Around the UFT

To learn how to improve environmental awareness at their schools, more than 125 sustainability coordinators in Districts 1 to 8, 10 and 12 turned out for a daylong professional development session at UFT headquarters on Jan. 10. Every school is supposed to have a recycling program and a principal-appointed sustainability coordinator.

The UFT hosted the NAACP State Conference’s quarterly conference on Jan. 14. NAACP New York State President Hazel Dukes introduced UFT President Michael Mulgrew, who welcomed the 250 participants, briefing them on his concerns about the state of education in light of the mayor’s and governor’s recent State of the City and State of the State addresses, respectively.

“You don’t know how important you are.” That’s how UFT President Michael Mulgrew greeted Retired Teacher Chapter members at a reception at union headquarters in their honor on Jan. 18 for their work against anti-union forces in Wisconsin, Ohio and Florida last year. Thanking them for never saying “no” when asked for their help, he said, “You are not just active, but powerful.”

The unity in the photo above truly represents the educators at PS 53 in Brooklyn, “a great school, which is a testament to the great teachers and administrators working together,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew said during his Jan. 25 visit. The District 75 school in East New York prides itself on helping all children succeed academically.

For the second year in a row, the AFT Black Caucus partnered with Harlem-based Johnson Design Consulting to provide year-end holiday cheer and toys for children in the pediatric ward and emergency room at Harlem Hospital Center.

Regular mammograms and early detection are still the top strategies when it comes to getting the best outcomes for breast cancer, according to Dr. Larry Norton, the deputy physician-in-chief and director of breast cancer programs at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan. Norton addressed some 130 people on Dec. 12 at the annual “Breast Cancer Update,” held at the UFT’s Manhattan headquarters by the UFT Health and Cancer Helpline/UFT Welfare Fund.

This year’s crop of new paraprofessionals received a thorough and warm introduction to the UFT’s Paraprofessionals Chapter on Dec. 15. The session included a literature table with information on ergonomics, violence prevention, safety and health, and the features of the UFT Welfare Fund — and a hearty “congratulations” on their choice of careers.

When students at PS 48 in the Bronx performed at their Winter Concert on Dec. 23, they were also celebrating their $50,000 national prize, which had been announced on Dec. 15, in the “Glee Give A Note” contest. “I saw a commercial for the contest two weeks before the deadline,” said music teacher (and fan of the “Glee” TV show) Melissa Salguero.

They may have been the three kings, but they seemed like Pied Pipers as they led entranced children (and their parents and grandparents) toward the beautiful gifts that awaited them.