UFT President Michael Mulgrew brought the capacity crowd from Districts 16 and 32 at the Meet the President gathering on April 23 up to date on scores of current issues. But he put the focus on the future, what he called “the bigger discussion — where do we want to go?” Responding to teacher anxiety over the first week of new state tests, he noted that “tests are driving everything and children are paying dearly.” He spoke of the union’s yearlong fight to get the Department of Education to provide curricula aligned with the Common Core Learning Standards and of the new Share My Lesson website that provides teacher-designed lesson plans. Applause greeted his insistence that “what teachers say has to matter again.” IS 349 math teacher Michael Scott got what he came for — a chance “to meet and hear directly from the president about what’s going on politically and with contract negotiations.” IS 349 Chapter Leader Thomas Napoli got an answer to his question about how testing will affect teacher ratings. Frederick Douglass Academy IV math teacher Sabrina Lyon wanted to meet the people who are representing teachers. “It’s nice to know who’s around to help,” she said. More photos >>