Actor Heather Simms is playing Missy Judson in the current Broadway revival of Purlie Victorious. She made her stage debut in 2nd grade at PS 243 in Crown Heights, hamming it up as the mother in “Hansel and Gretel.”

There is a room at IS 391 in the Bronx with color-changing lights, soft bean-bag chairs, a gurgling fountain, books and fidget toys.
“We needed a calming place where students could come for counseling, and students and staff could just sit and self-regulate,” said school social worker Michelle Jervis.


School communities have pulled together to care for and educate tens of thousands of newcomer students, many of whom have arrived in New York City with little more than the clothes on their backs. The UFT hosted a listening session on Oct. 25 to learn how members are helping these students in the absence of meaningful support from the Department of Education and the challenges that public schools face. Below are some of the initiatives that educators shared at the session.

Ninety-nine-year-old Thomas Naegele retired from teaching industrial art at the HS of Art & Design in Manhattan 32 years ago, but his legacy lives on in two generations of art teachers that he inspired in his wake.

A pre-K teacher and the UFT chapter leader at PS 150 in Queens, Jeanine Bradley has found her voice as an advocate, both in the community and at her school, for people with Crohn’s and for her fellow educators. And she makes sure her students, no matter the challenge they face, never feel alone.


At the PS 14 family resource fair in Queens, more than 400 PS 14 family members and students checked out information booths from 15 partner organizations, participated in activities like board games and dancing and took advantage of book giveaways and free flu shots.