November 24, 2014

PARKING PERMITS                                                                                                          We will hold the parking permit lottery for the month of December on Tuesday, November 24 during the extended time. Those who had a permit for the month of November will not be included until everyone in the lottery has had a permit. If you have a permit this month, you MUST return it to Ms. Parache in the main office before you leave on Wednesday, November 26. Failure to do so will exclude you from future lotteries. If you give your permit directly to the person receiving it for the month of December, or if it goes to the person who you carpool with, let Ms. Parache know before you leave. Those who receive a parking permit for the month of December can pick up their permit in the main office on Monday, December 1.

LOBBY FOR FAIRNESS AND EQUITY FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS                                                     Between now and Jan. 7, when the next session of the state Legislature convenes with a new Republican majority in the state Senate, we are making a full-court press to meet with every state Assembly member in the New York City delegation as a part of our union’s new campaign to demand fairness and equity for all schoolchildren. We need to work with our friends in the Assembly to make sure that they know we're here to support our shared vision of fair and equitable education for all children. We will come bearing four messages: 1) support fair funding for education; 2) do not raise the charter cap; 3) repeal facilities funding for charter schools; and 4) do not sponsor the Education Investment Tax Credit bill, which would grant individuals tax credits of up to $1 million for donations to scholarship funds for religious or other private schools. Our elected representatives need to hear from public school educators and parents about the importance of fairness and equity for all schoolchildren. Please join us! Call Kathy Sharko at the Brooklyn UFT office, or email me so I could forward your information to her. You can also contact your own Assembly representative to demand fairness for public schools.

SECURITY                                                                                                                   1) Please remember that all staff must enter and exit through the front door of the school at all times. This is for the safety and security of the students as well as the staff members of our school. 

2) Reports of larceny in New York City schools are increasing. Please take care to secure all personal belongings and valuable school equipment such as laptops, and ELMOs. 

FREE FLU SHOTS                                                                                                                From now until the end of December, UFT members can take advantage of Mayor de Blasio's Flu Vaccination Campaign. The campaign allows all UFT members to get a free flu vaccination at in-network doctors’ offices, participating pharmacies and Advantage Care Physician facilities. Only city employees who are currently enrolled in city health benefits are eligible to receive the flu shot through the Flu Vaccination Campaign. Wherever you go to get the shot, please bring both your DOE-issued ID or other proof of employment and your health plan card. For more information about the Flu Vaccination Campaign, see the FAQ at http://files.uft.org/2014-free-flu-Shots.pdf

ENTEROVIRUS                                                                                                                        While only a few cases have been documented in the New York metropolitan area, it’s prudent to follow best practices as we enter the cold and flu season. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, your students and colleagues may be infected and not present any symptoms. Visible symptoms may include some or all of the following: fever, runny nose, sneezing, cough, skin rash, mouth blisters, and body and muscle aches. Enteroviruses are spread through close contact with infected people or touching infected surfaces or objects and then putting your hands in or near your mouth, eyes and nose. Children are at particular risk for more serious illness from this virus. Staff and students should frequently wash their hands with soap and water and avoid close contact, especially with those who are sick.

CONTACTS                                                                                                                                        UFT Welfare Fund: (212) 539-0500

Teachers’ Retirement System: 1-888-869-2877

UFT Brooklyn Borough Office: (718) 852-4900 

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

JUNE 2, 2014

SCHOOL-BASED OPTIONS (SBOs)                                                                                             In accordance with Article 8B of the contract, SBOs allow staff the flexibility to collaboratively modify contractual articles and/or create positions that the contract does not automatically allow for. An SBO is adopted in a school when 55 percent of the UFT members who vote support it. All SBOs sunset at the end of the school year, except for the 7/8 period day SBO, which remains in effect until the staff votes otherwise.

This week we will hold an SBO vote to reduce the lunch periods to 45 minutes, with the time being returned to us by having dismissal and the end of the work day on Fridays at 1:55 PM for the 2014-2015 school year. This will benefit the school by making all seven periods consistent in length, which will make scheduling easier.

We will not hold an SBO on reconfiguring the extended time because the results of last week’s survey showed that there is very little support for changing the contract as written.

Within the next two weeks we may possibly hold other SBOs, including holding the November and March afternoon and evening parent-teacher conferences on the same day. Details to follow.

 

CONTRACT VOTE                                                                                                        The American Arbitration Association is counting the ballots. Results should be in by Tuesday.

 

SUMMER SCHOOL APPLICATIONS                                                                                  Online summer school applications are now being accepted. The deadline is June 10. Go to: https://www.nycenet.edu/summerjobs/

 

TRANSFERS                                                                                                                                            The Open Market Hiring System is up and running. You have until August 7 to transfer without the principal’s permission. Look under the Human Resources section of the DOE website.

Additionally, the DOE is opening 24 new schools. You may apply on the DOE website under “Schools in the Community/Work at a new school.”

