Hannah Brown

About 450 students from 35 high schools learned about jobs in unionized fields at the UFT Academic High School Division’s 8th annual Future in Focus job fair.

Wadleigh Secondary School for the Performing and Visual Arts, described by its staff as a “hidden gem” in Harlem, has overcome two threats of closure. Today the revitalized school, which won a Team High School Award at the union’s Academic High School Awards on April 25, boasts a 100% graduation rate. 


About 250 UFT members from the city's academic high schools gathered on April 25 at union headquarters to honor outstanding educators and schools and to celebrate 10 years since the UFT's first Academic High Schools awards.

A total of 67 UFT members have their work on display at the Museum of Modern Art. The exhibition, titled “The Art of the Educator,” is the result of a partnership between the museum and the New York City Art Teachers Association/UFT.

As the school secretary at Pathways to Graduation program on Staten Island, Angela Gheller manages payroll, supplies and purchasing and she keeps track of hours, pay, leaves and absences for her fellow UFT members.

Small union contingents led by paraprofessionals met with New York City Council members throughout March to lobby them to support the RESPECT check legislation.

Steven Leaderman, a teacher at P370, a District 75 program in Coney Island, has created an innovative vocational program that has his students sort and deliver school supplies. The program helps the students develop key vocational and life skills that will serve them after graduation. 


Thousands of UFT members wore blue to work in solidarity with their paraprofessional colleagues on April 2, which was national Paraprofessionals Appreciation Day and the union’s citywide Day of Action.

Nearly 1,100 paraprofessionals and other members gathered at the New York Hilton Midtown on March 22 to celebrate the outstanding work of their colleagues, attend professional learning sessions and have fun at a carnival. City Council Education Committee Chair Rita Joseph, a key supporter of the RESPECT check legislation, was the keynote speaker.

A school counselor and social worker at IS 206 in the Bronx developed an innovative way to address their students' social-emotional needs following the pandemic: a student lounge complete with music, games and items meant to encourage socialization and teamwork.