Sunday, January 21, 2024

Week of January 22nd

UAI Staff News

Volume XI

Issue 22

January 22nd, 2024

Pushing Perspectives. This is the last week of the Fall term. Tomorrow is the last day for grades 9-12 and 6-8 finish out the fall on Friday.

As I read through the root causes listed in the MP2 Interventions doc, I picked up on several trends. Alongside challenges with low literacy levels or English language fluency, student attendance and social emotional skills (like time management, self & social awareness (e.g. using a phone in the middle of class) are some of the most commonly listed root causes.

Sometimes, we fall into thinking that our students should or shouldn't do x, y, or z because when we were their age we did (or didn't) do x, y, or z. But we have to be vigilant about that thinking and disrupt it. None of us know there experiences for so many reasons...but unilaterally none of US ever had to learn at home during a global pandemic.

We are still experiencing the outcomes on learning & development the pandemic inflicted on our students. It is still super unclear about what happened and why...BUT we do know that the pandemic had impact, and today, as their educators, we need to figure out how to address that impact to make sure our students can still meet course standards and thrive.

Teaching has always been much more about social interactions than content transmission. When sole tool of weight is a standardized test (aka Regents or MS State exam), it's just that easy to quantify & measure social capacities vs. discrete facts and content skills. So, too often, social emotional development gets pushed to the side in favor of content & skills.

Post pandemic, we need to collectively push hard against this instinct to push the SEL to the side because we have so much content to cover. SEL is the engine that drives academic achievement. If we only focus on content and skills, we are only putting our thumbs in a dam full of COVID holes. We need to concurrently build SEL skills alongside content & skills.

Classrooms are social landscapes. Students, teachers & paras are part of that construct. Schools are the larger social construct that contain classrooms. Support staff, deans, counselors, and admin are part of that construct.

Before we jump into developing our students SEL, it's important to take stock of our own. Beginning with social awareness - and our capacity to interact effectively with others, including our students.

Perspective taking is a key skill to being able to better understand our students needs and thus better construct learning experiences that more effectively help them close SEL and academic gaps and reach high standards of learning.

This spring, we'll be working with the Urban Assembly to hone adult SEL skills and capacities in Self and Social Awareness so that we can better connect to our students and more capably address their learning needs.

For now, here are two articles (well an article and a podcast) that will provide another possible perspective to the trends I saw in the MP2 Interventions...and a first step to thinking about how we build our capacity to resist the urge to operate from our own experiences in school and build our capacity to understand and empathize with today's realities of learning. Please make the time to read & listen - on the subway, in place of doom scrolling before bed, or during prep time at school!

Important Upcoming dates

Monday, 22JAN24

January Benchmark Schedule

For Grades 8-12: 2nd AND 3rd period Benchmarks

Mon 22JAN23 Math Benchmarks

For Grades 6 & 7th graders:

Phillan will share final program on Monday

Tuesday, 23JAN24 - Regents Week Begins
Monday, 22JAN24 -

Last Day of MP2 for grades 8-12
Grades are due Thursday 25JAN24 at 3PM

Friday, 26JAN24

Last Day of MP2 for grades 6 & 7
Grades are due Monday 29JAN24 at 3PM

NOTE: We need to get report cards out by Tuesday, 30JAN24 (last period). We can extend the MP for MS, but we need grades done by Monday at 3PM. If that turn around time is too short, then follow the schedule for 8-12 and end MP tomorrow to turn grades in on Thursday. All grades after Monday can go into MP3.

Monday, 29JAN24 - REMOTE PD Day
Tuesday, 30JAN24 - First day of Fall Term, MP3 Begins, Report cards distributed last period.

Announcements & To Dos

Grades are DUE!. Monday 22JAN24 is the last day of the MP for grades 8-12 and Friday 26JAN for grades 6-7. By the EOD on Monday, ALL teachers should

Turn all missing work into a 50
Complete all non-benchmark related grading and upload (and for kids who missed the benchmark, enter a 50)
Please begin entering all grades into THIS SHEET
During intervention time this week grades CAN be changed! As students work with you to make up missing work and closing skill and content knowledge gaps, please do update grades to reflect their achievements.

Please make sure you are communicating with students AND families about outreach week. Students NEED to come in to make up benchmarks during this time if they missed the exam AND students with <75 in your class need to come in to make up work and get extra help to meet the schoolwide goal.

NOTE: We need to get report cards to kids and families on the first day of the spring term. So, please make sure to turn grades in on time so that we have time on the admin side to generate the report cards.

