First Class: A Resource for New Teachers

Welcome to First Class!

Dear New Teachers,

Congratulations on the start of a new school year and welcome to the First Class newsletter! We hope that this newsletter will support your new journey in the 2022-23 school year.

Throughout the year, you will receive this newsletter with topics to support your first year of teaching at the DOE. This first edition primarily focuses on human resource topics to support your on-boarding experience. In future editions, other topics will include self-care, supporting multi-lingual learners and special education students, and leveraging your assigned mentor.

The New Teacher Support Team is excited to join you on this journey and we look forward to your success.

Wishing you a great start to the school year!

The New Teacher Support Team

New Teacher Survey

Tomorrow you will be emailed the link to your confidential new teacher onboarding survey which should take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete.

The survey is designed to gain a deeper understanding of your experience as a first-year teacher in the DOE. Feedback collected from the survey will be used to evaluate and strengthen the quality of existing new teacher supports. The results from this confidential survey will be shared with partners across the DOE and used to inform professional development for first year teachers. Please check your DOE email for your survey link.

Health Care Announcement

The NYC Office of Labor Relations (OLR) has announced that City employees, including NYCDOE employees, hired on or after October 1, 2022, and their eligible dependents, will only be eligible to enroll in the EmblemHealth HIP HMO Preferred Plan, and must remain in the HIP HMO Preferred Plan for the first year (365 days) of employment.

After 365 days of employment, the employee will have the option of either remaining in the HIP HMO Preferred Plan or selecting a different health plan within 30 days before the end of the 365-day period.

An employee who needs to request an exemption from the required enrollment in the HIP HMO Preferred Plan can do so by submitting a HIP HMO Opt-Out Request Form to EmblemHealth directly. An employee, or eligible dependent, must meet certain criteria in order to submit the request and it must be approved by EmblemHealth before the exemption is granted.

Review this memo for further details. For questions, contact your HR Director.

New Teacher Toolkit

The New Teacher Tool Kit will serve as a primer to all the essential resources needed to support your onboarding to the DOE. We recommend that you bookmark the site for reference throughout your first-year of teaching.

Human Resource Support

The Onboarding Roadmap is a step-by-step seven page guide to all HR items and steps you will need to complete as a new DOE employee. Please review the guidance thoroughly and refer to this document a often as needed.

Paychecks & Salary

In the Payroll Portal, you can do the following:

View your payroll calendar; and
Enroll in and make changes to your direct deposit (required), commuter benefits, college savings plan, and more
View and print your pay stubs

To log into the Payroll Portal:

Enter your Outlook (DOE) User ID;
Enter your Outlook (DOE) password; and
Enter either your Employee Identification Number (EIN) or your EIS Number (file number).

Classroom Content

Check out WeTeachNYC! It is the NYCDOE’s website for educators to find curricular and, instructional resources. Popular search terms include:

Black history curriculum
Civic education
Instructional leadership

If you have questions, email WeTeachNYC@schools.nyc.gov.

A+ Course Credits

For information about A+ course credits please visit the HR Connect Employee Web Portal and search: “MA+30 Differential and A+ Courses” for more information.

Professional Development Opportunities

I Teach NYC provides the latest career development and professional learning opportunities for educators in New York City. Subscribe to I Teach NYC notifications by entering your email address in the right-hand side bar of the I TeachNYC home page.

Employee Incentives & Discounts

Click here to find a listing of special discounts, incentives, and offers available to DOE employees. Find everything from discounts on virtual activities to cell phone carrier discounts.