Philadelphia Federation of Teachers

From Chalkboards to AI: A Teacher’s 65-Year Journey

On her very first day of student teaching at Linden Avenue Middle School in Red Hook, N.Y., Martha Strever pushed, pulled and pounded on the school’s door, which was locked. No one came. Where was everybody? It was, after all, the first day of school.

It turned out everybody was exactly where they were supposed to be: inside, having entered through the school’s front entrance. Strever had been knocking on a side door. Flustered but undeterred, she not only found her way inside, she also found her life’s calling.

Photo credit: SDI Productions / E+ / Getty Images

Paraprofessionals and school-related personnel are often overlooked because of their support roles. They are the last ones hired and often the first ones fired when budgets get tight. This certainly seems true right now as the Trump administration withholds nearly $7 billion in education funds, effective July 1, which has hamstrung summer school programs, hindered English language support, halted professional development this summer, and left before- and after-school programs in limbo for the coming school year.

PFT President Arthur Steinberg speaks at a rally for fair education funding in Harrisburg.

PHILADELPHIA (November 12, 2025) – Following is a statement from Philadelphia Federation of Teachers President Arthur G. Steinberg on passage of Pennsylvania’s FY2026 budget:

“After an embarrassing and painful four-plus months of gridlock in Harrisburg that forced school districts including Philadelphia’s to take on massive debt just to keep the lights on, I’m relieved that Governor Shapiro and legislative leaders in Harrisburg finally reached an agreement on the Fiscal Year 2026 budget.

“On behalf of the 14,000 educators represented by PFT Local 3, I’m incredibly grateful to the Democratic

Follow these instructions to calculate the retroactive pay you are owed by The School District of Philadelphia under our new CBA:

PHILADELPHIA (October 9, 2025) – The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT Local 3), which represents 14,000 public educators working in the School District of Philadelphia, has endorsed the following jurists for Pennsylvania’s three statewide appellate courts:

For the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the PFT supports retention of Justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty, and David Wecht.
For the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, the PFT endorses Judge Stella Tsai, as well as Judge Michael Wojcik for retention.
For the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, the PFT endorses Judge Brandon Neuman

Revised District-issued laptops agreement

Members,

After our September 29th guidance advising you to not sign the District's liability agreement for employee-assigned laptops until our concerns were addressed, we have secured the following revisions to the SDP liability form that will protect you from unfair imposition of costs or other discipline:

● The agreement cover page will be revised to make it clear that staff will not be charged for stolen or lost laptops when a police report or serious incident report is filed; to allow for lost or stolen laptop replacements to be delivered to schools at the Office of Information Technology’s

From Chalkboards to AI: A Teacher’s 65-Year Journey

Kids and PSRPs take the brunt of Trump’s halt to school funding

PFT President Steinberg Statement on Passage of State Budget

Calculating Your Retroactive Pay

PFT Announces 2025 General Election Endorsements

Revised Agreement for SDP Staff Laptops