Grades will be due Thursday at 3PM for grades 8-12 and Monday, 29JAN24 at 3PM for grades 6-7.

Regents Week and Benchmark Week. There are some schedule changes in the coming weeks as we get ready for a variety of assessments

THIS WEEK: The last benchmark is on Monday You can find that schedule on the second green tab of the schedule. Many THANKS to everyone who made last week's benchmarks go so smoothly - particularly to Marsha, Kelly, Liza & Judy for doing such amazing work to organize and stay on top of everything!!

REGENTS WEEK: The Regent exam schedule is also now finalized.
That said, there could still be mistakes!

We will be grading in subject teams, following the regent rules where teachers of students cannot grade their own students. Team leaders will coordinate grading to make sure folks will not be grading their own students. We will also be grading the math & science exams of two other schools (AIL and Design Works). However, the total numbers of student tests is still small.
Folks do have planning and grading time built into schedules.
Please review your schedule carefully. Make sure you do not see any mistakes or conflicts, and if you have questions, please just ASK! There is ZERO shame in asking ;-)

<<RePost>> Preparing for the End of the Semester.

Benchmarks. As you prepare students for the final summative Benchmarks, you need to make sure you are giving them a chance to see how they would do on the big test PRIOR to the big test (a trial run). For example, students should do a practice test that they can then grade themselves (or exchange to grade) to see which topics for which they are ready to demonstrate competency and to understand which topics need more review, study and preparation prior to the benchmark. Please make sure you are backwards planning from the benchmark to provide students with this type of learning opportunity.

Intervention & support. Please continue to provide and monitor impact of your MP2 Interventions. By the EOD on Friday 12JAN24, please update the document with the current grade of your students. NOTE: Students who have grades <75 will be scheduled to come in to meet with you during regents week to get extra help and complete necessary work to develop their competencies in your course and merit a grade of >75. We all will be using the information in the MP2 Interventions to discuss regents week programming with students.

<<RePost>> RPET Work. The RPET is planning three major experiences for our community this spring. They will be (1) A schoolwide teach in, (2) A series of PDs for staff around SEL, and (3) A series of staff equity circles. The RPET is planning a more detailed workshop for our January 29th PD to review each of these in detail and to get staff feedback on each. Here's the draft PD calendar for the rest of the year.

January

8th: Grading Work Time
15th: MLK Jr. Day
22nd: Benchmark Grading Time
29th: Remote Full Day PD (and RPET Presentation)

February

5th: SEL PD for All Staff (#1 of 4) - with UA!
12th: TBD by ILT
19th: Vacation WOOHOO
26th: SEL PD for All Staff (#2 of 4) - with UA!

March

4th: SEL PD for All Staff (#3 of 4) - with UA!
11th: Staff Equity Circles - Building Trust
18th: TBD by ILT
25th: SEL PD for All staff (#4 of 4) - with UA!

April

1st: Easter Monday - NO SCHOOL
8th: All Staff Prep for School Wide Teach In
15th: All Staff Prep for School Wide Teach In. (TEACH IN on April 16th)
22nd: Spring Break - WOOHOO
29th: STILL Spring Break - DOUBLE WOOHOO

5th: Staff Equity Circles
13th: Staff Equity Circles
20th: TBD by ILT
27th: Memorial Day - NO SCHOOL

June

3rd: Staff Equity Circles
10th: Staff Equity Circles
17th: Regents Week Proctor Prep

Trips.

Monday, 16JAN24: BMCC Trip

Per Session Postings

For ALL per session activities, please complete Per Session Application Form"

After School Clubs. If you are interested in running an after school club, please complete THIS form by EOD TUESDAY 26SEP23 AND submit the Per Session Application Form. Clubs are slated to start next week. Clubs must have a steady roster of at least 8-10 students per week in order to NOT be cancelled. Rosters & Attendance lists MUST be submitted with per session time cards. If your club goes three consecutive weeks with less than 8 students, your club will need to be cancelled (so that we can optimize funds for other uses - so sorry...wish we could fund everything all the time, but unfortunately, we don't have endless sums of funds). After school sessions can be 3-4PM or 3-4:30PM or 3-5:30PM (teacher's choice)up to three days per week. So per session hours can range from 1-7.5hrs per week). Posting Expires 10OCT23.

Please continue to help promote your after school clubs. Please make sure you are getting a reliable group of at least 10 students. Help our after school classes get off the ground! - I will be collecting final rosters on 30NOV - you have additional time to recruit!!

