Broadway career in landmark musicals. Saturday, April 9, 8
Lancaster, Pa., trip: Spend the afternoon at a Quilter’s Show in p.m., Brooklyn Center at Brooklyn College. Tickets are $36.
Lancaster, March 19–20. Trip includes admission to the Quilter’s
Show, hotel accommodations at the Country Inn, dinner and breakfast, “Charlotte’s Web”: TheatreworksUSA’s entrancing production of
E.B. White’s timeless tale of the friendship between a pig named Wilbur
guided tour, tips and gratuities. Visit Jake’s Trading Post and shop at
and a little gray spider named Charlotte. Saturday, April 16, 11 a.m., at Queens Theatre in the Park.
Tickets are $10.
Christine Ebersole and Billy Stritch in Concert: Mixing Broadway standards, American
Songbook classics and selections from their latest CD, “Sunday in New York,” Christine Ebersole and
pianist Billy Stritch are a musical match made in heaven! Saturday, April 16, 8 p.m., at Queens Theatre
in the Park. Tickets are $28.
Neil Berg’s Broadway Showstoppers: Join Neil and a galaxy of Broadway’s brightest stars
performing sensational songs from the greatest musicals ever written. Sunday, May 1, 3 p.m., at
Queens Theatre in the Park. Tickets are $32.
“Beauty & The Beast”: Imprisoned by a monstrous Beast, a young girl learns that outward ap-
pearances can be deceiving and with a magical kiss, frees the Beast from his curse. Sunday, May 22, 2
p.m., Brooklyn Center at
Brooklyn College. Tickets are
$6.
Car rental discounts:
Looking for a deal? Enter-
prise Rent-A-Car has dis-
counts on its rental
vehicles to UFT members.
The deal includes a free
pickup and dropoff. Call 1-
800-RENT-A-CAR [736-
8222] for the nearest
Enterprise location. Re-
member to use the union’s
corporate class ID#
FFC0049. Discounts are
also available through Avis
at 1-800-831-8000, using
ID# S958000.
Theme park dis-
counts: The UFT no
longer offers discount
cards to theme parks (Sea
World, Busch Gardens,
Sesame Place, etc.), but
as a union member you
can still obtain discounts
from NYSUT by calling 1-
800-626-8101; or from the
AFT by visiting its website,
www.aft.org, and clicking
on AFT Plus Member
Benefits.
Protest at Leon M. Goldstein HS
Decry budget cuts MILLER PHOTOGRAPHY
Still suffering from last year’s
school budget cuts and with the
mayor threatening more to come,
UFT members at high-achieving
Leon M. Goldstein HS for the Sci-
ences in Manhattan Beach, Brook-
lyn, rallied and leafleted faculty,
staff, students and members of the
community on Nov. 17 with the
message “No Budget Cuts — Save
Our Schools.” The action, organ-
ized by the chapter along with the
Parents Association, singled out such existing budget-derived problems as cut sections of advanced-
placement math and science, elimination of the only AP Spanish class and scaling back the four-year
math and science offerings to three years, making it impossible for most seniors to take advanced
math or science. “For one senior, this created a disaster,” said Chapter Leader Kit Wainer. “While
he qualified for an NCAA scholarship, the association requires four years of math for a recipient to be
eligible, but the school couldn’t offer it.” In addition, Wainer said, all after-school activities were
curtailed, along with tutoring, credit-recovery classes and the annual musical. The yearbook was
published only through funding from the Parents
Association. The chapter is taking follow-up ac-
tions, including sponsoring a legislative break-
fast, organizing a petition drive and reaching out
to other area schools, while the Parents Associ-
ation officers are reaching out to parent leaders
in other schools to plot strategy. ABOve: Student
Bridget Grogan (center, in black) joins UFT Dele-
gate Denise Ortiz and Chapter Leader Kit Wainer
at the entrance to Kingsborough Community Col-
lege, which shares its campus with the high
school. rIGHT: Social studies teacher Colleen
Adrion spreads the word to drivers.
DECEMBER 16, 2010 / 41
uft calendar
A LISTING OF EVENTS SPONSORED
BY UFT-AFFILIATED GROUPS
Where we are:
UFT HEADQUARTERS: 52 Broadway, Manhattan
BOROUGH OFFICES:
BRONX: 2500 Halsey St.
BROOKLYN: 335 Adams St., 25th Fl.
MANHATTAN: 52 Broadway, 10th Fl.
QUEENS: 97-77 Queens Blvd.
STATEN ISLAND: 4456 Amboy Road.
ATSS: Monday, Jan. 10, 6 p.m., at UFT headquarters. ATSS/UFT Center
for the Study and Practice of Social Studies will discuss “What should
social studies instruction look and feel like for 21st century learners?”
Friday, Jan. 7, 4:30 p.m., executive board meeting at UFT headquarters.
The 51st annual Greater Metropolitan New York Social Studies Confer-
ence will be held on Saturday, Feb. 5, 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., at UFT head-
quarters. There will be exhibits, workshops, speakers, student displays,
breakfast, lunch and awards. For more information, visit the website at
http://uft.org/committees/association-teachers-social-studiesuft or call 1-
212-510-6389.
ELAC: A “Critical Thinking: Focused Student Writing” workshop will
be held on Wednesday, Feb. 16, 4:30–6:30 p.m., at UFT headquarters.
Includes presentations by Antoinette Emanuel, “Synthesizing Informa-
tion from Multiple Tests” (grades 4–8); Carole Friedman, “Critical Read-
ing: Separating Fact from Fiction” (grades 6–8); and Victor Gluck,
“Outlining: Sticking to the Topic” (grades 9–12). Refreshments and
handouts. No registration required.
Elementary Schools Meeting: Disciplinary action will be dis-
cussed at the next meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 11, 4–6 p.m., at UFT
headquarters. Topics include Summons; 3020a; Letter in File; OSI; and
Counseling Memos. All elementary teachers are welcome to attend.
RSVP to Cheryl Wickham at cwickham@uft.org or 1-212-598-9272.
Tuesday, Feb. 15, 4–6 p.m. at UFT headquarters. Topic: Safety. Learn
about Student Removal and SAVE Room; Injury in the Line of Duty; and
OORS reports.
Gay and Lesbian Teachers: Wednesday, Jan. 5, 6–8 p.m., at the
LGBT Center, 208 West 13th St., Manhattan. Contact: lgta@aol.com; 1-
212-933-4544 or 1-646-660-3303.
Humane Education P-Course: The UFT Humane Education
Committee and Humane Education Advocates Reaching Teachers will
offer a 36-hour After School Professional Development P-course for
UFT professional
committees want you!
Interested in
learning more?
Visit www.uft.org
and go to Union Committees
under Get Involved
African Heritage • Albanian-American Heritage • Art Teachers •
Asian-American Heritage • Capably Disabled • Coaches PSAL •
Computer • Dance Teachers • English Language Arts Council •
ESL/Bilingual • Science Educators •
Foreign Language Teachers • Green Schools •
Health Occupation • Hellenic-American Heritage •
Hispanic Affairs • Humane Education • Irish-American Heritage •
Italian American Heritage • Library Teachers • Math Teachers •
Media • Music Teachers • Outdoor Environmental Education •
Per Diem • Players • Runners • Science • Social, Recreational
and Cultural • Social Studies Teachers • Veterans •
Women’s Rights ... and more!
42 / DECEMBER 16, 2010
EVENTS REGISTRATION PART 1
RETURN TO: Address listed on Part 2 coupon. This coupon is designed so
that you can register for any course, conference, seminar, workshop or trip in
the UFT Calendar by following these steps:
1. Complete PART 1 below. Please print clearly.
2. Complete PART 2 only for the event you wish to attend.
3. Clip both parts of the two-part coupon; include separate check for any fees.
4. Write name of event for which you are registering on outside of envelope.
5. Mail to address listed on Part 2 coupon.
6. Repeat steps 1–5 for each event you wish to attend. Mail each separately.
7. Refer questions about an event to person or group in charge of that event.
Name _____________________________________________________
Home Address______________________________________________
City _________________________State__________Zip ____________
Home Phone (with Area Code) _________________________________
E-mail address _____________________________________________
School ____________________________________________________
District ______________________Borough ______________________
School Phone (with Area Code) ________________________________
File # _____________________________________________________
Social Security # _____________ ______________________________
K–5 teachers on six Saturdays in the Spring 2011 semester. Participa-
tion in the course qualifies toward a salary differential. Learn to en-
hance student science and literacy skills while increasing knowledge of
humane topics including Jane Goodall and chimpanzees, companion
animals, wildlife, farmed animals, humane literature, environmental is-
sues and human rights. This professional course will have the quality
and rigor of a graduate level course. Fee is $125. Registration informa-
tion will be available at http://schools.nyc.gov/Teachers/aspdp on Tues-
day, Jan. 11. For additional information call Sheila at 1-212-410-3095
or Susan at 1-305-338-6114.
Lab Specialists Chapter Meeting: The next monthly meeting
will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 4–5:30 p.m., at 50 Broadway,
2nd Floor, Room C, Manhattan.
NYCATA: The deadline for the Annual Ecofest is Feb. 25. Mail or deliver
entries to: Ecofest/NYCATA/UFT, 52 Broadway, 12th floor, New York, NY
10004. Work can also be hand-delivered up until March 1 to the same ad-
dress. Student drawings will be judged in three categories: K–2, 3–5 and
6–7. For more information, call the Westside Cultural Center at 1-212-496-
2030 or e-mail info@ecofest.com. The winning design will be made into a
full-color poster advertising the annual Ecofest Celebration to be held next
September at Lincoln Center Plaza.
Paraprofessionals Representative Meeting: Wednesday,
Dec. 22, 4:30–6 p.m., at UFT headquarters. Thursday, Jan. 27, 4:30–6
p.m., at UFT headquarters.
Sabbatical workshops: Bronx UFT office, Tuesday, Feb. 1, or Tues-
day, Feb. 8, 4:30–6 p.m. Choose one date. Manhattan: Tuesday, Jan.
25, 4–6 p.m., at the Manhattan UFT office. RSVP to 1-212-598-6870.
Queens: Tuesdays, Feb. 1 or Feb. 8, 4–6 p.m., at the Queens UFT office.
Choose one date to attend. RSVP to 1-718-275-4400.
Science: “The Myth of the ‘War of the Currents’ (AC v DC)” will take
place on Friday, Dec. 17, at 7:15 p.m. at New York University, Silver
Center Room 207, 32 Waverly Place, Manhattan. Joseph J. Cunning-
ham, adjunct professor at TCI College of Technology, will lead a discus-
sion about the origin of the electrical age. “The World in InfraRed:
Quantum Cascade Lasers and Applications” will be discussed on Fri-
NYC Music Teachers: Integrate Technology into your Music
Classroom, Saturday, Jan. 8, 9 a.m.–1 p.m., at UFT headquarters.
This session will focus on ways to effectively integrate music tech-
nology into your music curriculum by exploring new software ti-
tles, hardware, websites and curricular resources across grades
K–12. Workshop is $10 with advance registration; $15 at the door.
Breakfast will be served at 8:30 a.m. Four hours of professional
development credit available. Make checks payable to NYC Music
Teachers Assn/UFT and mail to George Altomare, Professional
Committees, 52 Broadway, New York, NY 10004. Clip this coupon
and attach to Events Registration Part 1.
Compiled by SHERMAINE ANDREW
sandrew@uft.org
Violence Prevention Workshops: All teachers apply-
ing for NYS certification must take this state-mandated course.
School staffers can use techniques and practical approaches to
avoid and defuse violent situations in school. This workshop
gives participants an understanding of the dynamics of as-
saultive, aggressive behavior and tools to avoid becoming vic-
timized in school. Enclose a $25 check or money order
(nonmembers send $50 money orders only) made payable to
UFT and mail to: Violence Prevention Program, UFT Brooklyn
Office, 335 Adams St., 25th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201, Attn:
Gail Kramer. Clip this coupon and attach to Events Registra-
tion Part I. You will receive a confirmation letter.
■ Violence prevention workshop PART 2
Enclose $25 payable to UFT ($50 for nonmembers). Indicate
your 1st, 2nd & 3rd choice
Bronx: ■ Jan. 27 ■ Mar. 8 ■ April 14 ■ May 24
■ June 16
Brooklyn: ■ Jan. 13 ■ Mar. 15 ■ April 12 ■ May 12
■ June 14
Manhattan: ■ Dec. 16 ■ Jan. 26 ■ Mar. 1 ■ April 14
■ May 16 ■ June 21
Queens: ■ Dec. 9 ■ Jan. 25 ■ Mar. 23 ■ April 12
■ May 26 ■ June 21
Staten Island: ■ Dec. 16 ■ Jan. 18 ■ Mar. 10 ■ April 11
■ May 24 ■ June 22
day, Jan. 21, 7:15 p.m., at NYU Silver Center Room 207, 32 Waverly
Place, Manhattan. Two-hour certificate of attendance available. The next
meeting will be held on Friday, Feb. 11, 7:15 p.m., at NYU Silver Center
Room 207, 32 Waverly Place, Manhattan. “Free Web 2.0 Tools for the
Classroom” will be discussed. In case of unexpected severe weather,
call John Roeder at 1-212-497-6500 between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. to ver-
ify that the meeting is still on.
UFT Players: Thursday, Jan. 13, 4 p.m., board meeting at UFT head-
quarters. Friday, Feb. 11, 4 p.m., board meeting at UFT headquarters.
ESL/Bilingual: Tuesday, Jan. 11, 4:30 p.m., at UFT headquar-
ters. Topic: “Helping ELL Students to Succeed.” If you’re looking
for ways to help your English language learners, this is the work-
shop for you! Learn about specialized ELL resources and help
your students succeed. Learn about resources that are free for ed-
ucators and parents. Registration/materials fee is $10. Make
checks payable to UFT ESL/Bilingual Committee and mail to
George Altomare, Professional Committees, 52 Broadway, New
York, NY 10004. Clip this coupon and attach to Events Registra-
tion Part 1.
Humane Education: Saturday, Jan. 29, 9:45 a.m.–1 p.m., at
UFT headquarters. Topic: “Healthy Foods for a Healthy Life —
Cool Food in School and at Home” for teachers of grades pre-
K–12. Join the committee for a presentation by healthy food ex-
perts including Joel Fuhrman, M.D.; Victoria Moran, author; Mia
MacDonald, founder of Brighter Green; and the New York Coalition
for Healthy School Food. They will discuss plant-based nutrition
and its ability to prevent and reverse the most common diet-re-
lated diseases in children and adults and the involvement of the
New York City Department of Education Division of School Food.
Breakfast will be served. Fee, $10. Make checks payable to
UFT/HEC and mail to George Altomare, Professional Committees,
52 Broadway, New York, NY 10004. Clip this coupon and attach
to Events Registration Part 1.
NYCATA: Tuesday, Feb. 8, 4:30 p.m., at UFT headquarters, licens-
ing and certification workshop with guest speaker Peter Mason, UFT
Certification Services. RSVP by Feb. 2 to George Altomare, UFT Pro-
fessional Committees, 52 Broadway, New York, NY 10004. The Plan-
ning/Dinner for Artworks 2011 will follow at 6:15 p.m. Clip this
coupon and attach to Events Registration Part 1.
 UFT unveils healthy schools initiative
MILLER PHOTOGRAPHY

