At the UFT’s annual city legislative breakfast, 28 City Council members heard how critical an annual “RESPECT check” would be in reversing the paraprofessional shortage in schools. They also heard appeals from union representatives for continued city funding of Teacher’s Choice and UFT programs that benefit educators, students and families.


Steven Leaderman, a teacher at P370, a District 75 program in Coney Island, has created an innovative vocational program that has his students sort and deliver school supplies. The program helps the students develop key vocational and life skills that will serve them after graduation. 


Thousands of UFT members wore blue to work in solidarity with their paraprofessional colleagues on April 2, which was national Paraprofessionals Appreciation Day and the union’s citywide Day of Action.

Nearly 1,100 paraprofessionals and other members gathered at the New York Hilton Midtown on March 22 to celebrate the outstanding work of their colleagues, attend professional learning sessions and have fun at a carnival. City Council Education Committee Chair Rita Joseph, a key supporter of the RESPECT check legislation, was the keynote speaker.

Paraprofessionals across the city have embraced the opportunity to participate at long last in Teacher’s Choice.
After years of advocacy by the union, paraprofessionals were included in the program beginning in the 2023-24 school year. Learn how these seven paraprofessionals used their Teacher's Choice allotment this school year.