Black Student Union - Joanna & Pauline (Rm 411) - Tuesdays & Thursdays 3-4:30
Arts & Crafts Club - Tiffany & Jennifer (Rm 311) - Mon/Tue/Weds - 3-4:15PM
Theater Production Club - Noelle (Rm 315) - Tues/Thurs/Fri - 3-5:30PM
Student Government - Sue, Marsha, Phillan, and Girls' Inc's Kassi (Rm 309) - Tuesdays - 3-4PM
Youth Leadership Council - Kelly (Rm 307) - Tuesdays 3-4PM
Photo Club - Tom(Rm 205F) - Wednesdays 3-4:30
Cheer - Mary & Lia - Various days depending on Game Days
Anime & Art Club - Adelle & Francis (Rm 409) - Tuesdays & Thursdays 3-5PM
Running Club with Camryn (starts after the marathon is over)
Dance Club - Girls Inc - Room 503
Students Against Racism & Bias Club - Jelissa (Rm 305) Tuesdays & Thursday 3-4PM
Muslim Student Association - Laura (Rm 404) TBD
GSA Club - Amanda - Rm 407

PSAL Supervision. Posting Expires 10OCT23. PSAL Games are starting up soon. Please submit the Per Session Application Form if you are interested in supervising student spectators. Hours vary depending on games. Each game (basketball or volleyball) is usually 4-6pm (is) so each supervision session is about 2hours. Staff are welcome to sign up for as many games as they'd like. Please see UAI calendar or PSAL website for game dates. Duties include making sure

students remain safe and orderly during games
only eligible students are admitted to games
all students fully dismiss from the building at the conclusion of the games

CSI Planning & Supervision. Posting Expires 10OCT23. This posting if for supervision per session to plan, supervise, monitor and coordinate extra improvement efforts to address UAI achievement gaps and improve student performance in target metrics. Activities include analyzing and reviewing data, planning and executing professional development experiences to improve staff performance, analyzing and editing video footage to improve teacher lesson execution and lesson implementation, and supervising out of school activities - including recruitment, staff planning, and after school activities. Hours vary per week depending on task and work completed. Hours range 1-7.5 hours per week.

Classroom SetUp. All classroom staff are invited to come in to set up and plan for up to 10 hours all together any day this week Monday-Friday 9AM-2PM. Staff must clock in AND out each day, and cannot be in the building after 2PM. Please adhere to guidelines set out in the blog post above. All Staff MUST also apply to this position by completing the "Per Session Application From" - see link above. [Posted 27AUG23] - Posting CLOSED and JOB is over.

Monday, January 15, 2024

Week of January 16th

UAI Staff News

Volume XI

Issue 21

January 16th, 2024

Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable… Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.

The Tireless Exertions Towards Equity. Happy MLK Jr. Day! Hopefully, this 3-day weekend afforded all of you a bit of time to recharge and catch up with the mountain of work you must have!

We are in the final stretch of the fall term, and the exhaustion is palpable in adults and kids alike. However, it is not exertion in vain. In line with Dr. King's quote, I want to raise up two of our core values for a closer look: Rigor & Equity.

Rigor: At UAI, the expectation for all classroom and out of classroom staff is to hold students to high academic and social emotional standards. Students should be challenged daily to think deeply and push & grow their neurons with questions, reflections, and reassertions of their own ideas. We push students to challenge themselves beyond completion and to cultivate & leverage their social emotional skills to meet academic goals. All staff are expected to set and hold to high bars.

Equity: At UAI, all students are supported, challenged, and pushed in ways - according to their needs - that bridge students from their current levels of performance to the high standards set by the adults who teach them. All staff are expected to find ways to support all students to achieve & meet or surpass the high bars.

Doing both of these is our tireless struggle. Our staff is in a constant struggle to plan engaging activities to push student development, and then to push their own brains into novel approaches to find ways to support students to thrive - without lowering rigor. It is not easy...(and explains why the role of teacher requires so many degrees).

BUT - the fire of your passion & dedication keeps burning. Your love for the kids and your work keeps pushing each of you. As humans, we all tire and let down our guard, but today, on MLK Jr. Day, I'm going to ask you to look inward to reconnect with your passion & dedication to make for a final push to end the Fall strong and well!

(>95) Some of your students are soaring! Celebrate those wins with them, and think about what worked and why it worked for these students.
(>85) Some of your students are doing pretty well! Celebrate those wins with them, and think with them how they can do even better to finish the term.
(>75) Some of your students are making the grade. Recognize their achievements. Start to unravel the hurdles. Push beyond the facts (they don't come to school/come on time; they don't complete work) and lean into understanding why. Talk to them - find out what's going on. Connections & bridging to where they are if the first step to bringing them to where they need to be.
(<75) Some of your students are falling off track. Catch them. Now, more than ever, they need your love and support to get back on track. You are the ones who are in the positions and with the capacity TO help them thrive. For them, we need to pull together and work as a team of deans, counselors, administrators, teachers, & paras to support our neediest kids and bridge them from a place of failing to a pathway of success.

