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Teacher Center · Career and moneyMoney and time savers
Official discounts, free tools and a yearly calendar so you never miss a deadline that costs you money.
General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Your union contract, your district's plan documents and your retirement system decide the details for you. Before any decision about money, leave, retirement or your certificate, ask your building union representative, district human resources (or the benefits office), NYSTRS, or NYSED, as the page says. Facts here were checked Nov 7, 2026 from the official sources listed at the bottom. Example numbers marked FICTIONAL are made up to teach the math; they are not anyone's real pay.
1. Official education discounts and free tools
| What | Who is eligible (from the company's own page) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Apple education pricing | Any employee of a public or private K-12 school in the U.S. or Puerto Rico (also homeschool teachers, school board members, PTA/PTO officers). | Yearly limits apply (for example, 1 Mac laptop and 2 iPads per year). Not every product has education pricing. |
| Microsoft Office 365 Education (A1) | Educators with an eligible school email address. | Free; includes web versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote. Your district may already provide it. |
| Free teaching resources (license checked) | Everyone | Sorted by what the license allows. |
| Goal100 courses | Everyone | Free student practice with mastery codes, no student accounts. |
We list only discounts confirmed on the company's own official page. Goal100 has no partnership with these companies and gets nothing from them.
2. A yearly money-and-paperwork calendar
| When | Do this | Where |
|---|---|---|
| September | Get your contract and salary schedule; confirm your step and lane; find your union rep. | Contract |
| September | Check TEACH: certificates, registration status, workshops. | Certification |
| Fall | Read your NYSTRS Benefit Profile (issued each fall); check service credit and beneficiaries. | Retirement |
| By Nov. 17, 2026 | Second Updated mandated reporter workshop (all certificate holders). | Rights |
| Open enrollment (district dates) | Review health plan, dependents, Section 125/FSA, 403(b)/457(b) amounts. | Benefits |
| Once a year | Submit a PSLF employment certification if you have Direct Loans. | Student loans |
| All year | Log CTLE hours and keep certificates. | CTLE log |
| Before your lane deadline | Send proof of graduate credits to HR to move lanes. | Your contract |
| Your birth month, 5th year of the period | Re-register in TEACH. | Registration |
| Tax season | Keep receipts for classroom supplies you buy. | Tax notes |
3. Time savers
- Reuse your plans: the printable planning templates save on your device; copy last year's into this year's.
- Let practice grade itself: Goal100 lessons check answers and give "Not yet" feedback; students send you a short code instead of papers. See How Goal100 helps.
- Collect evaluation evidence as you go: save one class table from student codes per unit; it shows assessment for learning (NYS Teaching Standard 5).
- One folder for career paperwork: contract and MOAs, salary schedules, CTLE certificates and log, NYSTRS Benefit Profiles, PSLF forms, workshop certificates.
4. Classroom grants and tax notes
- Grants and opportunities for teachers and students: see Goal100 Opportunities.
- Tax notes for teachers (for example, classroom supply expenses): see Tax info. General information only; ask a tax professional.
- Ask your district and PTA: many have small classroom grants or supply funds each year.
5. What Goal100 gives teachers, free
Clear answers about your job
Contract, benefits, retirement and certification explained in plain words, each with the official source and the date we checked it.
Printable forms
Observation forms, planning templates, co-planning form, contract check-up, benefits checklist, retirement facts and a CTLE log, all saved only on your device.
Student practice that reports back
Mastery codes, spaced review and games in every Required lesson; no student accounts or database.
Evaluation evidence
Class tables and reteach groups you can bring to a post-observation conference.
Sources
- Apple: Education sales policies, U.S. (K-12 employee eligibility and yearly limits) (checked Nov 7, 2026)
- Microsoft: Office 365 Education (A1) free for eligible educators with a school email (checked Nov 7, 2026)
- NYSTRS: Active Members' Handbook (updated Oct. 2026, PDF) (checked Nov 7, 2026)
- Federal Student Aid: Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) (checked Nov 7, 2026)
- NYSED: Child Abuse Identification and Reporting (Mandated Reporter) Workshop (checked Nov 7, 2026)
Teacher Center · written for New York State teachers · last checked Nov 7, 2026. Robert Frost Middle School and Deer Park UFSD do not publish every local procedure online, so always confirm local steps with your building.