UFT members celebrate the achievements of colleagues at the annual dinner dance, which this year had the theme of “Forward Together.”

The Mary McLeod Bethune Award for Excellence in Teaching went to Kishayna Hazlewood of PS 156 in Brooklyn, who represented New York City teachers on the governor’s Common Core Task Force. Anthony Harmon (right), the assistant to the UFT president and event chair, presented the award.

Karen Alford, the UFT’s vice president for elementary schools, received the Frederick Douglass Award for Civil and Human Rights.

Kishayna Hazlewood (center, seated) with Karen Alford (left), Anthony Harmony (right) and the staff of PS 156 in Brooklyn.

UFT members, staff and family members applaud the achievements of the night’s honorees.

The Community Learning Schools group with UFT Vice President for Elementary Schools Karen Alford.

Anu Osibajo, a student at Frederick Douglass Academy, receives the scholarship named in honor of longtime UFT activist and district representative Armando Blasse. “I stand on the shoulders of others,” said Osibajo in accepting the award.