November 1, 2013

From the UFT

 

NEW EVALUATION SYSTEM
Check the Teacher Evaluation System section of the UFT website for the latest information, including the new complaint form that teachers signed up at UFT.org were notified about earlier this week.

In the Students with Disabilities section of the UFT website, there is a new reader-friendly checklist to help teachers of students with disabilities navigate the new evaluation process. The checklist will help teachers make sure they have the information they need about their students, classes and assessments. It contains, for example, a section on what teachers should know about their students’ IEPs. The checklist will also help teachers discern whether their school is doing all that it needs to do for the teachers’ students, such as following special education laws on class-size limits for self-contained classes and on the maximum number of students with disabilities in Integrated Co-Teaching classes.  

SHARE MY LESSON                                                                                                             Less stress in moving to the Common Core Learning Standards is the idea behind upcoming Share My Lesson webinars from the AFT-sponsored website, sharemylesson.com. You can register for free Share My Lesson webinars, each at 8 p.m. on Wednesday nights in November. Subjects include math, writing, science, English Language learners and test anxiety, among others. Each session features a different Common Core expert. More information is available on the website. Share My Lesson, with more than 250,000 total resources, is a free platform developed by teacher for teachers.

 HEALTH BENEFITS TRANSFER PERIOD                                                                         The 2013 Health Benefits Transfer Period will begin on Friday, November 1, 2013 and continue through Saturday, November 30, 2013. Participation is not mandatory and if you are currently enrolled in an insurance plan and you wish to keep that plan for the coming year, you do not need to do anything. 

The transfer period (also known as “open enrollment”) is the only time during the year that you have the opportunity to make changes to your City health benefits without experiencing a qualifying event such as a marriage or the birth of a child. Changes made to your elections will go into effect on the first full payroll period of January 2014.

For more information, go to http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/DHR/default.htm#time_sensitive

 

FROM OUR CHAPTER

PARKING PERMITS      

                                                                                                                                                                       As of the publication of this newsletter, the new parking permits still have not arrived. When they do, I will have them numbered and ready for sharing as quickly as possible.

This past year there have been too many abuses of the privilege of using the parking permits. All people using these permits must sign for them at the desk outside of 106A. Every permit must be returned at the end of the school day. There are no exceptions. 

ROOM KEYS      
                                                                                                                                                               During the lockdown drill on October 31, there were doors which could not be locked by the teachers who had the classes at that time because the keys to those rooms were not in the box in the main office where they belong. Please remember that your room keys must be returned to the main office before you leave at the end of each day. Likewise, if you are being prepped by a teacher pushing in, please leave your keys with that teacher for the period so that the cluster can lock the door. This is for the safety and well-being of the children.

ELECTION  DAY              
                                                                                                                                                                 Tuesday, November 5, 2013 is Election Day. For staff, it is a Chancellor’s Conference Day, which is 6 hours and 50 minutes. Therefore, our hours on Election Day are from 8:00AM until 2:50PM.

PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES     
                                                                                                                                                             Parent-Teacher Conference Day is on Thursday, November 14. The afternoon and evening conferences are both on that date, as SBOd in the spring.

CONTACT  INFO      
                                                                                                                                                               UFT Brooklyn Office: 335 Adams Street     (718) 852-4900                                 

Call Theresa Samuels, John Capuano or John Settle, regarding ALL leaves.            

Call Theresa Samuels or Elizabeth Perez concerning certification and licensing.

UFT Welfare Fund (212) 539-0500

Teachers’ Retirement System 1-888-869-2877

UFT.ORG    
                                                                                                                                                          Register with UFT.org to get the latest news and updates from the UFT.