And when we take the path of one brown or black young women from one of failure to one of achievement, we set the path of one amazing young person to be a path of Rigor AND Equity.

Thank you for your passion & tireless commitment to this work.

It DOES make a difference.

It DOES bring justice to our crazy world.

Important Upcoming dates

Tuesday, 16JAN24 - Benchmarks Begin (see below)
Wednesday, 17JAN24 - Adams Street Campus Varsity Girls Basketball Home Game
Friday, 19JAN24 - Adams Street Campus Varsity Girls Basketball Home Game
Tuesday, 23JAN24 - Regents Week Begins

January Benchmark Schedule

For Grades 8-12: 2nd AND 3rd period Benchmarks

Wed 17JAN23 ELA Benchmarks
Thu 18JAN23 Social Studies Benchmarks
Fri 19JAN23 Science Benchmarks
Mon 22JAN23 Math Benchmarks

For Grades 6 & 7th graders:

CHANGE:

4th & 5th will be MAP & Benchmark testing periods
Mon/Tue 22/23JAN - MAP Math(23) and MAP ELA (24)
Wed - normal schedule
Thu/Fri 25/26JAN - Math Benchmark (25) and ELA (26)

All staff will have grading time build into their Regents Week Schedules.

Please Prepare your students for these benchmarks

They should be seeing spiral review of MP1 and MP2 topics throughout all of MP2
They should have practice with Benchmark questions for BOTH content and literacy
You should schedule some type of practice benchmark prior to the actual benchmark so students have an idea of what to study. This could be in any form you choose - but you need to provide it for them. Please see your ILT lead or Kiri or Annie if you need more support on this

Announcements & To Dos

Reminder of Official Work Hours. With the new UFT contract, we have a slightly different workday than in years past. As a reminder, as a single session school, we have a 60min weekly PD period, a 40min work time period, and 55 minutes of outreach each week. This is true for BOTH teachers and full time (not sub) paraprofessionals.

Please see here for the Staff Handbook which outlines staff work hours. All full-time teachers and paraprofessionals work until 4:30pm for Monday PD, and should be conducting 55 minutes of outreach each week and logging it here.

Some folks have been leaving early on Mondays. As clarification, unless you receive written permission from Kiri, Annie, Dai, or Jen to leave prior to 4:30pm, all staff are expected to be in the building until 4:30pm, failure to do so may result in disciplinary action.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Kiri.

Regents Week and Benchmark Week. There are some schedule changes in the coming weeks as we get ready for a variety of assessments

THIS WEEK: The benchmark schedule is now finalized. You can find that schedule on the second green tab of the schedule.

This week, students follow their NORMAL schedule EXCEPT for testing periods.

So, for 1st period on Tuesday, students report to their normal first period class, and then they go to their assigned Benchmark Testing room for periods 2 and 3. Then after lunch, normal schedule resumes. NOTE: On Thursday & Friday, we're MAP testing, so that's a special MAP schedule (all the bright blue is special schedule - everything else is normal)

This table on the benchmark schedule tab of the schedule tells the course, section, teacher, and assigned benchmark room & proctor.
Classroom teachers should tell students where to go in their subject classes. So, for example, the AP Lang teachers (Frieda, Pauline, & Patricia) will tell their students IN CLASS on Tuesday which room to go to for benchmarks. They'll also send out a message in google classrooms the AM of and post the announcements in Google Classrooms.
On the day of testing, 1st period teachers should save 5min at the end of class to verify that all students know where to go for 2nd period. The notes in this table will help you help kids. Please read them (on the right "How do I help kids know where to go?" and on the left "Where do I find the rosters")

REGENTS WEEK: The Regent exam schedule is also now finalized.
That said, there could still be mistakes!

We will be grading in subject teams, following the regent rules where teachers of students cannot grade their own students. Team leaders will coordinate grading to make sure folks will not be grading their own students. We will also be grading the math & science exams of two other schools (AIL and Design Works). However, the total numbers of student tests is still small.
Folks do have planning and grading time built into schedules.
Please review your schedule carefully. Make sure you do not see any mistakes or conflicts, and if you have questions, please just ASK! There is ZERO shame in asking ;-)

<<RePost>> Preparing for the End of the Semester.

