Feature Stories

Growing up near Coney Island, Brooklyn, Ariella Moshchinsky knew early on that she would pursue a career in the sciences — and she says it was her public school education in Brooklyn schools that helped inspire her to achieve that goal.


At food pantries and distribution efforts run by UFT-supported United Community Schools, monthly or weekly programs help meet the nutritional needs of struggling families across the city. The pantries are a safe haven for many immigrant families burdened by fear of being detained by ICE, even during grocery runs.

Amber Carlin-Mishkin doesn’t just teach science — she teaches her students to think like scientists. Through a new partnership with the Gowanus Canal Conservancy, the 5th-grade teacher at PS 118 in Park Slope, Brooklyn, helps her students view their own neighborhood as an ecosystem. 


Paraprofessional Unique Robinson of Murrow HS in Brooklyn acted quickly to advocate for a solution when presented with the need to safely and comfortably meet the toileting needs of her paraplegic student.

More than 400 students, parents and community members filled the school yard at United Community School PS 19 in Queens on Sept. 27 for a full day of live music, food, and dance performances in a celebration of Hispanic heritage and health.

James J. McBratney, a product of Staten Island public schools, is a successful business owner and financial adviser best known on Staten Island as the proprietor of Jimmy Max Restaurant, a community staple he dropped out of college to open in 1989.