More than 300 parents turned out on Saturday, Nov. 5, at the UFT’s borough offices in Queens and on Staten Island for a day of workshops, networking and fun at the union’s parent conferences. These were the first in-person parent conferences in those boroughs since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

In Queens, parents came from as far as the Rockaways to the UFT borough office in Forest Hills to attend two 90-minute workshops from a choice of seven topics that included picking the college that is right for your child, training to become a certified parent member on your school’s Individualized Education Program team, and learning about allergies and asthma. Torrance Hampton, a motivational speaker and the author of “Genius Factor: Make Your Passion Your Paycheck,” and State Assembly Member Catalina Cruz were the featured speakers.

At the Staten Island parent conference, UFT Secretary LeRoy Barr gave the keynote address. That conference also offered two 90-minute workshop sessions. Workshop topics included managing children’s behavior, maintaining education records, transitioning students from elementary to middle school and special education rights.

Both conferences offered child care and various giveaways.

“Everything was excellent,” said Yaranilka LeBarr, a parent who attended the conference in Queens. “The speakers were so gracious, kind and relatable. I learned a lot.”

Simone Wilson, who attended the Staten Island parent conference, found that “all of the workshops were informative and productive.” She said she particularly enjoyed the Safety and Your Child workshop, which was the most well-attended workshop on Staten Island.

The two parent conferences were also great opportunities for participants to network with other parents of school-age children. “I got numbers from a bunch of brand-new friends,” said LeBarr.

Except for the pandemic-related interruption, the UFT has hosted annual borough-based parent conferences for the past decade after shifting from a single centralized event in previous years.

The conferences are “an opportunity for parents to come out, network and participate in an enormous amount of issue-based workshops,” said Nicholas Cruz, the UFT director of community and parent engagement. “They serve to further the relationships between the UFT and parents.”