Benchmarks. As you prepare students for the final summative Benchmarks, you need to make sure you are giving them a chance to see how they would do on the big test PRIOR to the big test (a trial run). For example, students should do a practice test that they can then grade themselves (or exchange to grade) to see which topics for which they are ready to demonstrate competency and to understand which topics need more review, study and preparation prior to the benchmark. Please make sure you are backwards planning from the benchmark to provide students with this type of learning opportunity.

Intervention & support. Please continue to provide and monitor impact of your MP2 Interventions. By the EOD on Friday 12JAN24, please update the document with the current grade of your students. NOTE: Students who have grades <75 will be scheduled to come in to meet with you during regents week to get extra help and complete necessary work to develop their competencies in your course and merit a grade of >75. We all will be using the information in the MP2 Interventions to discuss regents week programming with students.

January

8th: Grading Work Time
15th: MLK Jr. Day
22nd: Benchmark Grading Time
29th: Remote Full Day PD (and RPET Presentation)

February

5th: SEL PD for All Staff (#1 of 4) - with UA!
12th: TBD by ILT
19th: Vacation WOOHOO
26th: SEL PD for All Staff (#2 of 4) - with UA!

March

4th: SEL PD for All Staff (#3 of 4) - with UA!
11th: Staff Equity Circles - Building Trust
18th: TBD by ILT
25th: SEL PD for All staff (#4 of 4) - with UA!

April

1st: Easter Monday - NO SCHOOL
8th: All Staff Prep for School Wide Teach In
15th: All Staff Prep for School Wide Teach In. (TEACH IN on April 16th)
22nd: Spring Break - WOOHOO
29th: STILL Spring Break - DOUBLE WOOHOO

5th: Staff Equity Circles
13th: Staff Equity Circles
20th: TBD by ILT
27th: Memorial Day - NO SCHOOL

June

3rd: Staff Equity Circles
10th: Staff Equity Circles
17th: Regents Week Proctor Prep

Trips.

Monday, 16JAN24: BMCC Trip

Per Session Postings

For ALL per session activities, please complete Per Session Application Form"

Please continue to help promote your after school clubs. Please make sure you are getting a reliable group of at least 10 students. Help our after school classes get off the ground! - I will be collecting final rosters on 30NOV - you have additional time to recruit!!

Black Student Union - Joanna & Pauline (Rm 411) - Tuesdays & Thursdays 3-4:30
Arts & Crafts Club - Tiffany & Jennifer (Rm 311) - Mon/Tue/Weds - 3-4:15PM
Theater Production Club - Noelle (Rm 315) - Tues/Thurs/Fri - 3-5:30PM
Student Government - Sue, Marsha, Phillan, and Girls' Inc's Kassi (Rm 309) - Tuesdays - 3-4PM
Youth Leadership Council - Kelly (Rm 307) - Tuesdays 3-4PM
Photo Club - Tom(Rm 205F) - Wednesdays 3-4:30
Cheer - Mary & Lia - Various days depending on Game Days
Anime & Art Club - Adelle & Francis (Rm 409) - Tuesdays & Thursdays 3-5PM
Running Club with Camryn (starts after the marathon is over)
Dance Club - Girls Inc - Room 503
Students Against Racism & Bias Club - Jelissa (Rm 305) Tuesdays & Thursday 3-4PM
Muslim Student Association - Laura (Rm 404) TBD
GSA Club - Amanda - Rm 407

students remain safe and orderly during games
only eligible students are admitted to games
all students fully dismiss from the building at the conclusion of the games

Sunday, January 7, 2024

Week of January 9th

UAI Staff News

Volume XI

Issue 20

January 8th, 2024

Days Are Coming Quickly Now. The first school week of 2024 is in the bag and now the days are coming fast and furious as we close out the Fall 2023 semester. There's a lot of announcements today. So, I'm going to jump straight to those today!

Important Upcoming dates

Wednesday, 10JAN24 - Instructional Rounds Day for Group 4 (w/ Marsha)
Monday, 15JAN24 - MLK Jr. Day - NO SCHOOL
Tuesday, 16JAN24 - Benchmarks Begin (see below)
Wednesday, 17JAN24 - Adams Street Campus Varsity Girls Basketball Home Game
Friday, 19JAN24 - Adams Street Campus Varsity Girls Basketball Home Game
Tuesday, 23JAN24 - Regents Week Begins

January Benchmark Schedule

For Grades 8-12: 2nd AND 3rd period Benchmarks

Wed 17JAN23 ELA Benchmarks
Thu 18JAN23 Social Studies Benchmarks
Fri 19JAN23 Science Benchmarks
Mon 22JAN23 Math Benchmarks

For Grades 6 & 7th graders:

CHANGE:

4th & 5th will be MAP & Benchmark testing periods
Mon/Tue 22/23JAN - MAP Math(23) and MAP ELA (24)
Wed - normal schedule
Thu/Fri 25/26JAN - Math Benchmark (25) and ELA (26)

All staff will have grading time build into their Regents Week Schedules.

