Hannah Brown

New York City public school students in grades 3 to 8 made dramatic gains in reading and math on 2025 state exams. The percentage of students overall performing at grade level in reading jumped 7.2 percentage points to 56.3% and 3.5 percentage points in math to 56.9%. UFT President Michael Mulgrew said the results were “a testament to the hard work by New York City educators and students.”

The number of new teachers who turned out on Aug. 26 for the kickoff of New Teacher Week was about twice as large as last year, thanks to the surge of hiring over the summer to reduce class sizes in some 750 schools. As the new hires lined up outside Barclays Center in Brooklyn early that morning, about 100 UFT reps, including UFT President Michael Mulgrew, were on hand to welcome them and enroll them in the union.



UFT member and parent volunteers handed out about 250 backpacks filled with school supplies to famiiies during Harlem Week festivities on Aug. 18.

Pasha Durr teaches Brooklyn high school students in their homes when they’re unable to physically attend school.

The new health care committee convened by the UFT spent its first two meetings on April 3 and 30 delving into the intricacies of health care coverage for New York City workers and retirees.

Fed up with the DOE’s delay in reimbursing them for travel expenses, itinerant related service providers went public with their frustrations in April. Occupational and physical therapists also called out the DOE for long delays in tuition reimbursement for coursework they need to maintain their licenses.

Thirty-two school secretaries from across the city were honored at the union’s 38th annual School Secretaries awards celebration on June 6.

About 250 middle schoolers participated in music activities, all designed to encourage social-emotional learning, at the fifth annual Let's Talk About It event organized by the UFT's Member Assistance Program.