Feature Stories
John Herron
Middle school teacher John Herron of IS 96 in Brooklyn is one of this year's UFT Middle Schools Division Lifelong Learner Award winners.
Talented triple threat
A team of three co-teachers at Harlem's Urban Assembly School for Global Commerce use their diverse teaching talents to help their students make huge leaps in ELA and ENL, earning them an Excellence in Education Award at this year's UFT Academic High School Awards.
Protecting their kids
The strategies employed by educators at Brooklyn's Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School to protect their immigrant school community have been replicated by schools across the city, earning them a Team High School Award at this year's UFT Academic High Schools Awards.
Making moves to boost mood
Whether it's creating a dance troupe of educators at JHS 157 in Rego Park, Queens, or a walking club at PS 4 on Staten Island, teachers are creating opportunities for joy and self-care for themselves and their colleagues.
Members push back against principal
Educators at Flushing High School called on the UFT and took a stand when the principal initiated a program that resulted in isolating ELL students. Instead addressing students' learning and language issues, they were isolated in two windowless classrooms, apart from their peers, except for lunch and physical education. Educators raised objections immediately and then went to work to fight back.
Powering up student success
When students ask John Isaza why he teaches — despite the higher salary he could earn as an electrician — his answer is simple. “I love my job,” he tells them. “When you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like work.” Isaza, a UFT Career and Technical Education Award winner, teaches electrical installation at Coop Tech in Manhattan, not far from where he began his own journey in the trade.