Please Prepare your students for these benchmarks

They should be seeing spiral review of MP1 and MP2 topics throughout all of MP2
They should have practice with Benchmark questions for BOTH content and literacy
You should schedule some type of practice benchmark prior to the actual benchmark so students have an idea of what to study. This could be in any form you choose - but you need to provide it for them. Please see your ILT lead or Kiri or Annie if you need more support on this

Announcements & To Dos

Regents Week and Benchmark Week and Student Perception Surveys. There are some schedule changes in the coming weeks as we get ready for a variety of assessments

THIS WEEK: Advisory, Learning Lab, Small Group, and Some Breadth Course (Theater, Spanish, PE) classes will be administering the Student Perception Survey. We'll be training those teachers on how to do that in PD on Monday (See below). Please see the schedule updates in the first green tab of the schedule.
NEXT WEEK: The benchmark schedule is now finalized. You can find that schedule on the second green tab of the schedule.
REGENTS WEEK: The Regent exam schedule is also now finalized. You can find that schedule on the third green tab of the schedule.

Monday Professional Development. We are giving Monday PD time to teachers to update the MP2 Intervention Log and their SyncGrades gradebooks.

Student Perception Survey Training. All advisors, learning lab teachers, small group teachers, and Theater/Spanish/PE teachers should report to the farm at 3PM for a brief training on the Student Perception Survey. We will be administering the survey in these classes this week. This training is about 30min and then all folks will be released to work on Grades & Interventions.
Grades & Intervention Log. Subject teams will work together to provide technical and thought-partner support for grading (see below for room assignments). Please make sure that at the end of Monday's PD time, you have

converted ALL missing pieces of work to 50s
updated the MP2 Intervention log by either adding any new students that are not yet meeting the >75 mark in your class OR removing any students who are not meeting the mark!
prepare to wean OFF of google classroom. Your ILT lead can help you with this!

<<RePost>> Preparing for the End of the Semester.

Benchmarks. As you prepare students for the final summative Benchmarks, you need to make sure you are giving them a chance to see how they would do on the big test PRIOR to the big test (a trial run). For example, students should do a practice test that they can then grade themselves (or exchange to grade) to see which topics for which they are ready to demonstrate competency and to understand which topics need more review, study and preparation prior to the benchmark. Please make sure you are backwards planning from the benchmark to provide students with this type of learning opportunity.

Intervention & support. Please continue to provide and monitor impact of your MP2 Interventions. By the EOD on Friday 12JAN24, please update the document with the current grade of your students. NOTE: Students who have grades <75 will be scheduled to come in to meet with you during regents week to get extra help and complete necessary work to develop their competencies in your course and merit a grade of >75. We all will be using the information in the MP2 Interventions to discuss regents week programming with students.

RPET Work. The RPET is planning three major experiences for our community this spring. They will be (1) A schoolwide teach in, (2) A series of PDs for staff around SEL, and (3) A series of staff equity circles. The RPET is planning a more detailed workshop for our January 29th PD to review each of these in detail and to get staff feedback on each. Here's the draft PD calendar for the rest of the year.

January

8th: Grading Work Time
15th: MLK Jr. Day
22nd: Benchmark Grading Time
29th: Remote Full Day PD (and RPET Presentation)

February

5th: SEL PD for All Staff (#1 of 4) - with UA!
12th: TBD by ILT
19th: Vacation WOOHOO
26th: SEL PD for All Staff (#2 of 4) - with UA!

March

4th: SEL PD for All Staff (#3 of 4) - with UA!
11th: Staff Equity Circles - Building Trust
18th: TBD by ILT
25th: SEL PD for All staff (#4 of 4) - with UA!

April

1st: Easter Monday - NO SCHOOL
8th: All Staff Prep for School Wide Teach In
15th: All Staff Prep for School Wide Teach In. (TEACH IN on April 16th)
22nd: Spring Break - WOOHOO
29th: STILL Spring Break - DOUBLE WOOHOO

5th: Staff Equity Circles
13th: Staff Equity Circles
20th: TBD by ILT
27th: Memorial Day - NO SCHOOL

June

3rd: Staff Equity Circles
10th: Staff Equity Circles
17th: Regents Week Proctor Prep

Trips.

