The city’s new teacher evaluation system prompted lively discussion among delegates at the Oct. 9 Delegate Assembly.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew said that changes were no doubt needed. He said the union would be working to fix problems with the evaluation system during contract negotiations, focusing on simplifying and providing more options for measures of student learning.

Mulgrew told the group that any members getting unreasonable demands from their supervisors over written lesson plans should contact the union’s grievance department immediately.

Even with the new system’s problems, he said, it presents an opportunity for teachers to speak up for what they need to ensure academic growth among their students.

“Our fight is about working conditions and support,” Mulgrew said. “The only way we’re going to get better working conditions is with support. The only way we’re going to get support is by asking for it. We have to take control. We have to empower the educator.”

Mulgrew said it was a pivotal moment for teachers.

“I hope that 10 years from now when they write what happened at the end of the Bloomberg administration, they will say that teachers took back their profession,” he said.