Stephen Zimmer (left) and Richard Sharpe, both teachers at MS 594 in the South Bronx, listen as UFT President Michael Mulgrew discusses the Bronx Plan and other features of the new contract.

“The Bronx Plan sounds like something we’ve been hoping for — school transformation from within,” Laura Weiss (front row, right), an 8th-grade ELA teacher at MS 328, said after the meeting.

“Our children come with immense challenges,” Mulgrew said, and described the Bronx Plan as an attempt to address those challenges.

Members from MS 593 also heard about plans to help teachers and other members manage student debt.

“I like how we negotiated the contract without giving anything back,” said MS 328 Chapter Leader Francis Aufiero shown here with Mulgrew after the meeting. “It speaks to the strength of the union.”

District 9 Representative Carol Harrison and Chapter Advocate Rashad Brown (right) talk to MS 593 teacher Jonathan Tang after the meeting.