Dressed as fruits, vegetables and goodies, UFTers from

the Bronx office deliver the message about the
importance of healthy eating.

Bronx Borough Representative Jose Vargas introduces the

performers and welcomes everyone to the event.

By MICAH LANDAU Classroom, a program of the Food Bank For

New York City. Educators have already at-
ruit salad, yummy yummy,” sang the tended workshops during which they cooked

“F kindergarten class of Bronx Repre-

sentative Jose Vargas to dozens of ed-
ucators gathered at the borough office on Dec.
2 for the unveiling of the UFT’s new Healthy
Schools, Healthy Communities initiative.
Vargas’ kindergarteners — really his bor-
ough staff — had dressed for the occasion as
life-size representations of their favorite fruits,
vegetables and candies to put on a laugh-out-
loud presentation on the importance of healthy
eating, one theme of the new initiative.
Through the Healthy Schools, Healthy
Communities initiative, educators from 13
Bronx schools will learn how to incorporate
nutrition and physical activities into their les-
sons. The initiative is a partnership between
the UFT, the New York City Department of
Health and Mental Hygiene, the Bronx Bor-
ough President’s Office, the NAACP Parkch-
ester Branch, the Food Bank For New York
City and the Strategic Alliance for Health.
The goal of the project is to get educators,
students and parents involved in school-
based wellness programs in order to create a
healthy environment for the entire school
community, said Lisa Lau, a UFT safety and
health associate.
Sheronda Perrino, a paraprofessional at CS
66, said she hopes that more exercise and bet-
ter nutrition will help her students concentrate
and get them into better physical condition.
“A lot of students are tired,” she said.
“They eat too much sugar.”
At least five early-grade classes in each
school will participate in Cookshop for
as well as learned about nutrition, and are
now prepared to introduce an 18-week cur-
riculum in which every third class they will
Training coordinator
Helen Primrose engages
everyone in a Fitness
cook with students. Break exercise.
Parents in the 13 schools will participate in
Cookshop for Families, a six-week Food Bank
program that will teach parents how to cook
healthier meals.
First-grade teacher Jane Drexel, from CS
61, said she is participating because of the
relationship between nutrition and learning.
“We want to make sure that our children
have the best opportunities,” Drexel said. “If
you start with them when they are young, it
can have a lasting impact.”
CS 61 2nd-grade teacher Marcelline
Jackson noted that eating healthier is expen-
sive. “People will buy what they can afford,”
she said. “If we can show them through
Cookshop that it doesn’t have to be that way,
maybe they’ll do it.”
At least six kindergarten through 3rd-
grade classes in each school will also partici-
pate in the Move to Improve program (jointly
sponsored by the DOE and the Department of
Health), which trains teachers to implement
10-minute physical activity breaks with their
students and to integrate them into all areas of
classroom academics three times a day.
The project is supported by a $25,000
grant recently awarded to the UFT by Bronx
Health REACH. Each of the 13 schools that
successfully implements the school-based
wellness programs will receive $500 to
spend on new gym equipment.

other activities
Walking tour: Happy Chinese New Year! On Saturday, Jan. 29, Adventure on a Shoestring has scheduled
two successive walking tours of Manhattan’s Chinatown prior to the beginning of its celebration of the Chi-
nese Lunar New Year 4709, the Year of the Rabbit. Each tour will include stops to sample Chinese dumplings,
pastry and ice cream, as well as to view a Buddhist temple and the Edward Mooney House (built in 1785). Fee
is $10 per person plus the cost of food. The tours will meet at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively, at the north-
west corner of Canal and Baxter Streets in lower Manhattan. For more information, call 1-212-265-2663.

