Staten Island

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Miller Photography

Thousands of parents, grandparents and guardians flocked to the UFT’s seventh annual series of parent conferences, held in each borough in October and November, to learn strategies to help their children succeed at school and to advocate more forcefully on their behalf.

The daylong Saturday events are part of the UFT’s ongoing outreach to strengthen the bond between parents and educators — a connection UFT President Michael Mulgrew emphasized is a key component of student success.

“We share a common goal: to see your child thrive in the classroom,” he told the parents attending the conferences.

Brooklyn

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Miller Photography

For parent Ama Willock, who has not missed a parent conference in four years, the Brooklyn conference at PS 140 in Bedford-Stuyvesant on Oct. 22 was “packed full of information.”

She focused on workshops that provided information to parents about their rights. “Too many parents don’t know where to start, how to get a foot in the door or how to follow up on a problem,” she explained. “So workshops on parent rights and how to apply for scholarships proved very helpful.”

Each borough conference included keynote speakers, vendor exhibits and a variety of workshops.

On Staten Island, where the conference was held at the Hilton Garden Inn on Oct. 22, parent Lillian Cipoletti said she had trouble choosing among the many workshops on offer. For one of her two choices, she finally settled on arts in the schools as “very important to me because of my daughter’s participation in the arts program at New Dorp HS.”

Manhattan

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Jonathan Fickies

The Manhattan conference on Oct. 15 at union headquarters attracted more than 500 participants and offered 27 workshops. “The sessions were informative and geared to all age groups, and the vendors had wonderful handouts,” parent Tina Crockett said. “I appreciated the opportunity to be counted on to help advance the cause for fair funding of public schools.”

The keynote speaker at the Manhattan parent conference was Rudy Crew, the president of Medgar Evers College and the former chancellor of New York City schools. He called for “greater parent power” in city schools and underscored the need for more art programs to educate the whole child.

Bronx

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Miller Photography

Parent James James, who attended this year’s Bronx Parent Summit on Nov. 12, said the parents left informed and empowered. “The large turnout of Bronx families makes me hopeful that children attending Bronx schools will have better academic outcomes because of this conference and similar events the UFT provides throughout the year,” he said.

Queens

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Erica Berger

The Queens parent conference on Nov. 19 was again jointly sponsored with the Chinese American Parent-Student Council of New York City. Reflecting the borough’s diversity, several workshops were offered in Mandarin and Spanish.

Yen Chou, the president of the council and a former high school teacher, said she has been motivated to work with the UFT for the past 11 years because “I see many parents in my community with no resources, who are working very hard with no extra time.”

In the evaluation forms that poured in following each of the borough gatherings, one parent wrote, “I’m very grateful and will share what I learned today with others in my community.” Another noted, “Meeting parents, sharing concerns and learning how to navigate and advocate for our children was wonderful.”

Yet another implored the conference organizers: “Please don’t stop!”

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