About 250 UFT members from the city’s academic high schools gathered on April 25 at Shanker Hall at UFT headquarters to honor outstanding educators and schools and to celebrate the 10 years since the UFT’s Team High School gave its first awards to academic high school educators.

Mark your calendar for the UFT's annual Lobby Day in Albany on Monday, March 16, 2026. Registrants will board early morning buses leaving from each borough to speak with state representatives about issues important to UFT members, such as fixing Tier 6 and increasing funding for New York City public schools. UFT members who contribute to COPE, the union's political action fund, are invited to come. Registration will be available at a later date. 

The UFT organized social events in each borough this year where the union’s newest members made connections, learned more about the UFT and built community. New members took part in bowling, painting, a scavenger hunt and immersive team-building games across the city.

Almost 350 school psychologists gathered in-person at Shanker Hall and virtually on Nov. 8 for their chapter’s 8th annual Psychologists Appreciation Day and professional development. Coming together under the theme “Wellness: Make It a Priority,” the psychologists learned about strategies to support students utilizing an integrative approach — physical and mental health.

About 1,500 UFT members, families and friends gathered at the New York Hilton Midtown on Nov. 3 to celebrate the organizers, activists and leaders who advanced the union’s mission over the past year. The annual fall event, which commemorates the 1960 strike that won collective bargaining rights for the UFT, honored 179 in-service and retired members.

Schools will reopen on Monday, Jan. 5 

On June 4, the UFT hosted the 55th annual Albert Shanker College Scholarship Awards at union headquarters, where families and educators came together to honor a diverse and high-achieving group of students. The union awarded $5,000 scholarships to 189 high school students for undergraduate study and nine scholarships of between $2,000 and $8,000 to college seniors for graduate study.