I’d like you to meet Jim Frenette. He’s more than my dad. He’s also a retired teacher. In Tupper Lake, where I grew up, teachers were — and still are — a respected profession. It wasn’t just me and my family who looked up to him, whether he was wearing his school shoes or his [...]

Book lovers take heart! School library disaster relief is available through a fund for public schools whose school library program has been affected by a disaster — such as last fall’s flooding that trashed many parts of New York, including homes, schools and businesses. The American Library Association, the American Association of School Librarians, the [...]

Right now beautiful, light snow is falling outside the windows. What a great time to go out for a walk or go skiing! How about those snowshoes you got for Christmas? I know there are a lot of teachers who run after-school downhill and cross-country ski programs for students, and they are loving this weather [...]

Worried about the impact of indoor air quality in your school? CNN is airing a piece this Sat. Jan. 14 and Sun. Jan. 15 about the impact of air quality on students and school employees. Among those interviewed are NEA Vice President Lily Eskelsen, who discusses how safety and health issues impact students and learning. [...]

The newly-released documentary “Dark Girls” – about color, gender and race – is being shown as part of the Martin Luther King Family Day Celebrations in Poughkeepsie and Albany.

Looking for a gift for a woman in your life who believes in unions? Workers rights? Who attends rallies or leads her colleagues? Or perhaps you need a gift for a speaker at one of your rallies, or for an award-winner at one of your union events? Check out the Coalition for Labor Union Women [...]

Tony LaMarca, a retired teacher from Gates Chile, and former president of the Teachers Association there, sends  along a great consumer tip. ” I read your column on “Made in USA” in the recent edition to the NYSUT paper. I would like know that there is an excellent book titled “How Americans Can Buy American“. [...]

How can you protect yourself and workers from the threat of workplace violence? It is the leading cause of serious injury and death in the workplace. To learn more, check out the session on “Understanding and Preventing Workplace Violence” being held Wed. Nov. 30 in Hauppauge (Long Island) from 5-7:30. Jeff Hyman, occupational safety and [...]

The  Labor-Religion Coalition of New York State has chosen three workers to honor as the first Faith at Work awardees. A ceremony will be held Tuesday, Nov. 15 in New York City. To be honored are Vincent Alvarez, president of the New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO; Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of [...]

You know Flat Stanley, right? This is a book character created by author Jeff Brown who was squashed by his bulletin board, but as a result, is able to travel  all over the world inside envelopes in the mail– resulting in many adventures. Flat Stanley is now part of the coming International Education Week on [...]