None this week.

Per Session Postings

For ALL per session activities, please complete Per Session Application Form"

Please continue to help promote your after school clubs. Please make sure you are getting a reliable group of at least 10 students. Help our after school classes get off the ground! - I will be collecting final rosters on 30NOV - you have additional time to recruit!!

Black Student Union - Joanna & Pauline (Rm 411) - Tuesdays & Thursdays 3-4:30
Arts & Crafts Club - Tiffany & Jennifer (Rm 311) - Mon/Tue/Weds - 3-4:15PM
Theater Production Club - Noelle (Rm 315) - Tues/Thurs/Fri - 3-5:30PM
Student Government - Sue, Marsha, Phillan, and Girls' Inc's Kassi (Rm 309) - Tuesdays - 3-4PM
Youth Leadership Council - Kelly (Rm 307) - Tuesdays 3-4PM
Photo Club - Tom(Rm 205F) - Wednesdays 3-4:30
Cheer - Mary & Lia - Various days depending on Game Days
Anime & Art Club - Adelle & Francis (Rm 409) - Tuesdays & Thursdays 3-5PM
Running Club with Camryn (starts after the marathon is over)
Dance Club - Girls Inc - Room 503
Students Against Racism & Bias Club - Jelissa (Rm 305) Tuesdays & Thursday 3-4PM
Muslim Student Association - Laura (Rm 404) TBD
GSA Club - Amanda - Rm 407

students remain safe and orderly during games
only eligible students are admitted to games
all students fully dismiss from the building at the conclusion of the games

Monday, January 1, 2024

Week of January 2nd

UAI Staff News

Volume XI

Issue 19

January 2nd, 2024

Happy New Year. Welcome back everyone, and a very happy new year to all! I do hope this holiday break has been filled with fun, food, relaxation and connections with family and friends. Our jobs can be so draining, so these breaks are critical to our capacity to fill our own pots so that we have the resources to give & provide for our students and families!

To that end, as we walk back into school this week, we only have a few weeks left in the 2nd marking period. As an annualized school, our HS students don't receive their full course credits until June. However, as a reminder of UAI grading policy, students who are passing as of the end of the Fall term will have earned at least 1/2 of their full years' credits. So, now is the time to push and support our students to prepare for their course benchmarks and to catch up in work they may have missed.

As we near the end of this fall terms, we want our students to show us their best capacities! Kids and families need our strongest support and clearest communications to get there so outreach and extra help and targeted interventions are super important as we wrap up the fall.

Thank you to all who updated MP2 Interventions document! This will be extremely helpful moving forward to the end of the term. Students who are not yet meeting our schoolwide goal of getting >75 in your classes will need extra help and attention both in classes and after school. Calling home to update families will be critical in making sure that everyone is circling the wagons around our students who need the most so that they can find their own power to thrive!

Please remember - when students are not yet performing it is because they haven't figured out how YET. Our job is to give them the experiences and support they need in order to be able to achieve the goals they want - and to develop into the best versions of themselves!

We hold high standards (rigor) so they can achieve (power) to be able to effect positive change on the world (equity), all the while knowing we are there to support where needed and that they are loved (joy). This is what we do at UAI. This is who we are!

Important Upcoming dates

Wednesday, 03JAN24 - Elevate Visits Learning Labs
Thursday, 04JAN24 - Instructional Rounds Day for Group 3 (w/ Kelly & Phillan)
Wednesday, 10JAN24 - Instructional Rounds Day for Group 4 (w/ Marsha)
Monday, 15JAN24 - MLK Jr. Day - NO SCHOOL
Tuesday, 16JAN24 - Benchmarks Begin (see below)
Wednesday, 17JAN24 - Adams Street Campus Varsity Girls Basketball Home Game
Friday, 19JAN24 - Adams Street Campus Varsity Girls Basketball Home Game
Tuesday, 23JAN24 - Regents Week Begins

January Benchmark Schedule

For Grades 8-12: 2nd AND 3rd period Regents Mock

Wed 17JAN23 ELA Regents
Thu 18JAN23 USH or GLO Regents
Fri 19JAN23 LIV or EARTH Regents
Mon 22JAN23 ALG 1 Regent
All other classes should give their end of MP2 benchmark at some point during the week of Tue 16JAN- Mon 22JAN - any period EXCEPT 2nd and 3rd.

