Problems with the U.S. Department of Education’s rollout of a new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form and an understaffed call center caused a 3% drop in applications this year, a set of federal reports released in September found.


Hundreds of families packed the schoolyard at PS 21 on Staten Island for the UFT's third annual back-to-school backpack giveaway, where children received needed backpacks and school supplies, served alongside food and fun.

UFT members and parent volunteers handed out back packs and other school supplies to more than 1,000 students during this year's Harlem Week festivities.

Hundreds of public school educators and families at the Graphic Communication Arts Educational Campus in Manhattan on May 11 to choose from 50,000 free books for children of all ages. The special event, along with four other book giveaways the same...

Students of NYC, the UFT's social media initiative to highlight the city's amazing middle and high schoolers, celebrated its first year during a fete at UFT headquarters.

The UFT awarded scholarships to 189 public high school and graduate students as part of the annual Albert Shanker College Scholarship Awards Celebration and Reception. The students, many of whom began their high school careers online during the...

For Cedric Hawkins, a school counselor at Wings Academy HS in the Bronx, the UFT’s college fair at Borough of Manhattan Community College on Nov. 3 was an opportunity for his students not only to meet recruiters from more than 80 colleges and other...

The three UFT parent conferences offered in the fall shared an organizing aim: to make sure parents are aware of the state law to lower class size and the importance of getting the Department of Education to comply with it.


The new class-size law and the importance of getting the DOE to abide by it was on the minds of parents and caregivers who attended the union’s parent conferences in Manhattan, Staten Island and Queens in October and November.

The UFT Middle Schools Division hosted its annual Thanksgiving Luncheon and winter coat giveaway on Nov. 18 for students living in shelters throughout New York City, many of whom come from asylum-seeking families. Students explored a variety of activities, enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal and received brand new winter coats donated by UFT members and staff.