Volume: XIII
Issue: 5
September 22, 2025
SCHOOL LEADERSHIP MESSAGE
Spirit Week brought so much energy, creativity, and fun into our building, it wouldn’t have been the same without staff leaning in, showing up, and making it a joyful experience for our students. Whether it was the themed outfits or the sheer number of smiles we saw each day, JOY was everywhere. These moments of levity and celebration aren’t just fun, they build community, connection, and belonging, and they matter just as much as our academic work. Thank you to all who participated and helped plan Spirit Week - it was a fun one for our kids!
On Thursday, we have the honor of hosting our families for the first time this year during Curriculum Night. This is such an important opportunity to open our doors, share our vision, and invite families into the heart of our work. As we welcome them into our classrooms and hallways, we are building the bridges that strengthen home-school connections and deepen trust. Thank you in advance to all staff for your preparation, presence, and warmth, it makes all the difference.
To close, I want to give a huge shoutout to our phenomenal Deans - Alaisha, Nicole, and Jean! You may not know it, but these powerful women hold this school together. They work tirelessly to guide our students in developing the essential behaviors and skills needed for long-term success, all while expertly managing challenges and crises as they arise, ensuring a safe and supportive environment for everyone. I want to emphasize that supervising hundreds of students during entry, lunch, and dismissal is already a significant challenge - but doing so while enforcing our Yondr policy takes it to an entirely new level. Still, their strong presence, clarity, and consistency have reinforced our shared expectations and helped create a more focused, distraction-free environment that supports deeper learning. Their work is not just operational, it’s transformational, and it’s helping to shift our school culture in meaningful, lasting ways. You guys are incredible, thank you for all you do.
UPCOMING DATES- WED 01OCT25 - National Building Custodians' Day
- THU 02OCT25 - Yom Kippur - No School
- MON 13OCT25 - Indigenous People's Day/Italian Heritage Day
- WED 15OCT25 - School Based Support Team Appreciation Day (Psych, Soc Worker, Fam Worker, OT/PT)
- MON 20OCT25 - Diwali - No School
- FRI 31OCT25 - Halloween
*All Student Engagement activities for the year will now be listed in this spreadsheet and on the UAI School Calendar! Thanks to Shan, Jen, Sue and the RPET team for bring our community to life through their planning of these events.
UPCOMING TRIPS
Trip Requests. Here's the trip request protocol... Hamilton - Thursday, Oct 30th
Fall College Trips: Seniors will have first priority, however the trips are also open to juniors.
September:
- Thursday 9/25 - Brooklyn College, 12pm
- Tuesday 9/3 0- SUNY College Fair, 9am
October:
- Thursday 10/9 - UFT College & Career Fair, 10 am
- Thursday 10/23 - Queens College, 10am
- Tuesday 10/28 - Lehman College, 11am
TO DO THIS WEEK
Curriculum Night. We have Curriculum Night for all grades on September 25th, in-person from 5-8pm. We will be providing dinner for families and staff in the cafeteria with tables for fun activities. This time will be used for families to speak to individual teachers about what to expect for this year. Teachers should prepare a course syllabus with dates of major assessments for the year and be prepared to talk through the syllabus with families. To Do: Make about 25 copies of your course syllabi (for each course you teach - you can always run to the copy machine easily if you need to make more). Please make a copy of the UAI Course Syllabus template and complete one for each of your courses.
MAP Testing Starts this Week. We are gearing up for our 1st round of schoolwide MAP Growth Testing next week. For those who are new, the MAP test is a diagnostic screener students take three times a year for reading and math. This assessment provides data on where students are in their literacy and math skills. Intervention groups were created based on MAP data. All ELA and Math teachers MUST suspend regular instruction to focus on fully testing ALL of their students. Please make sure to have a plan to conduct make-ups if students are absent. Please make sure you connect with Judy, Marsha, or Mike so that you feel ready to proctor the exams in your classrooms. Here’s logistics:
- MAP Growth Reading happens on 9/25 - 9/26 for grades 6-12 in ELA classes
- MAP Growth Math happens on 9/29 - 10/1 for grades 6-12 in Math classes
ILT Walkthroughs. This week, your ILT (Instructional Leadership Team) lead will begin conducting informal, classroom walkthroughs focused on observing and supporting the implementation of our three core Learning Routines: Notice & Wonder, Stronger & Clearer, and So Basically. The goal of these visits is to provide constructive, affirming strengths-based feedback that highlights effective instructional practices and encourages continued growth in using these routines to deepen student engagement and learning.