DECEMBER 16, 2010 / 43

 Blackboard Awards honor 23 city schools UFT Players

Recognized for excellence Original one-act plays performed

bruce cotler cara metz
Twenty-three public schools were Celebrating its 14th
among the honorees at the annual season as a troupe
Blackboard Awards for Excellence in and its fifth year
Education, what the evening’s organ- performing original
izers called a celebration of “the suc- one-act plays, the
cess stories that can be found across UFT Players per-
the spectrum of New York City formed “Connec-
schools.” At the Nov. 1 event at tions: An Evening of
Fordham University Law School, UFT Staged Readings”
vice President for Elementary on Nov. 18 and 19
Schools Karen Alford was on hand to at union headquar-
make presentations in the “Rising ters. A packed dou-
Middle Schools” category to two ble room at 50
schools: the Center School on Manhattan’s Upper West Side and the New voices School of Ac- Broadway heard
ademic and Creative Arts in Brooklyn’s South Park Slope. Alford praised the Center School for material from six
its guiding philosophy “that how a child learns is as important as what a child learns.” She original scripts by
noted that actively involving children in their education combined with a challenging academic UFT members and
program are together a recipe for success. She recognized the New voices School for its retirees. Among
“deep commitment to the arts and its strides to provide quality, academically rigorous, devel- the evening’s per-
opmentally appropriate, standards-based instruction.” She credited its active involvement by formances was “Rhineland Bastard” written by former Washington Irving HS theater teacher
parents, community partnerships and “an ongoing, teacher-driven professional development Milton Polsky and directed by Elizabeth Rosen; “A Pearl of a Girl” by Camille Worrell and
program.” The event was organized by Manhattan Media, publishers of the West Side Spirit, Suzie Johnson-Scott,
New York Family, Our Town who doubled as direc-
group of community news- tor; and “Ms. Jewish
papers.The UFT was a spon- America,” written and
sor of the event. ABovE: directed by Tasha
Alford (right) with Center Paley. ABovE: Ronnie
School founder and princi- Haynie, Pat Brophy and
pal Elaine Schwartz (second Karen Liswood perform
from left) and English teach- “Rhineland Bastard.”
ers Caroline Tacey and Tim- LEFT: “A Pearl of a Girl”
othy Holst. LEFT: Teachers, featured Marjorie
students and staff from PS Bryant, Susan Weisser,
40, another school that was Lourdes Ayala (not pic-
honored. tured) and Worrell.

Grady HS Transition Fair

reer choices represented at the fair would build on what stu-
Taking the next step dents have learned in their Career and Technical Education
classes. Staffers who volunteered their time in organizing and
William E. Grady HS held its first Transition Fair on Nov. 18 to running the one-day event were pleased at the turnout of par-
help special education students make the move from school to ents and plan another fair for the spring. BELoW: Stanley Cun-
work or college. vendors, representatives from industry and ningham (right) describes the program at Universal Technical
colleges and trade schools Institute to (from left) students Allen Cham and Stephen
were on hand to show par- Kessler, Grady staffers Howard Mendelsohn and Jennifer Pren-
ents and students the many
sky and student Dominique Hodge. BoTToM LEFT: Students (from
left) Kessler and Geimal Moville, guidance counselor Heather
Walters and Chapter Leader Chris Manos (seated) discuss the
pamphlets with Neal Reich, a representative from Young Adult
Boro Center. ToP LEFT: Rich Terrell, instructor for Charles Stuart
Locksmithing, shows Emma Mendez (center), a UFT special
representative, and teacher Honey Rosenthal the craft of lock
installation.
miller photography

directions their lives could

take after graduation. op-
portunities for apprentice-
ships in trades such as
plumbing, electricity and
carpentry as well as lock
installing were all part of
the extensive displays.
Some of the possible ca-

44 / DECEMBER 16, 2010

 Workshops on gang awareness and bullying
pat arnow

the UFT’s Bronx borough office. The event, which consisted of

‘Day of Peace’
Peace may be elusive, but educators and community members
in the Bronx are hard at work bringing a measure of peace to
their borough’s school system. That’s why, on Nov. 20, they
hosted “A Day of Peace” for parents, students and educators at
workshops on gang awareness and bullying, was a tremendous
success, said UFT Victim Support Program staffer Susan Perez,
one of the day’s co-organizers. “The idea is to make parents,
students and school staff aware and able to deal with the issues
we face in the Bronx,” including gangs, cyberbullying and ho-
mophobia, Perez said. “Our goal is to reach some type of safe
haven because people are afraid.” The
workshops, led by officers from the
NYPD Community Affairs Bureau, taught
attendees the different colors, hand
signs and paraphernalia associated with
gangs, and methods to protect children
from cyberbullying and “sexting,” in-
cluding how to block certain websites spring, Perez said. In addition to the UFT and NYPD Community
and monitor cell phone usage. This was Affairs Bureau, the event was supported by the Department of
the second “Day of Education and the Office of Bronx Borough President Ruben
Peace” hosted by Diaz. lEFT: Beads like those pictured (inset) are often worn by
the Bronx borough members of the Bloods gang. lEFT: linda Vila-Passione (left),
office. Due to the the UFT’s director of school safety, and Susan Perez of the
event’s popularity, union’s Victim Support Program emphasize the importance of
there will likely be parental involvement in gang awareness and prevention. ABOVE:
another “Day of NYPD Sgt. Sheila White (left) chats with Fietta Campbell, a
Peace” in the parent of three.

Grievance Department director retires The president visits ...

Melodic send-off IS 96, Brooklyn miller photography

miller photography

It was standing room only in the

faculty lounge at IS 96 in Brooklyn
on Nov. 23 when UFT President
More than 200 revelers paid tribute Michael Mulgrew updated members
to Howard Solomon, former director on current issues, including the res-
of the UFT Grievance Department, ignation of Joel Klein and the ap-
at his retirement party on Nov. 15 at pointment of Cathleen Black as
Russo’s on the Bay in Howard chancellor, and reminded them of
Beach. During a break from dining, the importance of working with par-
dancing and roasting, the honoree ents to help improve education at
regaled his well-wishers with true the school. ABOVE: Mulgrew makes a
stories of life at the UFT. A high- point while UFT District 21 Repre-
light of the festivities was a quartet sentative Judy Gerowitz and Brook-
serenade with original lyrics set to lyn Borough Representative Howard
“Camelot” which ended with: “So Schoor look on. CENTER RIGHT: IS 96
now it’s time to put away the con- faculty members focus on the
tract; And enjoy life as a ‘young’ re- president’s message. RIGHT: Randi
tiree; let the UFT take note ... Be proud and yet not gloat; That we were represented by the Fliegelman (left) discusses an issue
likes of SOl-O-MON!” UFT President Michael Mulgrew noted in his remarks that Solomon’s with Mulgrew, while (from second
work as grievance director has established precedents that benefit thousands of members left) Esther Elbogen, Kathi Andino,
now and will for years to come. TOP: The UFT quartet, (from left) UFT Treasurer Mel Aaron- Gerowitz and Chapter leader Dani
son, Assistant Treasurer Mona Romain, Special Representative Steve Gappelberg and San- Kirschner listen.
dra March, UFT liaison to retirees, serenades the guest of honor. ABOVE: Solomon and his
wife, Angela Reformato, former Guidance Counselors Chapter leader, thank everyone for the Has UFT President Michael Mulgrew visited your school this year? You can view photos from the
wonderful send-off. event on the union’s website, www.uft.org. Hover over the News tab at the top and click School Visits.

DECEMBER 16, 2010 / 45

the newer teacher
Updating speech teachers CARA METZ

With some 500 out of the city’s 2,000

Got the budget-cut pubic school speech teachers being in

the system less than three years, the UFT
Speech Improvement Chapter staged a
meeting to help inform and update newer

blues? Go for a grant!

