around the uft

Meet the President: District 21

Oct 29, 2009 3:54 PM

Michael Mulgrew taught for many years and was chapter leader at Brooklyn’s Grady HS before moving on to the UFT presidency. When he shared some of his classroom memories with a large group of District 21 members at an Oct. 22 Meet the President forum in Coney Island, there were nods of recognition and a special air of rapport and good humor. And, while his message about the state of education was sobering, particularly with regard to the grim budget forecast, it was also filled with confidence in the talents of union members to exert their influence and contribute strategies for coping with challenges. He stressed the critical role of political action. “This is the UFT’s 50th anniversary,” Mulgrew said. “There haven’t been many quiet years and we don’t expect any in the near future.”

He covered a host of other issues as well, as did the members. Olga Burke, whose 4th-grade special education kids at PS 329 must take the same standardized assessments as general education kids, wondered, “We are told that instruction must be differentiated. Why isn’t testing differentiated?” And Sylvia Byrd, the school’s chapter leader, added, “And they should cut the nonsense, not the budget!” Mulgrew’s closing words were, “Our strength is in our unity. Never forget that!”