Math teacher Tianitha Alston of PS 40 in Brooklyn enjoys a magical night.
“We have always fought for arts education, and we will never give up that fight,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew told 500 UFT members seated in the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre after enjoying a performance of Broadway’s “Buena Vista Social Club.” The musical tells the story of jazz musicians reuniting in Cuba decades after being scattered by the revolution. Its April 15 performance was the featured event of this year’s Educators Night on Broadway, an annual collaboration between the Broadway League and the UFT. The same partnership improves arts access for students, offering $10 Broadway tickets to 10th-grade public school students citywide. Michael DeShields, a theater teacher at PS 3 in Manhattan’s West Village, said the annual event is “a great opportunity for union members to collectively experience something we can take back to our schools and share with students.” Tianitha Alston, a math teacher at PS 40 in Brooklyn, added that the experience made her feel appreciated by her union. “The next day, I felt inspired going to work,” she said. “It’s nice to take a little bit of magic, a little bit of glitter, back with us.”