It’s not often that newly tenured teachers are recognized for that achievement. District 4 decided to change that with a ceremony on June 1 at PS/MS 57 in East Harlem for 65 teachers, a principal and an assistant principal who earned tenure this spring. The brief ceremony was punctuated by big smiles and hugs and a lot of applause and picture-taking. Lisa Chille, a 2nd-grade teacher at River East Elementary School, said the celebration was a nice antidote to recent discussions of teacher evaluation “as a punitive thing, instead of helping teachers.”  Eileen Maloney, also a River East 2nd-grade teacher, added, “It’s nice to be acknowledged for the work we do.” One of the highlights for Sophia Malatesta, a 5th-grade teacher at River East, was “seeing people in the district and in my community,” she said. Lisa DeMauro, a guidance counselor at Global Tech Preparatory Academy, agreed. “We don’t always get to see our colleagues in the district,” she said. Many principals accompanied their teachers to the ceremony. Certificates were created for the event. “They need to be recognized,” said Victor Diaz, the chapter leader at PS/MS 206, where he is dean. “We have to do it because of how teachers are maligned.” Along with UFT District 4 Representative Servia Silva, Diaz was a member of the District 4 Sunshine Committee that organized the event. Diaz said 10 teachers from his school were granted tenure this year. “They work hard and they earned it,” he said.