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2023 UFT Spring Education Conference

Love is the answer

Mulgrew: Educators’ caring will prevail over hate
New York Teacher
Love is the answer

The chorus from PS 130 in Chinatown gives a performance celebrating Asian and Latin American music traditions.

Love is the answer

"There would be no hip-hop without education," said hip-hop legend Kurtis Blow, who performed a medley of classic songs at the conference in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the musical genre. Blow — shown giving the mic to an audience member — discussed his newly formed labor union for music artists, the Hip-Hop Alliance.

“We’ve got to start feeling good and understand that what we do is powerful,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew told 1,300 UFT members at the union’s Spring Education Conference at the New York Hilton Midtown.

Mulgrew urged educators to stay positive amid all the negativity directed at public schools. “We are the ones who have chosen to help children, not the haters,” he said. “It’s our voice that must prevail over them.”

The May 20 event, whose theme was “For All Our Children,” began with a town hall on self-care followed by workshops and an exhibit hall showcasing the skills of career and technical education students. During the gala luncheon, the Voices of 130 chorus from PS 130 in Manhattan performed, and members heard from Mulgrew, state Attorney General Letitia James, Schools Chancellor David C. Banks, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, New York State United Teachers President Melinda Person and city Comptroller Brad Lander. The conference wrapped up with a rousing performance by hip-hop legend Kurtis Blow.

Mulgrew declared the teaching profession in crisis. People are quitting in droves and not enough young people are becoming teachers, he said.

Love is the answer

UFT Teacher Center Director Rosemarie LoMonaco (standing) leads a workshop about using “street data,” which considers the whole child, ­to advance classroom equity.

“The country needs to wake up because if you lose the public school system, you lose the foundation of your democracy,” he said.

At fault, Mulgrew said, are two groups of “soul-suckers”: those who have “politicized and weaponized education in America” and those who have “decided public schools are failing” and can only be fixed with high-stakes tests and then use test scores to “shame the students, the teachers and the schools.”

While book bans, drag queen story hour protests and new restrictions on how to teach Black history do not affect UFT members directly, they have all contributed to the national backlash against teachers, Mulgrew said.

He advised UFT members to focus on their caring, compassion and empathy for their students.

“That is what keeps us there,” he said. “How are we going to beat back the haters? With love.”

Then he brought the audience members to their feet for a spirited karaoke version of “Come and Get Your Love,” by Redbone.

Both James and Weingarten also spoke about the deep divisions in the country and how educators have been caught in the crosshairs. Weingarten urged UFT members to persevere. “We are fighting this fight for humanity, for democracy, for knowledge, for education, for our children, for our future,” she said.

Love is the answer

UFT President Michael Mulgrew speaks at the luncheon.

Mulgrew recognized five students who led the fight this winter to block a proposed co-location of a Success Academy charter school in the Springfield Gardens Educational Complex in Queens.

“Stand up for what is right and never be afraid to speak up when you know things can be better,” said Aziza-Isha Hemmans, a student at Excelsior Preparatory HS, one of the four schools on the campus.

Hundreds of UFT members attended the morning workshops on autism, mindfulness, naturopathy and the benefits of using “street data” to advance student equity.

Teacher Sheryl Dixon from PS 95 in Queens, who attended the street data workshop, said it makes sense to use more than just test scores and grades to evaluate a child. “A test score is just one snippet, one moment in time,” she said. “That should not dictate how we determine a child’s future.”

In the “Autism in the Classroom” session, Claire Bard, an educator from MS 907 in Brooklyn, said she teaches all her students to accept and accommodate their peers with autism, such as by lowering their voices if someone is overstimulated. “They don’t need to be fixed,” she said of the autistic students. “They just need to be accommodated a little differently.”

Marquis Harrison, the chapter leader at MS/HS 499 in Harlem, said a highlight of the conference was seeing career and technical education students’ talents at the exhibit hall, but he was quick to applaud the Kurtis Blow appearance, too.

“It was a beautiful thing to see our union celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop and its contributions to our society,” he said.

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A man holds a microphone up to a women's face for her to sing along

Hip-hop legend Kurtis Blow gives a few educators a chance to join in during his energetic performance. Blow also spoke about “hip-hop pedagogy” programs in schools and his newly formed labor union for artists, the Hip-Hop Alliance.

Erica Berger
Image
A man raises his hands while on the stage to engage the crowd.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew leads the crowd in a karaoke rendition of “Come and Get Your Love” after a speech about using love to fight all the hate directed at educators.

Erica Berger
Image
A man poses for a selfie with a group of attendees
Kurtis Blow poses for selfies with UFT members after his performance.
Erica Berger
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A panel discussion at the 2023 UFT Spring Conference

Setting boundaries, work-life balance and managing stress were some of the topics tackled by townhall panelists (from left) Dr. Pina LoGiuduce, a a naturopathic doctor; Dido Balla from MindUp; Liza Reyes, a UFT Teacher Center site coach at PS/IS 266 in Queens; Tina Puccio, the UFT Member Assistance Program director; Michelle Jervis, a school social worker at IS 391 in the Bronx; and UFT President Michael Mulgrew, the moderator.

Erica Berger
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A woman meditates at her table during a meditation exercise

Members take a moment for guided meditation and deep breathing during the town hall.