ROOM CHANGES/MATERIALS                                                                               If you are changing rooms, while you must leave school furniture, bookcases, etc. in your old room, you may take materials which you own. As far as materials purchased in the past through Teacher’s Choice, they belong to the DOE and the school. If you are moving and need the materials for next year, then move with the materials. If you are transferring or retiring, materials purchased through Teacher’s Choice remain in the building There is no word yet on Teacher’s Choice for 2014-2015.

 

EMAIL                                                                                                                         Please give me your non-DOE email address if I don’t already have it so that I can contact you if necessary. Send a message to 123uft@optonline.net so that I could add you to my address book.

Thursday, June 5 is a Chancellor’s Conference Day, which is 6 hours, 50 minutes.                                          Hours are from 8:00 AM – 2:50 PM.

 

 

GROUP PENSION MEETINGS FOR THOSE PLANNING ON RETIRING BY JUNE 30 – NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED

BROOKLYN                                                               

Tiers I/II                              

Location: Brooklyn borough office, 335 Adams St., 24th floor

Thursday, June 5

Tuesday, June 10

Monday, June 16

Tier IV

Tuesday, June 3                                                              

Location: Brooklyn borough office, 335 Adams St., 24th floor (please note this is a change in location from Abraham Lincoln HS)

Thursday, June 12                                                           

Location: Abraham Lincoln HS, 2800 Ocean Parkway

Tuesday, June 17                                                             

Location: New Utrecht HS, 1601 80th St.

QUEENS                                                                        

Tiers I/II                                          

Location: Queens borough office, 97-77 Queens Blvd.

Monday, June 2

Monday, June 9

Monday, June 16

Wednesday, June 25

Tier IV

Thursday, June 5                                                             

Location: PS 139, 93-06 63rd Dr., Rego Park

Thursday, June 12                                                          

Location: John Adams HS, 101-01 Rockaway Blvd., Ozone Park

Thursday, June 19                                                            

Location: Bayside HS, 32-24 Corporal Kennedy St., Bayside

Monday, June 23                                                                 

Location: Long Island City HS, 14-30 Broadway, Long Island City

Check UFT.org for meetings in other boroughs.

 

 

 

 

April 8, 2014

END OF YEAR UFT EVALUATION GUIDE                                                                                                                                                    End-of-year guides to the new teacher evaluation and development system have been shipped to schools. This is the first — and we hope the last — guide to ending a school year under this particular evaluation system. As you know, the UFT is in talks with the city. The guide, called Summing it up: An end-of-year guide to the new teacher evaluation & development system ,includes a timeline and information on summative conferences, artifacts, professional records, ratings and how student assessment results will figure into evaluations. You will also be able to access the guide plus additional information on the evaluation system on the UFT website   

ARTIFACTS                                                                                                         Teachers who are covered by the new evaluation and development system must know that Friday, April 11 is the last day to submit artifacts. If they are missing evidence on any Danielson component for domains 1 and 4, they may consider what kind of artifact they could submit to demonstrate their effectiveness in that area. When submitting an artifact, they might also consider making it clear to their evaluator in writing or verbally that they are submitting an artifact. Members may, in addition, consider sending the evaluator a follow-up email after submission asking for feedback. If a principal or other evaluator is missing evidence on any components for a teacher, the evaluator must ask the teacher for additional artifacts (for domains 1 and 4) or for additional observations (for domains 2 and 3). You can view a partial list of some possible artifacts on the UFT website. Teachers may choose to submit their lesson plans as an artifact for evaluation, but a principal cannot mandate it.


OBSERVATONS                                                                                                                              Once you sign your official observation report, the form must be put into your official file. In addition, you have a right to attach a written response to the official observation report. It is very important to review and proofread your written responses before attaching them to the reports. If you email your responses to the evaluator, use your DOE email. Whether email or letter, use a professional, responsible tone and bring up any issues or concerns that you have about the observation, including whether there were distractions such as from photos being taken or from multiple evaluators being in the room, or if evidence of your practice was missed or not taken into account. In other words, a teacher’s written response to an observation report is an opportunity for the teacher to make any concerns part of the official record.

You are able to file an Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) complaint form online at uft,org if you feel your rights under the new system are being violated. The complaint form is part of a formal enforcement process in the evaluation system. Members have up to five school days after becoming aware of an issue to complete the complaint form online and give copies to their principal and chapter leader. A copy of the completed form will automatically be sent to the district representative, which will trigger a resolution review.

 

 

SECURITY                                                                                                                                        When you are finished dismissing students and are the last one at your exit, please make sure that the door is completely shut. Please make sure that you use the main entrance when you exit the building. If you have an appointment with a parent, please let the school safety agent know.  This will help prevent intruders from entering the building.  

                                                                                                                              

 

 INVESTIGATIONS                                                                                                                                  If an investigator comes to the school to question you,  either as a subject or as a witness, don’t answer their questions. Ask for his/her business card. Then contact me immediately so that I can call the UFT to arrange for legal representation. If you are arrested in school, I will call the UFT to get you legal representation. If you are arrested on your own time, contact Mrs. Greene immediately in writing. Then contact  the Office of Personnel Investigations at 65 Court Street, Room 409, Brooklyn, New York 11201

 

SBOs                                                                                                                                                                        After the April break, we will discuss the SBOs for the 2014-2015 school year.  We will have a chapter meeting on April 29 with Kathy Sharko in attendance.