By ANNE MILLMAN
ith school budgets tighter than
members on a variety of subjects on Nov.
8 at UFT headquarters. “With so much
going on, a lot of information is lacking,”
Speech Improvement Chapter Leader
Mindy Karten Bornemann said. “Our
newer members had a lot of questions.”
(AFT), the UFT’s national affiliate, at
Union experts in the areas of certification, licensing, ob-
http://aft.org/yourwork/tools4teachers.
servations, ratings and mentoring were brought in to ad-
Once there, click on Funding Opportuni-

W usual, teachers are reaching into

their pockets to make up some of
the deficit. A recent news story in Teacher
Magazine reported that last year teachers
spent nearly $1,000 each on average — and
ties and find a link to tips for grant writing
and a link to a funding database. This com-
prehensive database lets you search by se-
lecting from options in six categories:
funding type (e.g., Classroom Donation
dress the group and answer those questions. There was so
much to cover, Karten Bornemann said, that another
meeting for newer members was scheduled for Dec. 8, to
be followed by a general membership meeting in January.
TOp: Michelle Isaacson (left) of pS 75, the Bronx, and Gina Kansco of pS 10, Brooklyn, were

that number is likely to go up this year.
While you help the UFT fight to pro-
tect classroom services for children
through political action in the months
ahead, you also can learn how to find out-
side funding through grants. Education-
related grants in varying amounts are
available from a host of government, cor-
porate, foundation and private sources.
Most large grants go to school districts or
schools, but smaller grants often go to in-
dividual teachers. These can provide ma-
terials for your classroom or support the
development of innovative instruction,
often in specific subject areas or for tar-
geted student populations.
Where to find grant opportunities
A good place to start your search for
grants is right on the UFT website at
www.uft.org/funding-projects.
Be sure to check DonorsChoose.org, an
online charity that connects teachers who
want to fund a project with people looking
to donate. You submit your project online
by clicking on Teachers Post Project Re-
quests and following the prompts. The
website includes tips for success, examples
of winning projects and simple, foolproof
instructions for explaining your project and
how much it will cost — the minimum is
$100.
Also, check out Grants, Awards & Free-
bies, the online version of the column that
appears in each issue of the New York
Teacher [see page 21]. Recent columns
listed grants to support classroom science
and technology activities, as well as pro-
grams designed for students with disabilities.
You’ll also find contests that reward innova-
tive teaching and opportunities for summer
study abroad and at special learning institu-
tions. Each grant has its own deadline and
criteria. Pay close attention to these require-
ments so you only apply for grants that are
current and suit you.
Try the other links on this Web page on
the UFT website for still more funding
sources and tips on grant writing.
Another good resource is the website of
the American Federation of Teachers
Programs); grade level; position (e.g.,
Classroom Teacher); district type (e.g.
Urban); subject area; and state. After you
click Search, you will find a list of current
funding opportunities with descriptions,
criteria and deadlines.
The National Education Association,
which is affiliated with out state union
NYSUT, sponsors its own foundation. It of-
fers two types of grants for teachers: Student
Achievement Grants and Learning & Lead-
ership Grants. Find more information on the
NEA Foundation’s website
http://bit.ly/PQpX1.
Finally, the Department of Education web-
site provides an External Opportunities Bul-
letin, a list of resources for New York City
students and educators offered by various ex-
ternal organizations or educational institutions.
In addition to grants, the list includes work-
shops and invitations to participate in various
programs and events. You can access this
weekly roundup of opportunities at
http://schools.nyc.gov/Academics/External
Opportunities.
How to apply for a grant
Although every grant is different, some
general guidelines pertain:
• Notice the deadline and start the appli-
cation process well in advance so your grant
application arrives on time.
• Be sure that you meet the requirements
of the grant and fulfill all necessary compo-
nents of the application.
• Describe your project clearly and de-
fine or quantify its potential educational im-
pact on your students.
• Explain in detail how the funds you are
requesting will be used.
• Write with clarity and professionalism
but also with flair and personality. For exam-
ple, come up with a catchy title.
• Show your application to a friend or
colleague who can critique it and suggest im-
provements before you submit it.
If you get your grant, be sure to keep
track of the project in case documentation is
needed afterward. Share your success by
posting your story as a New Teacher Diary
on the UFT blog Edwize.org.
among the members who had their questions answered. INSeT: Karten Bornemann addresses
the group.
How is the Tax-Deferred Annuity
Q:
different from my Teachers’
Retirement System pension? Why do
at
I need it if I will get a pension and
Social Security?
It’s true that as a UFT member
A: you already have two of the
three essential components of a finan-
cially secure retirement: Social Se-
curity and a defined-benefit
pension. But experts have
been telling people all
along how important
it is to also set aside
regular savings for
retirement. Now, as
many are learning
in these economi-
cally uncertain
times, that’s good
advice.
That’s where a Tax-De-
ferred Annuity comes in. In addition to
enrolling in the Teachers’ Retirement
System, you have the opportunity to
participate in the Tax-Deferred Annu-
ity, a voluntary program that grows out
of Section 403(b) of the Internal Rev-
enue Code. This excellent program al-
lows you to save for retirement using
pretax dollars that lower your current
taxable income. In addition, your Tax-
Deferred Annuity savings grow on a
tax-deferred basis, so you won’t have
to pay taxes on these funds until you
withdraw them after age 59½.
The Tax-Deferred Annuity program
gives you a choice of one fixed and five
variable investment options and lets you
decide on the percentage of your in-
come you want to contribute, up to a
maximum rate set by law. You can change
your investment choices quarterly and
change your contribution percentage at any
time.
Sometimes newer teachers
are concerned that a Tax-
Deferred Annuity contribu-
tion will reduce their
take-home pay. To
some extent it will, but
the cut will be less than
the full amount of your
contribution because of
the tax savings. And the
long-term benefits of
making Tax-Deferred
Annuity contributions start-
ing early in your career are well
worth it. The younger you are when you
begin to save, the longer your Tax-De-
ferred Annuity contributions will be work-
ing for you, building your retirement nest
egg.
You can enroll at any time by filing a
Tax-Deferred Annuity Enrollment Request
Form available from your retirement sys-
tem (for the Teachers’ Retirement System,
call 1-888-8NYCTRS; for the Board of
Education Retirement System, call 1-718-
935-5400) or from your UFT borough of-
fice. Once you enroll, your Tax-Deferred
Annuity contribution will automatically be
deducted from your paycheck. If you have
further questions about the Tax-Deferred
Annuity program, speak to a pension con-
sultant at your UFT borough office.

46 / DECEMBER 16, 2010

 most valuable financial assets down the line; and

NEWCOMER CHECKLIST joining a pension plan now offers added protections

Here are some “must do” items to take care of
right away and others that will help you prioritize
and stay on track. You can find a more compre-
hensive checklist at www.uft.org/checklist with
links to the many online resources listed below.
Rights and benefits
■ The DOE has scheduled Teacher’s Choice
stipends to go out in December. For the vast ma-
jority of teachers who are enrolled in direct deposit,
your stipend should have been electronically trans-
ferred to your account on Thursday, Dec. 9. If you
are a first-year teacher and have not enrolled in di-
rect deposit yet, you should have received a new
debit card with the stipend amount together with
your Dec. 15 paycheck. You can continue to buy
supplementary instructional supplies for your
classes through Teacher’s Choice until March 15.
Accountability Reports and receipts for all items
purchased must be submitted to principals/supervi-
sors by March 26.
■ Teachers in high schools with semi-annual reor-
ganization should have received preference sheets
from their supervisors no later than Dec. 3. Use this
form to indicate your program preferences for the
spring term — subjects you want to teach, grades
within that subject, unusual class types (honors,
advanced placement) within that subject, session,
etc. The administration should consider your pref-
erences in planning your program for the next se-
mester, though rotation and seniority may play
roles in whether you can get your choice. The rules
are there to provide fairness in the distribution of
assignments. You should receive your preliminary
program no later than Jan. 18 and your actual
spring semester program (including periods and
room assignments) by Jan. 28. Consult your chap-
permanent state certification? Then take the UFT
Teacher Center’s coaching course, “Creating a
Videotape for Permanent New York State Certifi-
cation.” The only remaining fall semester session
is on Jan. 25. UFT members may register online at
www.uft.org/courses. Just log in and click on the
coaching course that interests you.
Professional development
■ See the UFT Calendar on page 42 or online at
www.uft.org for new teacher opportunities.
Miscellaneous
■ Do you have creative ideas, interesting practices
or innovative methods for improving classroom in-
struction that you feel could benefit fellow educa-
tors? The The New York Teacher is looking for
educators to write Teacher to Teacher columns.
The articles should explain pedagogic techniques,
approaches or resources that educators can use to
help students. The pieces should be about 750
words, and columnists will be paid $150 for ac-
cepted works. If you are interested, please call Ron
Davis during business hours (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.,
Monday through Friday) at 1-212-598-9201 or e-
mail him at rdavis@uft.org.
■ Teachers of high school seniors should alert
students about the union’s Albert Shanker College
Scholarship Fund. Each year the UFT awards $1
million in scholarships to academically excellent
and financially needy New York City public high
school seniors through this fund. To receive a
$5,000 scholarship over four years from the fund,
for you and your loved ones [see the Nov. 11 The
Newer Teacher page for details]. If you have ques-
the selected students must be accepted in a full-
tions, call your UFT borough office and ask to speak
time, matriculated, degree-granting program at an
to a pension consultant.
accredited college or university. Urge potential can-
didates in your high school classes to see their col-
lege advisor about the scholarships. Schools must Editor’s note: Some URLs are shortened using
mail the application in by Jan. 31. For more infor- Twitter’s bit.ly. These shortened URLs are
mation, go to www.uft.org/scholarship-fund. case-sensitive.
■ The time before holidays often sees an increase in
theft. This year, because of the economic downturn,
schools have to be diligent with respect to securing For questions about
personal and school property. The UFT recommends certification
that you follow these safety measures: 1. leave all
valuables at home; 2. don’t leave your keys or prop- and professional issues,
erty unattended; 3. don’t flash your cash; and 4. have call
a strong lock to secure your purse or wallet and
don’t share or give out the combination or key. For
additional safety measures or to voice your specific
concerns, consult your chapter leader and members
of your School Safety Committee.
■ The election may be over, but the need for politi-
cal action is only just beginning. If you have not al-
ready done so, enroll as a COPE contributor and,
through your voluntary payroll deduction, help sup-
port the union’s Committee on Political Education.
For more information and to sign up, talk to your
chapter leader. 1-212-253-8800
Especially for rookies Monday–Friday,
■ First-year teachers should be on the lookout for
a Teachers’ Retirement System welcome kit com-
4 p.m.-6 p.m.
ing in the mail before the end of the year. Be sure to or e-mail questions any time to
file the application and other forms it contains.
Your Teachers’ Retirement System pension and teacherline@uft.org
Tax-Deferred Annuity could become among your