For Grades 6 & 7th graders:

2nd & 3rd will be benchmark periods - lunch will be moved to 4th
Tuesday 23JAN will be the ELA benchmark
Wednesday 24JAN will be the Math benchmark

All staff will have grading time build into their Regents Week Schedules.

Please Prepare your students for these benchmarks

They should be seeing spiral review of MP1 and MP2 topics throughout all of MP2
They should have practice with Benchmark questions for BOTH content and literacy
You should schedule some type of practice benchmark prior to the actual benchmark so students have an idea of what to study. This could be in any form you choose - but you need to provide it for them. Please see your ILT lead or Kiri or Annie if you need more support on this

Announcements & To Dos

Preparing for the End of the Semester.

Benchmarks. As you prepare students for the final summative Benchmarks, you need to make sure you are giving them a chance to see how they would do on the big test PRIOR to the big test (a trial run). For example, students should do a practice test that they can then grade themselves (or exchange to grade) to see which topics for which they are ready to demonstrate competency and to understand which topics need more review, study and preparation prior to the benchmark. Please make sure you are backwards planning from the benchmark to provide students with this type of learning opportunity.

Intervention & support. Please continue to provide and monitor impact of your MP2 Interventions. By the EOD on Friday 12JAN24, please update the document with the current grade of your students. NOTE: Students who have grades <75 will be scheduled to come in to meet with you during regents week to get extra help and complete necessary work to develop their competencies in your course and merit a grade of >75. We all will be using the information in the MP2 Interventions to discuss regents week programming with students.

RPET Work. RPET will release our PD calendar for the year this week to review plans for teach ins and other activities and professional development. Stay tuned!

Regents Week Assignments. We are finishing Regents Week Programming this week. You can see which exams students are currently signed up for HERE. This is the list of only required tests. If students want to retake a test, have them email me and Liza to sign up for the exam. If a student is listed as taking an exam, they are requried to show up. It is not optional. If they have questions, please send them to me or Liza.

Preps, Professional, and OPW Time. As a reminder:

Prep Time, Professional Periods, and Other Professional Work Time is time programmed into the work week for professional activities. This includes small group work (tutoring or intervention), grading and feedback, planning, lesson run-throughs, and lesson prep (copying, etc.).
Family outreach during your prep or Advisory Prep time is part of your in-day schedule and not part of your 55 minute outreach time. The 55 minute family outreach time should occur after the school day ends.

Trips.

None this week.

Per Session Postings

For ALL per session activities, please complete Per Session Application Form"

Please continue to help promote your after school clubs. Please make sure you are getting a reliable group of at least 10 students. Help our after school classes get off the ground! - I will be collecting final rosters on 30NOV - you have additional time to recruit!!

Black Student Union - Joanna & Pauline (Rm 411) - Tuesdays & Thursdays 3-4:30
Arts & Crafts Club - Tiffany & Jennifer (Rm 311) - Mon/Tue/Weds - 3-4:15PM
Theater Production Club - Noelle (Rm 315) - Tues/Thurs/Fri - 3-5:30PM
Student Government - Sue, Marsha, Phillan, and Girls' Inc's Kassi (Rm 309) - Tuesdays - 3-4PM
Youth Leadership Council - Kelly (Rm 307) - Tuesdays 3-4PM
Photo Club - Tom(Rm 205F) - Wednesdays 3-4:30
Cheer - Mary & Lia - Various days depending on Game Days
Anime & Art Club - Adelle & Francis (Rm 409) - Tuesdays & Thursdays 3-5PM
Running Club with Camryn (starts after the marathon is over)
Dance Club - Girls Inc - Room 503
Students Against Racism & Bias Club - Jelissa (Rm 305) Tuesdays & Thursday 3-4PM
Muslim Student Association - Laura (Rm 404) TBD
GSA Club - Amanda - Rm 407

students remain safe and orderly during games
only eligible students are admitted to games
all students fully dismiss from the building at the conclusion of the games

UA Institute

Sunday, January 21, 2024

Week of January 22nd

UAI Staff News

Important Upcoming dates

Per Session Postings

For ALL per session activities, please complete Per Session Application Form"

Monday, January 15, 2024

Week of January 16th

UAI Staff News

Important Upcoming dates

Per Session Postings

For ALL per session activities, please complete Per Session Application Form"

Sunday, January 7, 2024

Week of January 9th

UAI Staff News

Important Upcoming dates

Per Session Postings

For ALL per session activities, please complete Per Session Application Form"

Monday, January 1, 2024

Week of January 2nd

UAI Staff News

Important Upcoming dates

Per Session Postings

For ALL per session activities, please complete Per Session Application Form"

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