Erica Berger
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A group of students perform on stage while holding flags.
The student chorus from PS 130 in Chinatown gives a joyful performance celebrating Asian and Latin American music traditions.
Erica Berger
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A woman speaks at the podium
State Attorney General Tish James thanks educators for their professionalism and dedication and tells them that they are “over-tested and underappreciated.”
Erica Berger
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A man and woman on stage point to the crowd

AFT President Randi Weingarten (left) and UFT President Michael Mulgrew (right) share a joke with the crowd during a luncheon full of rousing speeches and singalongs.

Erica Berger
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A teacher works with his students at a computer

William Tsang, a CTE teacher and technical coordinator at In-Tech Academy (MS/HS 368) in the Bronx, works with his information technology students to demonstrate a video game on a student-built computer.

Erica Berger
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Three people gather to check out a robot
UFT Vice President for Career and Technical Education Leo Gordon (at right), with the guidance of Bronx Aerospace HS engineering design teacher Marvis Grant, tries out a student-made robot at the CTE exhibit hall.
Erica Berger
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A group of students with their teacher and a UFT representative pose for a photo

Donna Coppola, a UFT rep for Staten Island (back row, left) and Joseph Caputo, the CTE dental lab teacher at Tottenville HS, smile for the camera with dental lab students and some of the prosthetics they build at their school.

Erica Berger
Image
A woman on the right leads a workshop of participants
Teacher Center Director Rosemarie LoMonaco leads a workshop about using “street data,” which takes the whole child into consideration and not just grades and test scores, to advance equity in the classroom.
Erica Berger
Image
A woman on the right turns and speaks to the woman on her left.

Participants in the Autism in the Classroom workshop share their thoughts about the developmental disorder after reading a brief article about it.

Erica Berger
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Image
A man holds a microphone up to a women's face for her to sing along

Hip-hop legend Kurtis Blow gives a few educators a chance to join in during his energetic performance. Blow also spoke about “hip-hop pedagogy” programs in schools and his newly formed labor union for artists, the Hip-Hop Alliance.

Erica Berger
Image
A man raises his hands while on the stage to engage the crowd.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew leads the crowd in a karaoke rendition of “Come and Get Your Love” after a speech about using love to fight all the hate directed at educators.

Erica Berger
Image
A man poses for a selfie with a group of attendees
Kurtis Blow poses for selfies with UFT members after his performance.
Erica Berger
Image
A panel discussion at the 2023 UFT Spring Conference

Setting boundaries, work-life balance and managing stress were some of the topics tackled by townhall panelists (from left) Dr. Pina LoGiuduce, a a naturopathic doctor; Dido Balla from MindUp; Liza Reyes, a UFT Teacher Center site coach at PS/IS 266 in Queens; Tina Puccio, the UFT Member Assistance Program director; Michelle Jervis, a school social worker at IS 391 in the Bronx; and UFT President Michael Mulgrew, the moderator.

Erica Berger
Image
A woman meditates at her table during a meditation exercise

Members take a moment for guided meditation and deep breathing during the town hall.

Erica Berger
Image
A group of students perform on stage while holding flags.
The student chorus from PS 130 in Chinatown gives a joyful performance celebrating Asian and Latin American music traditions.
Erica Berger
Image
A woman speaks at the podium
State Attorney General Tish James thanks educators for their professionalism and dedication and tells them that they are “over-tested and underappreciated.”
Erica Berger
Image
A man and woman on stage point to the crowd

AFT President Randi Weingarten (left) and UFT President Michael Mulgrew (right) share a joke with the crowd during a luncheon full of rousing speeches and singalongs.

Erica Berger
Image
A teacher works with his students at a computer

William Tsang, a CTE teacher and technical coordinator at In-Tech Academy (MS/HS 368) in the Bronx, works with his information technology students to demonstrate a video game on a student-built computer.

Erica Berger
Image
Three people gather to check out a robot
UFT Vice President for Career and Technical Education Leo Gordon (at right), with the guidance of Bronx Aerospace HS engineering design teacher Marvis Grant, tries out a student-made robot at the CTE exhibit hall.
Erica Berger
Image
A group of students with their teacher and a UFT representative pose for a photo

Donna Coppola, a UFT rep for Staten Island (back row, left) and Joseph Caputo, the CTE dental lab teacher at Tottenville HS, smile for the camera with dental lab students and some of the prosthetics they build at their school.

Erica Berger
Image
A woman on the right leads a workshop of participants
Teacher Center Director Rosemarie LoMonaco leads a workshop about using “street data,” which takes the whole child into consideration and not just grades and test scores, to advance equity in the classroom.
Erica Berger
Image
A woman on the right turns and speaks to the woman on her left.

Participants in the Autism in the Classroom workshop share their thoughts about the developmental disorder after reading a brief article about it.

Erica Berger

CTE’s diversity on display

3D-printed dental prosthetics, delectable brownies and a pet adoption app that works like Tinder. These were just some of the handiwork of career and technical education high school students on display at the Spring Education Conference’s bustling exhibit hall.

Touting self-care at town hall

The morning town hall at the UFT’s Spring Education Conference was devoted to self-care, stress reduction and wellness.