Fits and starts

ter leader if you have questions.
■ If you completed courses that qualify you for a
salary differential, be sure to apply for the extra
payment within six months or the salary increase
will not be retroactive to your date of eligibility. The
DOE now requires an online application process.
You can access the application form by going to the
DOE’s payroll portal system at http://bit.ly/8yiyot. Fill
out the login information on the left and click on
Salary Differential under Documents on the right. Fi-
nally, click on the online form link. If you are using
the online application for the first time, you must
enter your Bachelor of Arts information first. Each
application will receive a tracking number. Print out
your completed application. Keep one copy for your
records; submit another copy to the DOE together
with your original transcripts, which the DOE will
evaluate. This process takes from four to six weeks
to complete. You will receive a Certificate of Salary
Differential via e-mail indicating which differential
you were granted and its effective date.
■ As a UFT member, you are also a member of the
AFT, our national union, and can take advantage of
AFT benefits such as the Union Plus Scholarship
program. AFT members as well as their spouses
and dependent children are eligible to apply for
scholarships, which range from $500 to $4,000.
Applications for the 2011 awards are now available
and the deadline is Jan. 31. For details about the
scholarship and to download an application, visit
the Union Plus website at http://bit.ly/fuSeTD.
■ See also Know Your Rights on page 16 and
Know Your Benefits on page 17.
Certification and licensing
■ The next date to take the New York State
Teacher Certification Exams (except the ATS-P) is
Feb. 19, with a regular registration deadline of Jan.
18. The entire exam schedule and contact informa-
tion are online at http://bit.ly/cSiUY4.
■ Planning to complete the ATS-P requirement for
By MR. FOTEAH
n my first year of teaching a self-contained special education
I class of 1st- and 2nd-graders, I’ve been facing my share of
challenges. Donald, a bespectacled boy of 7, is one of them.
His speech patterns are not what you’d expect for a child his age,
nor is his reading level. He has his moments when he’s a shining
star, and he has those where he’s bent at the waist with his head
and hands on the tiled floor, using his feet to leg-press
his desk into the middle of the room, or cutting up
Post-its and strewing them about.
Recently, Donald had an up-and-down week,
requiring a good-faith call from the guidance
counselor home to inquire about the sudden
backslide in his behavior, and the next day, a
note from me to Mom that, because I wrote it in
Spanish, took me all of our writer’s workshop to
complete. (I wrote plenty, but Donald refused to
even open his folder, so he wrote nothing.)
I am hopeful as I remember my mother’s sage
words about a similar situation in my first year: don’t let one slip-
up erase all the progress. I treat Donald’s impulsive/regressive
behaviors as separate entities, helping me (and, I hope, him) re-
alize and remember that there are always fresh opportunities to
impress. He’s also back on a sticker chart which, combined with
ample praise, really helps to build him up.
Donald was stringing together a wonderful day. Polite to his
classmates, following directions, smiling freely. Did the fact that
his mother visited the classroom for most of the morning play a
role? Without question. But she wasn’t there in the afternoon
when the healthy goodness endured.
All was moving nicely. Donald created a beautiful picture
frame that he showed me with pride. He walked with a sick child
to the bathroom. He packed up without delay or confusion. And
with sixth-period math coming up, we were merely 100 minutes
away from a practically perfect day.
I started on the math with Donald. He struggled to grasp the
concept, but we worked on it, and with my assistance he was able
to complete the first three problems.
But when we got to the fourth, something caused him to sud-
denly lose interest in the counters and gain a newfound appreci-
ation for flipping through the corners of his book. I became very
anxious, imploring him to continue on the great path he was on.
All I got was a blank gaze, as if to say, “Isn’t this what I’m sup-
posed to be doing?”
Well what was I supposed to be doing? I felt my
frustration bubbling up. There was no obvious — or,
in my mind at the time, acceptable — reason for the
train to suddenly come to a screeching halt. I told my
paraprofessional that I would be right back, and I left the
room to cool down. Luckily, the first person I walked into
was another teacher of self-contained special ed who can
understand the challenges I am facing better than most.
She helped me calm down, and I returned to my room.
Donald still refused to try the math again, and I let
it go.
Donald’s day continued beautifully. In an attempt
to get him to finally put pictures on his writing paper,
I offered a deal: If you work for 10 minutes, you can put
all the math manipulatives in their containers.
With his eyes on the prize of this coveted job, Donald
took our five-minute timer to his desk, retrieved his folder, flipped
the timer, and began to draw. Five minutes later, I flipped it again.
Five minutes later, he flipped it again.
He had drawn all his pictures and worked past our agreed-
upon timeframe. I was pretty amazed. I showed him what manip-
ulatives I needed put away and he worked on it, prudently,
diligently, neatly and proudly. He beamed as he showed me the
way he stowed everything in place and, for the briefest of mo-
ments, I believed in the power of conditional rewards. I can sus-
pend my own suspicions about their usefulness if it means letting
this child begin to believe in himself.
Mr. Foteah is a third-year teacher in an elementary school in
Queens. A version of this post first appeared in the UFT blog, ed-
wize.org, where “New Teacher Diaries” is a regular feature. If
you’re interested in writing for Edwize, send an e-mail to William
Levay at wlevay@edwize.org.

DECEMBER 16, 2010 / 47


A 1st-grader plots the light and dark sides of the moon as it travels around earth.
Scientific — and terrific!
Universe, plant world come
alive for teacher’s K-1 students
The solar system takes shape for
1st-graders at PS 372 with the help
of science teacher Karen Ranney.
By DOROTHY CALLACI
hile Barrett was devouring the broccoli, Izzy was
W calling out to the other small children at his table,
“Raise your hands if you want to see the inside
of a pea.”
The kindergarteners at PS 372, The Children’s School,
were sampling their plant salads and enjoying the flowers,
leaves, stems, roots and fruits of their labors — the cul-
minating activity of Karen Ranney’s science unit on
plants.
For her 1st-graders, the challenge was to move the
moon around the earth, keeping an eye on the sun, to fig-
ure out the phases and the dark and light sides of the
moon. It took a vast starry sky, an orb, a flashlight and
lots of questions and answers to work it all out.
“Engaged” is the key word to describe Ranney’s kinder-
garten and 1st-grade science classes, which always begin
with a popular song whose lyrics she adapts to reflect each
science unit. Once the “Moon Shadow” song — with the
children acting out the words — ended, the 1st grade was
hooked on moving heaven and earth.
“Inch Worm” got the kindergarteners going.
If engagement describes the science classes, enthusi-
asm describes the teacher and her enthusiasm is catching.
48 / DECEMBER 16, 2010
NEW YORK TEACHER/CITY EDITION
UNITED FEDERATION OF TEACHERS • VOLUME LII, NUMBER 7 • DECEMBER 16, 2010
MILLER PHOTOGRAPHY
Maya names the plant parts on her salad plate — root,
stem, flower and leaf.
First-graders were learning heady things like spatial think-
ing, gravity, direction, the beginnings of geometry — Ran-
ney also teaches math — and practical skills like
cooperation, following directions and focusing. And it’s
all recorded in the workbooks they have created concept
by concept, page by page.
Kindergarteners Stefano and Adriana discuss how to label their plant
drawings with reading teacher Susan Tierney.
The enthusiasm and engagement has spread to parents,
who can keep track of what’s going on through an Early
Childhood Science page that Ranney developed for the
school website — www.PS372.org — and which includes
links for parents to explore with their children.
NASA got interested in what Ranney is doing when
she appealed to the agency for materials. Now she has an
ongoing conversation with NASA in which she shares her
ideas about developing an early-grade space curriculum.
Because the Brooklyn school is an inclusion school,
classes are taught by team teachers. While Ms. Karen works
hands-on with half the kindergarten class, reading teacher
Susan Tierney works with the other half, always on material
related to the unit. Marybeth Carroll does the same for 1st
grade. For part of the kindergarten class, Ranney took the
reading group and read about the magic seed that sprouted
a mile-high beanstalk in “Jack and the Beanstalk.”
Ranney describes herself as “over the moon” as her
outer space unit ends. Samantha checks out her phase of the moon with Ranney.
 BRONX TIMES REPORTER

