Around the UFT

Family Court Judge Ingrid Joseph took the time to talk to students at the UFT Secondary Charter School in Bushwick, Brooklyn, about how she succeeded at a job she loves and how they can succeed, too.

Educators turned out for an elementary schools workshop on “Using Podcasting to Enrich Learning” held at UFT headquarters on May 7. Teachers came to enhance their teaching with new media skills by learning how to create podcasts and use persuasive, standards-based writing to develop scripts for their podcasts.

True to its mission, Brooklyn’s HS for Innovation in Advertising and Media didn’t hide its light under a bushel. At its May 1 Advertising and Media Day, UFT Vice President Sterling Roberson joined representatives from the ADVERTISING Club of New York, industry professionals, educators, students and parents for an industry immersion day.

The National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems presented a check for more than $38,000 to the UFT’s Albert Shanker Scholarship Fund at a ceremony at the Hilton Hotel on May 8. “The award will help Shanker Scholarship winners achieve academic distinction,” UFT Treasurer Mel Aaronson, the new president of the NCPERS, said of the donation to the fund.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew joined civil rights activists and union and elected officials at a press conference at UFT headquarters on May 15 in calling for an end to the controversial stop-and-frisk policy employed by New York City law enforcement.

Students at PS 199 in Brooklyn’s leafy Midwood neighborhood had a lot to enjoy on May 3 when guests from the local community and Broadway stage came to visit, view their renovated library and read aloud their favorite stories.

Some 50 science teachers from around the city and beyond headed to the annual Demo Derby on April 20 sponsored by the UFT Science Committee and sister science groups that belong to the Science Council of New York City.

As part of “Another NYC is Possible” week of actions against budget cuts and austerity, UFTers leafleted in two-hour shifts throughout the day on May 14 at subway exits surrounding the Lexington Avenue midtown corporate offices of Bloomberg L.P. Fliers reading “Bloomberg’s Legacy for NYC Kids and Families: Austerity, Cuts and Pain” detailed how the mayor’s policies harm not just teachers and students but all New Yorkers.

With as many as 770 city schools identified as having building materials such as caulk and light fixtures that contain harmful polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a labor/community workshop — PCBs in Schools — sponsored by the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health explored how best to protect teachers and students from the cancer-causing compounds.