Yes, NYC teachers do get paid during the summer. Full-time appointed teachers under the United Federation of Teachers contract receive their annual salary in 24 semi-monthly checks spread across the entire calendar year, so paychecks continue through July and August even though classes only run September through June.1United Federation of Teachers. How Do I Get Paid During the Summer? The summer checks are not extra money. They are the portion of salary you already earned during the school year, held back and paid out over the break.
How the 24-Check System Works
The DOE divides your annual salary into 24 equal semi-monthly payments rather than paying you only for the ten months you are in the classroom. Twenty of those checks arrive during the school year, and four arrive over the summer. Paychecks land around the 1st and 15th of each month, and each one represents one-twenty-fourth of your gross annual salary before taxes, union dues, and retirement contributions.2InfoHub. HR Checklist for New Teachers
Think of it as a built-in savings plan. A slice of each September-through-June check is set aside so the DOE can keep issuing pay in July and August. Your income stays steady all year, and payroll deductions for health insurance, pension, and other benefits continue without a gap.
When the Summer Checks Arrive
If you are a full-time appointed teacher, you receive four summer checks: two in July and two in August, on the same semi-monthly schedule you follow during the school year.1United Federation of Teachers. How Do I Get Paid During the Summer? Your last regular school-year check lands in late June, and the first summer installment follows in early July. The cycle finishes in late August, just before the first paycheck of the new academic year.
Direct deposit runs on the same dates as during the school year. Without direct deposit, physical checks go to the address the DOE has on file. There is no option to take your summer pay as a single lump sum; all teachers receive four separate installments regardless of preference.1United Federation of Teachers. How Do I Get Paid During the Summer?
Who Qualifies for Full Summer Pay
Full summer pay assumes you worked the entire school year, from the first day in September through the last day in June.1United Federation of Teachers. How Do I Get Paid During the Summer? If you worked less because you started mid-year, took an extended unpaid leave, or left before June, your summer pay is prorated based on the number of days you were in active, paid status.
A teacher who started in February and finished the year would receive roughly half the normal summer payout. Time on unpaid leave does not accrue vacation credit. The DOE calculates proration by comparing your actual days worked against the total workdays in that year’s school calendar.
New Teachers Starting in September
If you are newly appointed, your first paycheck should be ready on the pay date closest to the completion of your first two weeks of work.2InfoHub. HR Checklist for New Teachers If payroll processing is delayed, the check arrives on the following pay date with retroactive pay included. A new teacher who starts in September and works through June receives full summer pay the following July and August.
Summer Pay for Substitute Teachers
Substitutes are treated differently from appointed teachers, and not all of them see summer pay.3United Federation of Teachers. Per Diem Service
- Day-to-day (O-status) substitutes are paid a fixed daily rate only for days they actually work. There is no vacation pay, and therefore no summer checks.
- Long-term per diem (Z-status) substitutes earn three days of vacation pay after 60 days of service, plus one additional day for every 20 days served after that, capped at nine days. It is paid out when the substitute service ends.
- Regularly scheduled part-time (F-status) substitutes follow the same accrual rules as Z-status.
- Full-term regular (Q-status) substitutes receive full vacation pay if assigned within the first 15 days of the school year and they work the full year; otherwise the pay is prorated. Prorated vacation pay does not affect their summer health insurance and welfare coverage.
If You Resign or Retire
Resigning on the last day of school still gets you the full run of summer paychecks in July and August.4United Federation of Teachers. What Is the Process I Need to Take to Resign From the DOE? Your health benefits, however, end at the end of July. Resigning in August with 30 calendar days’ notice keeps coverage active into early September.
Teachers who resign or retire before the last day of school see summer pay reduced by the percentage of the school year they completed. The timing of your departure affects both the size of your final checks and how long your health coverage lasts.
Extra Summer Earnings Through Per Session
If you pick up summer school teaching, tutoring, or curriculum work, you earn per session compensation on top of your regular summer checks.5United Federation of Teachers. Per Session Per session is a separate hourly rate set by the UFT contract and is not part of your deferred annual salary. The rate is $60.91 per hour as of September 2025, rising to $63.04 in September 2026.6United Federation of Teachers. Per Session and Other Rates Salary Schedule 2022-27
You submit time sheets each pay period, and per session payroll runs on its own semi-monthly cycle, with a lag of a few weeks between hours worked and payment received.7NYC Public Schools. Per Session Employment Frequently Asked Questions Per session income is pensionable and subject to standard payroll taxes.
Unemployment During the Summer
Most appointed NYC teachers cannot collect unemployment insurance over the summer. Under New York State rules, if you have “reasonable assurance” of returning to work in the fall, the wages you earned at the school do not count toward an unemployment claim.8Department of Labor. School Personnel Frequently Asked Questions
Reasonable assurance exists if you receive a letter of hire or rehire, verbal confirmation that you are returning, or you have a history of being rehired and can expect to earn at least 90 percent of the prior term’s wages and benefits. For per diem substitutes, it applies if you are placed on a substitute list with a reasonable expectation of available positions. Without reasonable assurance, such as being told you will not return, you may be eligible to file a claim.