Bronx principal p.m., when the chapter leader cannot be present; 5. instituting
— as required — pre-observations, rather than “informal” ob-
servations that have lasted as long as two hours; and 6. stop-

rules with intimidation,

ping the practice of using extended days as an additional
teaching period instead of for homework help and test prep.
“He’s never responded, and nothing’s changed,” Primav-
era said.

disrespect, teachers say Primavera said Kovac threatens anyone filing a grievance
with giving them an observation or worse.
“His constant refrain is ‘I don’t believe in my [principals’
union] contract, and I don’t believe in yours,’” said Primav-
By MICHAEL HIRSCH cused her of teaching practices era. “When an arbitration decision contradicts his actions,
that were “criminal,” she said. he says it doesn’t apply to him.”
ho’s the Bronx’s worst principal? The competition Kovac is frequently accom- There’s also a suspicion that the funding to provide special

W is stiff, but teachers at PS 14 in Throggs Neck say

their hands-down favorite is their own Jason Kovac.
The Leadership Academy graduate has run the school —
teachers say into the ground — since June 2008.
The 34-year-old Kovac is an imposing man at 6 feet, 5
inches tall. Many at the school describe him as highly self-
regarding, condescending and arrogant toward the over-
whelmingly female staff.
“He treats the staff with total disrespect and uses intimidation
and retaliation to get his way,” said District 8 Representative
Carmen Quinones. “He seems more interested in appearances
and vendettas than in being a team leader and educator.”
The previous principal had described the staff to the web-
site insideschools.org as “remarkably professional teachers,”
whom he credited with being not only seasoned but compas-
sionate. Under Kovac, the school’s Progress Report grade
dropped from an A to a C. Eighteen of his staffers have left
voluntarily since Kovac became principal, Quinones said.
Kovac makes unannounced visits to anyone asking hard
questions of him, Chapter Leader Elaine Primavera said. He
chastises teachers in front of their students for such sins as
having, in his opinion, a less-than-exemplary bulletin board,
she said. He pulled one veteran educator out of class and ac-
panied by co-principal Mildred education students with the services mandated in their Indi-
Jones, who has earned the staff’s Jason Kovac (above), princi- vidualized Education Programs is being siphoned into the
enmity. “She’s told teachers at a pal at PS 14 in the Bronx, is school’s general budget. The UFT is investigating that report.
staff meeting that she is accus- “more interested in appear- Kovac’s relations with parents are also rocky. In one case,
tomed to working without a ances and vendettas than in Primavera said, a parent reported at a Community Board 10
union and that the union means being a team leader and edu- meeting that Kovac banned her from the school after she
nothing to her,” said Primavera, cator,” according to UFT complained to him that her child had been bullied. According
who has taught for 23 years. District 8 Representative to Primavera, who attended the board meeting, the parent
Kovac also refuses to discuss Carmen Quinones. said Kovac had told her, “If you enter the school, I’ll have
grievances, Primavera said. They the police throw you out.”
just go to Step 2 of the process. As of this writing, 23 grievances In another case, Kovac — not even present during a
at the school are unresolved, according to the chapter leader. stormy, cold December afternoon — called the school and
After Michael Mulgrew met with Kovac, following the ordered that dismissals be held from the rain-soaked school-
UFT president’s Oct. 26 morning meeting with some 60 staff yard. Several parents told teachers at the school that they had
members at the school, Kovac agreed to consider a list of 10 called 311 to complain.
contentious items that members wanted addressed. Primavera The school leader is already notorious in the local area.
and Quinones since pared the list to six: 1. actually resolving The community board, according to its Nov. 18 minutes,
grievances so they don’t need to go to Step 2; 2. improving wrote Chancellor Joel Klein “expressing [our] disappoint-
communication by sending hard copies of staff notices and ment in the kind of hostile work and learning environment
memos and not relying solely on e-mail; 3. equitably distrib- that the children at this school endure.”
uting parking spaces and not — as members say — using Primavera put it simply: “All we’re asking for is respect
them as perks for a handful of favorites; 4. ending the practice and for being treated like adults. Instead, he abrasively insists
of holding disciplinary meetings during class time or after 5 that everything we do is wrong.”

Principal’s pet has no class,

cient textbooks or, ludicrously, said the sional development day held back in Octo-
shortage isn’t a big deal. ber. Nov. 29 just happened to coincide with
In his letter, titled “Principal’s Reflec- the school’s quality review.
tion,” Buck defends his school’s shortage by Either way, that move alone didn’t throw

and other strange tales
By MICAH LANDAU
Twenty-five years ago, then-UFT President
Sandra Feldman introduced New York
Teacher readers to what she described as “the
Educational Twilight Zone,” a “senseless
world that defies all logic … a world where
man has completely lost touch with reality.”
Sound familiar? It’s time we paid another
visit to that absurd world in which common
sense is overruled by nonsense, byzantine
rules are the order of the day, principals too
often govern by fiat and reason has been for-
ever banished. Return with us now to … the
Educational Twilight Zone.
e begin our journey at MS 443 in
While this may all sound like a joke, it’s
actually quite serious. It’s only a matter of
time until our furry friend induces an allergic
asking “just because high schools and col- off the school’s entire schedule, but when on
leges use textbooks, does that mean we have Dec. 3 the principal again changed the
to?” and declaring, in a phrase worthy of Yogi schedule — a “day two” magically became
Berra, that “students can’t use a
textbook to learn how to learn
from a textbook.” Well, duh.
That’s what teachers are for!
Reading over his letter, it is
hard not to wonder if this prin-
cipal, too, was denied an ELA
textbook as a youngster: his
writing is riddled with gram-
matical and spelling errors. In
his very first sentence, Buck
juxtaposes “should” and The principal at MS 443 thinks it’s OK to bring his dog
“ought” as if they have different to school, so it isn’t surprising to find “Oreo” getting
meanings, and he spells “text- prominent placement on the school’s newsletter logo.
book” as two words throughout.
Pluralization is a big problem, too, but one a “day four” — she created absolute chaos.
sentence takes the cake for its ridiculousness: The schedule became Day 2, 5, 6, 1, 4, 3, 4.

W
Brooklyn, where a principal rou-
tinely brings his puppy to school
with him. Dogs have to learn, too — but
surely there must be a better place for the
bright little pup to spend the day than at the
middle school?
For now, Oreo spends his days in a cargo
cage in a room shared by four to six out-of-
classroom teachers. He’s walked occasion-
ally by the administration and a few teachers,
but does most of his business in his cage —
while the long-suffering teachers who share
the room with him attempt to grade papers
and exams, plan their lessons and meet with
students in need of extra help.
reaction in a student or teacher — or, worse
yet, bites one of them, an unhappy turn of
events for man and his best friend as well.
***
Wacky principals are all too common in
the Educational Twilight Zone. Just consider
the recent headline-making letter sent by
Principal Andrew Buck to the staff and PTA
at Brooklyn’s MS 588 in which he defends
the school’s shortage of textbooks.
For two years, parents and teachers at the
school have complained to Buck that there
are not enough social studies or English lan-
guage arts textbooks for students. And for
two years, Buck has alternately ignored their
complaints, lied to them that there are suffi-
“Text books are the soup de jour, the sine qua The school’s schedule will hopefully be
non, the nut and bolts of teaching and learning back to normal soon, but, in the meanwhile,
in high school and college so to speak.” teachers and students have been left unsure
*** what day in the rotation it is — and, there-
Finally, we finish our visit to the Educa- fore, don’t know which lessons to plan or
tional Twilight Zone at PS 139, in Brooklyn, what to bring with them to school.
where another principal has wreaked havoc District 19 Representative Alan Abrams
on teachers and students alike with her non- wonders: Can’t we go back to letting Mon-
sensical scheduling changes. day through Friday be Monday through Fri-
PS 139 is on a six-day rotating schedule, day? Not in the Educational Twilight Zone.
but that isn’t complicated enough for Princi-
pal Mary McDonald. Although the school Has your school entered the Educational
has never before adjusted its schedule for a Twilight Zone? If so, please send your story
snow day or any other reason, McDonald to twilightzone@uft.org. In the e-mail,
changed Nov. 29 from a “day four” to a “day please give your name, your school and a
two,” purportedly to make up for a profes- phone number where we can reach you.

