At their 41st annual Paraprofessionals Festival & Awards Luncheon on March 25, members celebrated the many rights they have gained since their chapter's founding and the trailblazers who led the way while acknowledging there is much more to do.

A capacity crowd attended the UFT Asian-American Heritage Committee’s annual Lunar New Year Banquet at House of Joy restaurant in Chinatown on March 10 to mark the Year of the Rabbit.

The UFT's HERstory celebration, held during Women’s History Month on March 11 in the UFT’s Queens borough office, brought women together "to acknowledge the challenges we have overcome and celebrate the achievements we have made, individually and collectively,” said UFT Vice President Janella Hinds.

Along with police officers and EMTs, teachers must deal with gun violence and its aftermath and should have the opportunity and the time to develop meaningful curriculum around the issue, education activist Amina Brown said at a UFT-sponsored community discussion on gun violence. 

The UFT’s 15th annual Early Childhood Conference on April 1 buzzed with energy as nearly 200 educators gathered to learn ways to engage their youngest students with play.

A First Book giveaway at PS 33 in Manhattan on Feb. 4, co-sponsored by the UFT and the AFT, distributed 5,000 free books to students who are asylum seekers, recent immigrants and newcomers to New York City public schools.