{"id":156734,"date":"2025-08-18T21:38:16","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T21:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/156734\/"},"modified":"2025-08-18T21:38:16","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T21:38:16","slug":"after-outcry-nyc-teaching-fellows-begin-receiving-payments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/156734\/","title":{"rendered":"After outcry, NYC Teaching Fellows begin receiving payments"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sign up for Chalkbeat New York\u2019s free daily newsletter<\/a> to get essential news about NYC\u2019s public schools delivered to your inbox.<\/p>\n

They racked up credit card debt, borrowed money from relatives, and ate frozen dinners. <\/p>\n

Now, after weeks of delays<\/a>, the Education Department has begun sending payments to soon-to-be-teachers who were counting on the money to cover living expenses over the summer while they trained to enter the city\u2019s public schools.<\/p>\n

Members of the NYC Teaching Fellows expected to be paid up to $4,500 in installments during the summer program, which quickly trains career changers and recent college graduates to fill hard-to-staff positions in the city\u2019s public schools. Nearly 1,000 people participated this year, about double the number compared with last year, as the city races to comply with a state class size mandate that will require hiring thousands more teachers<\/a> than usual every year.<\/p>\n

Education officials initially indicated that participants would be paid periodically during the seven-week program to help offset living expenses, according to a recording of a webinar obtained by Chalkbeat. But when the program wound down during the last week of July, the payments still hadn\u2019t arrived.<\/p>\n

Several fellows complained about the delays, and the Education Department responded with vague messages that did little to clarify the timeline. City officials eventually told fellows they would begin issuing checks on Aug 1., meaning participants would not receive them until after they completed their training.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey just kept saying, \u2018Expect an update,\u2019\u201d said Kimba Williams, a 44-year-old former case manager for a foster care agency who participated in the program this summer. \u201cThey waited until the whole program was over.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AKimba Williams, a New York City teaching fellow. (Courtesy of Kimba Williams) <\/p>\n

Launched in 2000<\/a>, the Teaching Fellows program has long been a key pipeline for attracting educators into high-need schools and is also designed to help diversify the teaching force. About 12% of the city\u2019s current teachers<\/a> were hired through the program, which offers a faster track into city classrooms that skirts the traditional certification process.<\/p>\n

Williams, who is slated to teach at a Bronx middle school this fall, joined the fellows program because he wanted to be a positive role model for Black boys. Research suggests<\/a> students of color have better outcomes when they are in classrooms with teachers who look like them. <\/p>\n

As the weeks ticked by without any sign of a paycheck, he maxed out his credit cards, took on $2,500 in debt, and canceled a trip to visit his daughter in North Carolina because he couldn\u2019t afford the travel. He was expecting a stipend of about $3,700.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes it hard to live a normal life,\u201d Williams said. <\/b>\u201cAt times you may not know where your next meal is coming from and that\u2019s not fair to put anyone through.\u201d<\/p>\n

The training experience \u2014 which involves learning how to devise lessons, manage classrooms, and teach summer school students under close supervision \u2014 was positive except for the lack of payment, Williams said.<\/p>\n

A check finally arrived on Aug. 11, more than a week after the program ended. Williams plans to use some of the money to drive his daughter to college. <\/p>\n

City officials eventually blamed the delays on a \u201ctransition to a new payment structure that was required for us to remain in compliance with tax regulations,\u201d according to an email some teaching fellows received at the end of July.<\/p>\n

Inspiration, advice, and best practices for the classroom \u2014 learn from teachers like you.<\/p>\n

Across all of our bureaus, Chalkbeat reporters interview educators with interesting, effective approaches to teaching students and leading their schools. Get the best of How I Teach sent to your inbox for free every month.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the Office of Teacher Recruitment and Quality has been working tirelessly to issue this payment as soon as possible, we deeply apologize for the delay caused by this transition and appreciate your patience and understanding,\u201d the message continued.<\/p>\n

After this story was published, Education Department spokesperson Chyann Tull wrote in an email that \u201call payments have been issued\u201d and noted that the city would \u201cquickly identify and resolve any outstanding issues to ensure every Fellow is paid in full.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some fellows, however, said they are still waiting to be paid. <\/p>\n

One participant, who previously worked as an accountant, said he borrowed $6,500 from relatives to pay for rent and groceries this summer. The delays have strained some of those relationships.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re asking, \u2018When are you going to be able to pay?\u2019\u201d said the fellow, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. \u201cI can\u2019t tell them because I haven\u2019t received it.\u201d<\/p>\n

City officials warned fellows in a late July message that lost checks could take months to reissue.<\/p>\n

Some experts previously said<\/a> that starting a new career in debt could mean they wind up leaving the public school system sooner, as teachers often make less than peers with similar experience and credentials. The former accountant said the experience has made him second guess his decision to change careers.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are not going to want to stay in a profession if you\u2019re not going to be treated with respect,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex atazimmerman@chalkbeat.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sign up for Chalkbeat New York\u2019s free daily newsletter to get essential news about NYC\u2019s public schools delivered…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":156735,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,40980,91234,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,91233,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-156734","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-chalkbeat","10":"tag-kimba-williams-a-nyc-teaching-fellow","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-city","13":"tag-newyork","14":"tag-newyorkcity","15":"tag-ny","16":"tag-nyc","17":"tag-teaching-fellow","18":"tag-united-states","19":"tag-united-states-of-america","20":"tag-unitedstates","21":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","22":"tag-us","23":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115051934835510819","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156734"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156734\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}