DECEMBER 16, 2010 / 5

 MILLER PHOTOGRAPHY

‘Wall of Honor’ for UFT

greats unveiled
By MICHAEL HIRSCH ditional name to the wall each year.
The first 50 honorees were named at
his is the culmination of 50 years of building,” UFT the union’s golden jubilee celebration on

“T President Michael Mulgrew said on Dec. 6 after un-

veiling the Wall of Honor at UFT headquarters,
which names some of the many leaders who gave the union
its solid foundation.
The wall, in the 52 Broadway lobby, features the names
of 50 UFT luminaries spread across a large photo collage,
and an eye-level, interactive touch-screen monitor for ac-
cessing biographies and photographs. In the months to come,
videos will also be featured. The union plans to add one ad-
UFT President Michael Mulgrew checks out the touch-screen mon-
itor with Shelly Winfield, the daughter of honoree Ponsie Hillman.
March 25.
Ray Frankel, one of the honorees who
first was a member of
the Teachers Guild, a
UFT predecessor, said
she started distributing
its newspaper almost
from day one to “chal-
lenge the prevailing cul-
ture that said unions and above: The ceremony to unveil the wall drew a crowd, including a
teachers didn’t mix.” number of the honorees. inSeT: Honoree anne Kessler checks out
UFT Treasurer Mel her biography on the interactive screen with her daughter, Cindy
Aaronson, another Waxman.
union founder and wall
honoree, said, “I hope to serve the union for as long in the who authored the book “50 Years” about the union’s history,
future as I have in the past.” said, “It’s really easy to tell a great story when there’s a great
Velma Hill, the first UFT paraprofessionals organizer, re- story to tell.”
membered how draining it was prying a paraprofessional The festivities concluded on the second floor at Shanker
contract from the Board of Education. Dispirited, she heeded Hall, where a permanent plaque replaced the temporary one
the words of civil rights icon A. Philip Randolph, who told that was put up at the naming ceremony in March.
her the parable of a stonecutter fruitlessly hammering on a AFT President Randi Weingarten, another wall honoree
rock 100 times, only to split the rock on the 101st try. attending the event, said it was “fitting” to name the hall that
“That story gave me the courage to go back and keep fight- hosts the Delegate Assembly after former UFT President Al
ing for a contract,” Hill said. “The lesson I learned is that it’s Shanker because it was where the “pushing and pressing for
not just the last blow that does it, but all the blows before.” democracy goes on. It’s the hall out of which the collective
Neill Rosenfeld, a former UFT communications director action of the union operates.”

PAT ARNOW

New curriculum explores

human rights, activism
By CARA METZ tivists, are now available to classrooms every-
where, along with lesson plans and powerful
peak Truth to Power, a new curriculum photos in a curriculum geared to grades 6-12

S about human rights that features the

stories of people who have laid their
lives on the line for that cause, was unveiled
on Nov. 17 in Brooklyn.
The event featured six human rights de-
fenders from around the globe who shared
their stories, spoke about their struggles,
goals and achievements, and answered stu-
dents’ questions.
Their stories, along with those of other ac-
UFT President Michael Mulgrew speaks with
nYSUT President Dick iannuzzi and Kerry
Kennedy, president of the Robert F. Kennedy
Foundation for Justice & Human Rights, about
the new York state curriculum.
and aligned with New York state standards.
The curriculum was developed by a team
of teachers who are members of the UFT’s
state union, New York State United Teach-
ers, and you can find it online in its entirety
at http://blogs.nysut.org/sttp.
The curriculum was unveiled at the HS
for Public Service in Crown Heights, Brook-
lyn, where Kerry Kennedy — president of
the foundation that bears her father’s name,
the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and
Human Rights — told the students that she
has “interviewed leading human rights lead-
ers, the Martin Luther Kings and Mahatma
Gandhis of their countries” for 30 years.
UFT President Michael Mulgrew read a
quote from Robert F. Kennedy, which, fit-
tingly, is painted on the school’s hallway:
“Let us dedicate ourselves to what the
Greeks wrote many years ago: to tame the
savageness of man and make gentle the life
of this world.”
Principal Benjamin Shuldiner said that
schools are not just about academic excel-
lence. “They have to be about creating peo-
ple who care about families, communities,
our country and the world, and we’re doing
Students from the HS for Public Service met with human rights defenders Ka Hsaw Wa (center,
left), who was imprisoned for his ultimately successful work holding oil companies responsible for
human rights violations committed on their behalf by the burmese military; and Delphine Djiraibe
(center, right), one of seven female lawyers in Chad who created the country's first public interest
law center which has defended the rights of more than 200 survivors of rape, domestic violence
and other forms of abuse.
that here ... so there’s a perfect synergy, our is bigger stuff to do.”
students are ready,” he added. Which is just what UFT Vice President
Students were divided into groups, and for Academic High Schools Leo Casey
each met with one or two human rights defend- hopes the curriculum accomplishes.
ers, heard their stories and had a chance to ask “I believe it’s very important for young
questions and engage in a dialogue, which may people to understand that human rights are
continue after the day’s event, as many defend- not a gift which is given but an accomplish-
ers shared their e-mail addresses with students. ment that must be won by people struggling
Afterward, 12th-grader Kadecia Palatoff, against difficult odds,” Casey said. “It en-
reflecting on the community service she has gages young people in a way that makes
done as part of her school requirements, said, them think about how they can contribute in
“This event opened my eyes to see that there their own lives.”

6 / DECEMBER 16, 2010

 Who are Democrats for Education Reform?
And why do they keep bashing public schools and unions?
Joe Williams heads Democ- DFER advisory board
rats for Education Reform and member Joel Greenblatt
its sister organization, Educa- is a protégé of fallen
tion Reform Now. junk-bond icon Michael
Milliken.
By MICHAEL HIRSCH
here’s a political action committee called Democrats
T for Education Reform. A great name, but I heard
that they only support nonunion charter schools,
bash unions and get subsidized by Wall Street hedge-
fund managers. What’s up with that?
You heard right. They’re like other public school bash-
ers, except they call them-
selves Democrats.
WAR
on
Democrats for Education
Reform claims that it
“leads efforts to frame the
fight that is playing out
TRUTH
within the Democratic
Party on education is-
sues.” It tries to accom-
plish that by pushing
aside teacher unions as
education spokespeople
or even as informed practitioners. The organization advo-
cates for nonunion charter schools, vouchers, merit pay,
test-based teacher evaluations, curbs on tenure and remov-
ing teacher unions from almost any role in shaping curricu-
lum or determining working conditions.
In just three years, DFER directed more than $17 mil-
lion into political and grassroots advocacy for its version
of education reform and for what Joe Williams, the group’s
executive director and a former Daily News education re-
porter, credits as “creating momentum which has the po-
tential to dominate education policymaking for years to
come.”
DFER calls Barack Obama “the first ever Democratic
president elected without significant support of teachers’
unions” — a shocker to those UFT members who went to
toss-up state Pennsylvania to stump for Obama and to AFT
and NEA members nationwide who campaigned for the can-
didate in 2008.
What has DFER been up to in New York?
In New York State elections this fall, the group
stumped exclusively for pro-charter candidates, but be-
cause it has no community membership, just a letterhead
stacked with super-rich backers, it advertised on Craigslist
for campaign workers. DFER was zero for three on the in-
cumbent state senators that it targeted in the Democratic
primary.
The ex-Bloomberg aide tapped to topple Harlem state
Sen. Bill Perkins, who took issue with charter management
companies for their lack of accountability, got clobbered.
State Senators Velmanette Montgomery and Shirley Hunt-
ley also handily defeated DFER-backed insurgents in the
Hedge-fund manager John Board member Whitney
Petry, a DFER board member, Tilson is chief of T2 Partners
co-founded the Harlem Success and Tilson Funds and vice
Academy Charter School with chair of New York’s KIPP
Eva Moskowitz. Academy Charter Schools.
primary. Among the group’s key list of 15 nationally en-
dorsed candidates in the November elections, just seven
won.
ers?
Why do Democrats for Education Reform hate teach-
They say they don’t (hard to believe if you look at their
policy positions). It is unions that they say they hate.
What’s their beef with unions?
That we exist. It’s the typical economic royalist rationale,
that unions — unlike themselves — are selfish special inter-
ests. They’re deaf to counter-arguments that what’s good for
kids is good for teachers, too, and that tenure means due
process and not job security for incompetents.
Who are these people? They don’t sound like Democ-
rats.
If party registration and political donations indicate po-
litical allegiance, these DFER deep pockets are blue-blood
Democrats. The group’s financial records show board mem-
bers, advisers and the organization itself contributing heavily
to Democratic campaigns as well as to the Democratic Na-
tional Committee and its Senate and House election commit-
tees. However, when it suits their anti-union agenda, DFER
leaders are only too happy to cross party lines and endorse
Republicans, as DFER’s Whitney Tilson did in supporting
Republican-Conservative Harry Wilson for New York State
Comptroller against the victorious Democratic incumbent,
Tom DiNapoli.
Can you name names?
Certainly. Among the group’s eight-person board is
hedge-fund manager John Petry of Gotham Capital, who
with Eva Moskowitz co-founded the Harlem Success Acad-
emy Charter School. The board also includes Tony Davis
of Anchorage Capital, the board chair of Brooklyn’s
Achievement First East New York school; Charles Ledley
of Highfields Capital Management; and Tilson, chief of T2
Partners and Tilson Funds and vice chairman of New
York’s KIPP Academy Charter Schools. Tilson alone gave
$50,000 to the New York branch of DFER in the first half
of 2010.
Of DFER’s seven-person advisory board, five manage
hedge funds: David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital, LLC; Joel
Greenblatt, founder and managing partner of Gotham Capital
and past protégé of fallen junk-bond icon Michael Milliken;
Vincent Mai, who chairs AEA Investors, LP; Michael Novo-
gratz, president of Fortress Investment Group; and Rafael
Mayer, the Khronos LLC managing partner and KIPP AMP
charter school director.
Orbiting the group is billionaire “venture philanthropist”
and charter school funder Eli Broad, whose foundation gave
upwards of $500,000 to plug advocacy related to the docu-
mentary “Waiting for Superman,” and another charter-tout-
David Einhorn, another hedge-
funder on DFER’s advisory
board, is president of Green-
light Capital, LLC.
ing film, “The Lottery.” Though not himself a DFER board
member, Broad is a major funder of Education Reform Now,
DFER’s nonprofit sister organization, also headed by Joe
Williams.
Meanwhile, Andrew Rotherman, recently retired DFER
director and EduWonk blogger, is co-founder of and a part-
ner in for-profit Bellwether Education, described as “offering
specialized professional services and thoughtful leadership
to the entrepreneurial education reform field.” Rotherman
sits on the Broad Prize Review Board, while DFER board
member Sara Mead is a senior associate partner at his Bell-
wether Education and sits on the Washington, D.C., Public
Charter School Board.
Birds of a feather.
Why the preponderance of hedge-funders?
Unlike bankers, hedge-funders operate in an area with
little regulation and use “incentive structures” (bonuses,
in English) that dictate investment risk-taking. Unlike New
York’s traditional 400 wealthiest, these new rich aren’t
satisfied with seeing their names emblazoned on museums
and other cultural edifices. They mix narcissism with
profit. They want something that churns money and
strokes egos, too.
They’re what Diane Ravitch calls “the billionaire boys
club.” Their agenda: choice, competition and privatization,
which leads Ravitch to ask why the surprise when a crop of
corporate America’s super-rich bridle at government regu-
lation, favor private-sector solutions to societywide problems
and oppose unions after thriving in a union-free environ-
ment.
Interviewed by The New York Times’ business writer Joe
Nocera [Nov. 12], DFER’s Whitney Tilson, one of the
grandest of hedge-fund grandees, called charters “the perfect
philanthropy for results-oriented business executives…
Hedge funds are always looking for ways to turn a small
amount of capital into a large amount of capital.”
What do these folks know about education?
With the exception of Williams, who’s the hired help:
nothing! Understand that DFER’s endgame has little to do
with learning and everything to do with marginalizing pub-
lic-sector unionized workers and bringing down the cost of
taxes for social programs. It’s about creating new business
and investment opportunities in areas that are still publicly
run and serving as a pre-emptive strike against any hope for
private-sector union renewal. Where better to start than with
attacking teacher unions, one of the few labor strongholds in
this country?
For critical background on the group, visit www.DFER
watch.com, www.CampaignMoney.com and www.open
secrets.org.
DECEMBER 16, 2010 / 7

