Expanding Member Dental Benefits and Boerum Hill Campus Fights to Reclaim Space from Success Academy
Expanded Dental Benefits and Boerum Hill Campus fights for space equity with Success Academy
Check Out Our 2025 Unity Caucus Election Platform
Let’s start by wishing you a great holiday season and a happy, healthy and safe New Year.
Dental benefits are a top priority for UFT members and UNITY/UFT has been working hard to improve these benefits. We have some great news and are pleased to announce that starting December 1st:
The number of dentists in our Scheduled Benefit Plan will more than triple.
Access to over 2,000 dentists in the New York Metro area, up from around 600.
The expanded network includes more specialists, such as pediatric dentists and orthodontists.
There will be a reduction in out-of-pocket costs for out-of-network dentists and the maximum reimbursement for 28 dental procedures, including periodontal cleanings and root canals, will increase.
For the first time, you can see panel dentists in:
Atlantic, Camden, Gloucester, Somerset, and Mercer counties in New Jersey.
Sullivan and Saratoga counties in New York State.
We are in the midst of an aggressive request for proposal (RFP) process. This RFP is essentially a way for us to compare different offers by potential providers interested in working with us to improve our dental benefits. This competitive process will help us further enhance our dental benefits in the coming year.
This is just one step in expanding and improving our UFT Welfare Fund benefits and UNITY/UFT understands how crucial health benefits are for you and your family, and we are committed to continuously refining them.
Please enjoy your well-deserved time off!
UNITY – more than just a name.
The Boerum Hill Campus in Brooklyn [BHS] needs your help. In 2016 a building utilization plan was written to accommodate a Success Academy. In 2016 they were allocated space based on a projection of 390 students with grade bands of K-5. Today they serve less than 278 students with grade bands of K-4. The Success currently has at least 5 classrooms that are not being utilized at all.
At the same time the two public high schools on that campus are growing. BHS was projected to have 600-670 students and currently serve over 746; and Digital Tech was projected to serve 160-200 yet they currently serve 292 students. In order to successfully serve all the student needs and implement the class size law these public high schools need the space that Success is not using and is going to waste as a result of DOE and City Hall inaction.
The UNITY caucus demands that NYC DOE treat under enrolled charter schools the same as they have public schools. We demand that the space be returned to public schools and Building Utilization Plans [BUPs] are amended to be equitable for the school communities they serve. We can start in Boerum Hill. There is no reason why students should be receiving mandated services in hallways when there are 5 classrooms sitting empty. There is no reason why cheerleading practice should be held in the lobby of the building when the charter school holds space that student clubs and teams could use. There is no reason why public school students should be treated differently and unequal to charter school students when the space exists but is being wasted by Success.
The UNITY caucus asks that you sign the linked petition below calling for the DOE to Amend the BUP to share space equitably. You can also support the Boerum Hill public school community at the December 18th PEP at Sunset Park High School.
Direct Link to Petition
https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/amend-the-bup-to-share-space-equitably?source=direct_link&
Petition Language:
Boerum Hill School for International Studies (BHS) is facing a critical issue: our classrooms, library, and support spaces are overcrowded, preventing students from receiving the individualized attention and focused learning environments they need. Meanwhile, Success Academy, which shares our building, has five classrooms sitting empty, as a result of their declining enrollment.
Currently, BHS has exceeded enrollment projections by 76 students, while Success Academy has fallen short by 25%. The two other public schools in our building, Digital Technology, a high school, and STAR Academy, a D75 school, are also growing and would benefit from additional space. Yet, the outdated 2016 Building Utilization Plan (BUP) still governs how space is allocated. This inequity limits our ability to comply with new class-size laws and provide the legally required support for students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).
We are calling on district officials to amend the 2016 plan to reflect current enrollment trends and reallocate space to meet our students’ needs. Our kids deserve a learning environment that promotes growth, focus, and achievement. Opening up these classrooms would help us to better serve hundreds of students per day.
Sign this petition and join us in advocating for equitable space allocation that supports all students at BHS, DT, and STAR Academy!