The three UFT parent conferences offered in the fall shared an organizing aim: to make sure parents are aware of the state law to lower class size and the importance of getting the city Department of Education to comply with it.
“That was one of the goals of our parent conferences,” said Nicholas Cruz, the UFT’s director of community and parent engagement. “It’s a major concern for parents, who are also collectively concerned about how the mayor’s threatened budget cuts would affect generations of students.”
The UFT held conferences in Queens, Staten Island and Manhattan, where parents got to choose from a host of helpful workshops, attended exhibit fairs and heard from union leaders, including UFT President Michael Mulgrew.
Each conference also had resource tables where non-English-speaking parents, including asylum-seekers, were able to receive materials in their native languages.
The Queens event on Nov. 18 attracted 112 adults. Among the workshops available to choose from were sessions on financial literacy, disaster preparedness and how to read a school budget.
“We also had one about what the borough has to offer our scholars,” UFT Queens Parent Liaison Delci Rodriguez said.
Parent Maritza D’Elia attends a financial literacy workshop at the Queens conference.
That’s the workshop that resonated with Jennifer Vega, a PTA president in Queens District 24, who noted that she “learned so much about resources available through the library and places like museums.”
Vega also appreciated the child care available on site, which allowed parents to focus on the conference. “My two kids told me they had an amazing time playing, watching movies and painting,” she said.
PS 116 teacher Leah Cromer led a morning wellness exercise, while after lunch Dailisha Rodriguez from the Hey There Beautiful foundation discussed the importance of taking care of yourself and your children.
More than 180 people attended the Manhattan event — the borough’s first in-person conference since before the pandemic — on Oct. 28.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and AFT President Randi Weingarten addressed the gathering before participants headed for workshops on topics such as how to navigate the college admissions process as well as the roles and responsibilities of School Leadership Teams, Community Education Councils, school safety committees and PTAs.
Caregiver Lupe Fernandez makes a comment during the IEP and dyslexia screening session in Manhattan.
Parents were also urged to sign a class-size petition shared by Manhattan parent leader Lupe Hernandez.
“We received phenomenal feedback from the parents who attended,” said Cynthia Alvarez, the UFT Manhattan parent liaison.
On Staten Island, a deluge of rain couldn’t prevent 70 parents and other caregivers from turning out on Oct. 21.
After Mulgrew delivered his messages on class size and the mayor’s budget cuts, there was a panel on mental health of students of all ages, including students with disabilities, at which parents had the opportunity to ask general and specific questions.
Workshops gave parents a chance to pick up tips to keep children safe, led by the borough’s district attorney’s office, as well as learn more about special education, anti-bullying and supporting student literacy.
“It was a great day, with lots of really good information for parents,” said Marie Rodriguez, the UFT Staten Island parent liaison.
Staten Island parent Christina Silva-Soto, who has a 9-year-old child with disabilities, said she “found the tabling available with resources and the presentations very helpful. The conference provided valuable and much-needed support for families.”
