September 1, 2026

New Teacher Week 2026

More than 3,000 newly hired teachers poured into Barclays Center in Brooklyn despite the rain and received a warm UFT welcome at the start of the DOE’s New Teacher Week. Union representatives helped them get enrolled on the spot and provided the new educators with helpful information about their contractual rights, retirement benefits, health care, professional learning resources and more.

New teachers Malkia Benoit of PS 152 in the Bronx and Maria Walker of PS 140 in the Bronx take a selfie as they line up with thousands of other new teachers to enter the Barclays Center for New Teacher Week.

Throngs of new teachers hoist umbrellas and brave the rain as they line up to enter Barclays Center.

Paige Davis (left), who will teach at PS 36 in Manhattan, gets help signing up for the union from UFT Vice President Karen Alford, who heads the union’s New Member Initiative.

More than 3,000 newly hired teachers fill the arena at Barclays Center.

More than 3,000 newly hired teachers assemble in the arena at Barclays Center.

New teacher Jihad AbdulSabur of PS 132 in the Bronx gets into the spirit of the day while listening to presenters inside the Barclays arena.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew tells the new teachers gathered about his first year as a New York City public school teacher and offers encouraging words.

New teachers show off the UFT swag bag and UFT New Member Handbook

New teachers Kimberly Chen of PS/IS 229 in Brooklyn and Chante Morren of PS/MS 34 in Manhattan show off their UFT swag bag and UFT New Member Handbook.

Gathering outside Barclays Center are new teachers Amaris Ramos and Velika Yasay of JHS 118 in the Bronx, Dahlia Rubin of the Highbridge Green School in the Bronx, and McKenna Lipkin, Greg Latronica and Claire Stinson of MS 88 in Brooklyn.

Alexandra Collin, a new teacher at PS 274 in the Bronx, gets help enrolling as a UFT member from Michael Marin, a veteran teacher at PS 157 in the Bronx.

New teachers Anixa Bent (left) of PS 5 in Brooklyn and Krystyna Klos of PS/MS 147 Ronald McNair in Queens get guidance on joining the union from Chapter Leader Rob Roszkowski of P993, a District 75 program in Queens.

New teachers learn about their pension benefits from UFT representatives during the event’s “share fair,” where loads of valuable benefit and resource information was provided.

New teachers Chloe Li of PS 138 in Manhattan, Siobhan Miller of PS 164 in Brooklyn and Rebecca Camacho of P721, a District 75 program in Brooklyn, eagerly check out the goodies inside their new UFT swag bags.

A cohort of NYC Teaching Fellows from JHS 217 reunites at Barclays Center and smiles for the camera with their UFT swag bags.

New teachers cheer in the stands at the Barclays Center.

New teachers are assisted with a smile outside the arena by Jeanine Santopietro, coordinator of the Partners in Progress: Peer Intervention Program at the UFT.