UFT to mayoral candidates: Spend a day in the classroom if you want our endorsement

The powerful union representing New York City teachers is rolling out a new prerequisite for mayoral candidates: If they want their endorsement – or to even be considered for that matter – they’ll need to spend a day with students in a classroom first. 

“When we’re dealing with people who are elected officials, I want them to truly understand what we’re doing in our schools,” United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew said in an interview. “The world of education has changed dramatically, and they need to have more information – organic relevant information that they themselves can see. I think they need that exposure in order to make better decisions.” 

Already, Democratic mayoral candidates Scott Stringer, Zellnor Myrie and Brad Lander told City & State they intend to carry out the requirement. Others had yet to respond prior to publication.

The union, which represents some 200,000 members, is politically involved, and their endorsement is usually highly sought after. But they are not seen as a top political powerbroker, and they have a pretty bad track record on recent mayoral endorsements.

While over the years, the union has offered both candidates and elected officials an opportunity to join teachers in classrooms, Mulgrew said that historically these appearances often don’t come to fruition – and when they do it’s generally only for a limited window of time, entourages in tow, at a school of their choice. 

To make more informed education-related decisions, Mulgrew wants candidates to better understand how the entire school ecosystem works – not just what teachers are trying to accomplish each day, but also paraprofessionals, school counselors, therapists, psychologists and social workers. That means spending at least seven periods in a public school classroom, helping teachers and paraprofessionals manage their classrooms, relay their lessons, and to keep kids engaged. School placements will be decided by the union to ensure candidates get “maximum exposure” to the diverse array of students in the city’s sweeping public school system, according to Mulgrew. 

Over the course of the day on Thursday, the UFT will contact all the mayoral candidates to ask if they are interested in participating. If they agree, the union will work with them to schedule their day before the endorsement process begins – likely over the next month. Candidates who decline to participate will not be considered by the union for an endorsement. 

Participating by no means guarantees a candidate will ultimately receive the UFT’s endorsement. That process is lengthy, starting with a questionnaire, which will likely go out some time next month. Candidates will also be interviewed and participate in a forum hosted by the union later this spring.

Mulgrew sees the classroom experience as a boon for the candidates as they go through the endorsement process. Candidates often give generic answers about their vision for what they’d do within the school system as mayor, not really understanding how it would actually work on the ground and how it aligns with lofty, at times unrealistic, expectations from the Department of Education, he explained.

“Schools have basically become the social safety net of each of their communities. The responsibility of the schools is way past anything of 30 years ago,” Mulgrew said.