To Our
Members
We all have teachers who profoundly affected our lives, shaping who we are or igniting a new passion within us.
The deep impact educators leave behind was highlighted in September when tragedy struck our NYSUT community. A horrific bus crash during a school trip took the lives of two educators from Farmingdale: Gina Pellettiere, the band director, and Beatrice Ferrari, a 26-year classroom veteran and retiree who had returned to mentor students. In the wake of their tragic deaths, we witnessed a massive outpouring of support from current and former students. The scope of their influence is impossible to measure, but it was clear that both of these educators touched and inspired thousands of lives. Great teachers live on forever in the hearts and minds of their students.
This overwhelming support underscores the pivotal role educators play in shaping our society. But most of these transformative stories remain untold, leaving educators — who practice daily heroism in their roles — feeling undervalued and unappreciated. This sentiment has been exacerbated by growing negative narratives around teachers and public education in certain media segments.
To counter this, NYSUT introduces the Educator Inspired campaign. Our goal is to spotlight and amplify the positive, often unheard stories about educators. In the upcoming months, we’ll traverse the state to collect these heartfelt vignettes. We aim to uplift the teaching profession by sharing genuine narratives about educators — from everyday kindnesses to superhuman feats — who are changing lives every day.
Dive deeper into our campaign on pages 16–17 and join us by sharing your story at Educator-Inspired.org.
Melinda
@MelindaJPerson
MelindaJPerson