In Brooklyn, 400 members of functional chapters — the support staff that schools couldn’t do without — turned out for their UFT
borough office celebration of School Related Personnel Recognition Day.
Key contributors to education
honored in each borough
araprofessionals, secretaries, guidance counselors,
P
school nurses, therapists, social workers, psychologists
and all other support staff are so necessary to education
that a New York State law was created in 2007 to honor them
annually with a formal School Related Personnel Recogni-
tion Day on Nov. 17.
The UFT recognized these essential union members with
events in each borough that included music, dancing, theater
and even a sword swallower.
“Bringing everyone together and celebrating their work
and thanking them, that’s what this is about,” said UFT
Queens Borough Representative Rona Freiser about the of-
fice’s Nov. 16 party that entertained more than 200 guests.
Thanking people included a UFT trivia game, entertain-
ment, prizes and a festive meal served by the borough’s dis-
trict and special representatives.
No one left hungry from the Nov. 19 Brooklyn fest, ei-
ther, according to the borough representative, Howard
miller photography
In the Bronx, networking was on the menu with dinner and danc-
ing. Above are paras Josephina Grant (left) of PS 48 and June
Simmonds of PS 194.
8 / DECEMBER 16, 2010
SCHOOL RELATED PERSONNEL RECOGNITION DAY
miller photography
Schoor. A disc jockey spun tunes so that all 400 people could
dance the night away if they wished.
“There is not enough we can do to thank these people,”
said Schoor. “Their employer doesn’t thank them. Not only
is it incumbent upon us to do so, we like thanking them for
the incredible work they do.”
Dancing to a DJ was on the menu in Manhattan as well,
where more than 200 people were lauded at the borough of-
fice on Nov. 16.
“There are many UFT members besides teachers who
make this whole thing work,” said UFT Manhattan Borough
Representative Evelyn DeJesus about the school system,
“and we thank them.”
Hundreds were feted Bronx UFT-style with great ethnic
food and dancing at the union’s most northern borough.
In Queens, guests gave high marks to a UFT Trivia game, said UFT Queens Borough Representative
Rona Freiser (standing, left) and were wowed by professional sword swallower Adam Rinn (INSeT),
who teaches at PS 13.
bruce cotler
On Staten Is-
land, school
support staff and
their fans were
treated to a night
at the theater to
see “Spelling
Bee.”Above are
(from left) speech therapist Lois Giamboi-Nahas, teacher Diane
Peterman and school nurse Louise Spitzbarth.
According to Jose Vargas, UFT Bronx borough represen-
tative, what was special about this year’s event on Nov. 16
was a real mix of all the various support personnel chapters
turning out to celebrate.
On Staten Island, Borough Representative Emil
Pietromonaco booked all 350 seats for a Nov. 29 production
of “Spelling Bee” at the Wagner College Theatre to thank
school-related personnel for the work they do with students
every single day.
“Too often their work gets forgotten, so I invited chapter
leaders from every school, two superintendents — basically
I invited the whole universe to recognize them,”
Pietromonaco said.
In every borough’s event, functional chapter leaders, UFT
officers and other UFT representatives spoke to thank those
who educate, feed, counsel and provide health care for the
city’s children and keep schools safe and running smoothly.
“It means a lot to the paras to get to know their leaders
beyond the school level and to feel so appreciated,” said
Shelvy Young-Abrams, the paraprofessional chapter chair.
See more photos in the
galleries at www.uft.org.
gary schoichet
Noteworthy graduates:

Preeti Gupta, New York Hall of Science

Dr. Preeti Gupta, senior vice president for education and
family programs at the New York Hall of Science in Queens,
is an educator in the same borough where she first went to
school at PS 95 in Hollis. She attended nearby IS 238 and
graduated from Jamaica HS in 1991.
She is responsible for program development for the in-
ternationally replicated Science Career Ladder Pro-
gram, as well as for student programs,
digital learning, family learning and the
science technology library.
In 2005, she won the Inaugural Na-
tional Roy L. Schafer Leading Edge
Award for Experienced Leadership in the
Field from the Association for Science
Technology Centers.
In 1999, Gupta was selected as one of
42 women who contributed to the commu-
nity in unique ways showcased in a photo exhibition, “The
Many Faces of Queens Women.” Below, she talks about being
one of the many faces as a child in a diverse school system.
n school it became obvious to me that the world is not
Two, which is key to my work in professional develop-
ment, we have teachers in our public schools who have to
create ways to interact with this diversity. The best teachers
are the ones who are able to leverage the vast community of
students that come from all different places with differenti-
ated teaching to take advantage of each of the students in the
classroom. That’s what makes them effective.
I could name a whole bunch of teachers
who impacted the way I think. The common
characteristic is that they were able to engage
me. Once they engaged me, they had me
hooked, and it worked. To be honest, the
ones who stand out figured out a way to en-
gage everybody in the class, not just me. The
teachers who made me teacher’s pet — and
at the time I thought, “Wow, this is really
great” — didn’t help in the grand scheme of
things and looking back those subjects are not my strongest
points!
Even though I’m a science person, I’m equally a teacher.
Looking back, I can pinpoint times when teachers did some- problems.

I
only a vast place but one that exists in a wonderful way,
like a quilt, as the analogy goes that we use in Queens.
The classrooms are filled with students from all different
places and those students bring with them a real richness to
the classroom environment.
That was key for me in two ways. One, they were differ-
ent from me so I had an opportunity to experience and ap-
preciate the difference. In the work I do and as the human
being I think I am, the appreciation of different people that
I have was formed through my public school experience.
thing with me that I realize now was an effective strategy and
I think, I’m going to use that to be a more effective teacher.
Public schools are a fantastic way to experience what life
is all about in a way that is protected and safe but that doesn’t
hide the reality of life.
There’s no reason why we have to hide the reality of life
from children. What we do is support schools in thinking
about how to create opportunities for kids who do experience
real-life problems and devise community projects or service
learning projects so that instead of hiding from reality they
can find ways to contribute to solving some of society’s
I think the best thing public schools have is their teachers.
My work is dedicated to using my experiences to become
more effective in helping my colleagues in schools to be
more effective.
The more effective we are, the better for our kids and of
course the better for our city.
— as told to reporter Ellie Spielberg
The series “Noteworthy Graduates” features out-
standing New York City public school alumni talking
about what they owe to their education.

DECEMBER 16, 2010 / 9