Constitution Committee Volunteers Needed!

The Nashua Teachers' Union needs to revise its constitution, which is the guiding document for our organization. Specifically, we need to change the apportionment of union representatives at the middle school level to reflect the new enrollment numbers now that McCarthy Middle School has opened. We also need to add language to the our constitution to include our newest group, Unit E, the American Sign Language Interpreters. If you are interested in helping revise the NTU's constitution, please email me and come to our meeting on February 19th, 2025 at 3:45 pm at the NTU Office.

Once the recommended changes are made, the committee's recommendations will be brought to the Board of Directors who will make a recommendation to approve or reject the changes to the general membership. It is my plan to hold a general membership meeting in late May where these changes can be discussed and adopted by the membership.

February 17th, Professional Development Day

I’ve received some questions from members recently regarding the expectations for the February 17th, 2025 Professional Development Day. February 17th, 2025 is a Professional Development/In-Service from employees covered under Unit A – Teachers, Unit B – Paraeducators, Unit C – Secretaries, and Unit D – Food Service and the Professional Development/In-Service activities shall be decided upon by the District for the morning sessions and decided by the individual staff members for the afternoon sessions; sessions can include sessions offered by the district, individual choices with grade level team or department, or other activities as approved by the building principal in accordance with past practice.

The District has requested some flexibility regarding teacher-selected session times. In certain cases, staff may be asked to attend District Professional Development sessions in the afternoon instead of the morning. This adjustment allows the District to efficiently utilize their ELL trainers. However, I assure you that all members will still have the opportunity to choose their professional development for half of the day.

I’ve shared the MOU for professional development days a few times this year but here it is again if you would like to review it:

MOU: Professional Development/In-Service Days

Union Plus Scholarship Deadline January 31st, 2025

Eligibility Criteria

A) Current and retired members of unions participating in any Union Plus program, their spouses and their dependent children (as defined by IRS regulations) are eligible. Grandchildren are not eligible unless a legal dependent (as defined by IRS regulations).  At least one year of continuous union membership by the applicant, applicant's spouse or parent (if applicant is a dependent). The one year membership minimum must be satisfied by May 31, 2026.

B) Members of participating unions from the U.S., Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada are eligible.

C) The applicant must be accepted into a U.S. accredited college, university, community college, technical or trade school at the time awards are issued. Awards must be used for the 2025 - 2026 school year.

D) Undergraduate and graduate students are eligible to apply.

Apply Here: Union Plus Scholarship Application 

NTU and AFT Scholarship Opportunities

There are several other scholarship and education grant opportunities open to NTU members. If you are interested, please visit our scholarship page on the NTU Website:

Educational Scholarships

Retirement

Reminder! If you are in the Teachers’ Unit and are considering retiring at the end of this school year, according to Article 4:9A, you must submit a binding letter of retirement to the Superintendent no later than February 1st, 2025. Here is a sample retirement letter:

Sample Letter

I recently learned from the NHRS that member statements are no longer posted on the online portal. To accurately calculate retirements, members need these statements. If you no longer have a copy of your most recent statement, you can call or email the NHRS and they will provide you a copy of your most recent statement.

Phone: 603-410-3500

Email: info@nhrs.org