SPRING CLEANING                                                                                                                      Letters to the file that have not been used in a disciplinary proceeding must be removed “three years from the date the original material is placed in the file,” per Article 21A of the Contract. Teachers have the right to examine their file and should do so periodically to know what's in it and to have old material removed. In addition, they have the right to reproduce any material in their file. You should start the next school year with your file up-to-date.                                                                                                  

MATERNITY AND CHILDCARE WORKSHOPS                                                                                                                                            April 24, 4:15 PM - 5:45 PM                                                                                                                     UFT Brooklyn Borough Office                                                                                                                    335 Adams Street, 25th Floor                                                                                                                    -Look under “Calendar” on uft.org and click on the link to register.   

UFT Queens Borough Office                                                                                                                         May 15, 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM                                                                                                                          97-77 Queens Blvd., 5th Floor                                                                                                                        Rego Park

RSVP to Karla at Kjordan@uft.org with your name, due date,                                                                file number, cell phone number and personal email address (no DOE emails).

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 



September 30, 2013

FROM THE UFT

NEW EVALUATION SYSTEM

As one part of the union’s effort to help members make the transition, every UFT borough office is holding workshops this fall on various aspects of the new system. Members are strongly encouraged to attend one. There is online registration for almost all workshops. The workshops and the online registration links can be found in the event listings on UFT.org Go to UFT.org, place the cursor on “News,” then click on “Calendar.” You can filter your search by borough under “Where” to see the choices on the UFT.org calendar.

Additionally, the UFT has created two online inquiry forms about the new evaluation and support system — one for teachers and one for chapter leaders — to help get questions answered quickly. These forms are among the resources on the new system posted in the UFT website’s Teacher Evaluation section, which will be the hub of information going forward. Posted on this page are a list of samples of teacher artifacts as outlined in the state education commissioner’s ruling on the evaluation system, the quick-start guide and the commissioner’s ruling. 

                                                                                                                                                            INITIAL PLANNING CONFERENCE

On or before the last Friday in October, all teachers and the principal (or an assistant principal) must have an individual, face-to-face conversation to discuss the teacher’s goals and priorities for the school year. At this initial conference, the teacher chooses the observation option he or she wants for that school year. In addition, the principal and the teacher discuss the components of the Danielson rubric and address any questions or concerns that the teacher may have.

If their initial planning conferences were held at a time which had not been mutually agreed upon between the teacher and the evaluator, the teacher has the right to a follow-up conversation with the evaluator. During the follow-up conversation, the teacher can opt to change his or her choice of an observation option. Teachers may also request a follow-up conversation if the initial planning conference was perfunctory. For members who have not yet had initial planning conferences, please ensure they understand that if their evaluator schedules a time for the conference that doesn’t work for the teacher, the teacher can decline and suggest an alternate time.

SESIS

If teachers perform SESIS work outside of the regular school day, they must get the principal’s permission first. Otherwise, they will not be paid.

 

DEPENDENT INFORMATION

Members may have received a letter telling them to submit proof of eligibility of their dependents.  They must do so by October 4 to continue healthcare coverage for their eligible dependents.

PARA SALARY DIFFERENTIALS

The DOE has launched its online salary upgrade application for in-service paras. Applications must be filed within six months of completing course work in order to receive retroactive payments. New paras must file within six months of their hire date. Supporting documentation must be submitted by certified mail to the Division of Human Resource, Office of Salary Services, 65 Court, Room 815 or in person at the HR Connect walk-in center, Room 102. Although the DOE will continue to accept paper applications, it is encouraging paras to file online.         

FROM OUR CHAPTER

STAFFLOUNGE     

In order to comply with the new Chancellor’s Regulations regarding sustainability, personal appliances such as microwaves and refrigerators must be in a central location in each school. Therefore, Room 309 is once again the staff lounge.

Please empty your leftover items from the refrigerators and clean up after yourself to reduce the chance of pest infestation.

Please remember that students are not to be sent to 309.                 

PARAS AND TRIPS

Paras are not required to pay for field trips. It is advised that you charge students a little extra to cover their cost of admission.

NEXT CHAPTER MEETING

Our next chapter meeting will be held on October 16,  with our UFT district rep, Kathy Sharko.

 PARKING SIGNS

For six months I have been contacting the DOT, the chancellor’s office, the NYPD and local officials to have the missing Willoughby Ave. parking restriction signs replaced. I am now working in conjunction with our team member from the CFN to remedy the situation.

E-MAIL

We are not permitted to use DOE e-mail for union purposes. If I don’t have your current non-DOE e-mail address, please send an e-mail to 123uft@optonline.net so that I may communicate with you if necessary.