Making moves to boost mood

UFT members are on the move, boosting their energy, morale and camaraderie as they dance and walk their way to the end of the school year.

At JHS 157 in Rego Park, Queens, dance teacher Jennifer Gruet formed a staff dance team three years ago when she discovered how many of her colleagues had a background in or just loved dance. Now, they are the only performers who are not dance educators or career dancers who get to perform in the city Department of Education’s annual Dance Educators Collective Concert at the Ailey Citigroup Theater in Midtown.

“I think what we bring is that we’re real, normal people who just share a joy for dance,” she said. “We kind of come in there silly and fun and joyful.”

And getting to perform on a professional stage is “so exhilarating,” said Spanish teacher Adilene Tehuitzil, who joined the team as a way to meet more colleagues. “I found the experience uplifting from beginning to end. It’s all like a positive journey.”

That kind of positive energy is what 4th grade co-teachers Janine Treglia and Jen Fabrizio felt after taking a walk during lunch one beautiful day last fall near their school, PS 4 in Arden Heights, Staten Island. They have continued taking walks throughout the school year, even bundling up and dodging ice and snow if necessary, and they invite and inspire their colleagues to join their lunchtime reset.

Treglia, who chronicles the treks on Instagram, stresses the importance of “showing up for yourself.” Teaching is rewarding but requires a lot of energy, and this is a way to recharge, she said.

Showing up for themselves also serves as inspiration for their students to “put down their devices and get out there and move,” said Fabrizio. In fact, some of their students have saved up their positive behavior points to get to walk and eat lunch with Fabrizio and Treglia before the school year ends.