UFT President Michael Mulgrew had a wide-ranging discussion with high school educators from Brooklyn and the Brooklyn and Staten Island HS district (BASIS) at a gathering at Brooklyn Tech HS on April 16. Among the topics discussed were the upcoming mayoral election, what the future of education should look like in New York City, the fact-finding process to resolve the contract impasse, teacher evaluations and school budgets. For Brooklyn Tech HS Chapter Leader Beth Johnson, what resonated most from the conversation was the idea that teachers should think about what they want from the Department of Education in the future, about “how we want them to support us and support the schools: it’s a positive change, the idea that there could be a structure designed to support schools,” she said. Teacher Meredith Saladis of Brooklyn’s Secondary School for Law said that she liked the idea of a growth model for evaluations, where the focus is “about improvement and moving students from point A to point B, so they can feel a sense of accomplishment.” Janet Glickman, of George Westinghouse HS in Brooklyn, said that she felt the meeting had helped to broaden her perspective. “That’s why you come — to learn more about the issues you care about,” she said. More photos >>