Teacher Evaluations. Teacher observations will begin this week. As a reminder, non-tenured teachers receive a minimum of one formal and three informal observations per year. Tenured teachers who were rated Highly Effective or Effective will receive a minimum for two informal observations this year. Tenured teachers who had an end of year rating of Developing will receive a minimum of one formal and three informal observations.
REMINDERS FROM THE DEANS. Please remember bathrooms are closed the first ten and last ten minutes of every period. Also, if you have a lunch time club or activity, you MUST pick the students up from the cafe - this helps us monitor and ensure no students are wandering the halls during lunch. Lastly - always remember - if you see something say something! The deans are here to support you.
FutureReady NYC Highlight. UAI is officially two weeks into the Future Ready NYC Healthcare Pathway! FRNYC is a DOE initiative that's all about reimagining the high school experience. Through the program, students gain valuable job skills, paid work experience, and early college credit, and earn certificates for jobs that are in-demand and pay well. As a Pre-Nursing school, UAI students who successfully complete the pathway will not only have completed three free college courses at City Tech, they can also graduate as a Certified Medical Assistant! The Pathway takes 4 years to complete. Here's a look at where we are in the program this year:
FRNYC Courses Offered in 2025-2026
Career Foundations/Explorations: This course is for all 9th-grade students (and FRNYC 10th-graders this year only). Taught by Martine and Kelly, the class helps students build the skills and confidence to figure out who they are and how their interests connect to future opportunities. Students explore and evaluate different careers, with a focus on healthcare, and practice developing plans for their future. They leave the class with a clear understanding of the steps needed to achieve their goals and a blueprint for how to replicate this process as their plans change.
Foundations of Health Care Part 1 and 2: This is the first official course of the Healthcare Pathway for all 9th-graders (and FRNYC 10th-graders this year only). Foundations of Health Core is an introductory course designed to prepare students to pursue a health career. Upon completion, students will be able to identify different careers in the field, compare healthcare systems, explain legal and ethical issues in a healthcare setting, understand personal wellness and the human body, and begin to perform foundational healthcare skills. Patti, Roger, Martine, and Kelly are teaching the course this year.
Early College Credit: 10th graders in the FRNYC Pathway will take "First Year Seminar" at City Tech this spring, earning their first free college credits through FRNYC. They will continue with their coursework at City Tech in11th and 12th grade, enrolling in Intro to Psychology and Introduction to Health Delivery and Careers. Tiffany is leading this work and helping to establish a strong partnership with City Tech.
PER SESSION POSTINGS
FOR ALL PER SESSION JOBS: You must apply by completing THIS FORM
NEW POSTING. Work Based Learning Coordinator. A part of the Future Ready NYC team, the Work Based Learning (WBL) Coordinator leads planning and implementation of WBL activities and serves as the primary point of contact for WBL partners. The WBL Coordinator helps find paid and unpaid internships and supports extracurricular programming like resume workshops, career discovery events, and SYEP application parties. In collaboration with the Future Ready Coordinator (Kelly) and Early College Coordinator (Tiffany), the WBL Coordinator is responsible for ensuring all students in the Future Ready Pathway (and eventually ALL students, period), have access and exposure to work-based learning opportunities. Please complete THIS FORM.
Restorative Justice Coordinator. The School Based-Restorative Justice Coordinator position is designed to allow each selected school to have ONE staff member take on a leadership role in Restorative Practices Implementation at your school. Please complete THIS FORM. See here for the posting.
Project Cafe. We're offering folks per session to join in on the training and relaunch of Project Cafe for the 2025-26 school year (17SEP25). If you are interested in joining in Year 2 of Project Cafe (all are welcome), please complete this form
Join RPET. Meets Wednesdays, at 3pm in room 403. Please complete THIS FORM.
Operations Team Support. Are you interested in supporting the school in school programming, procurement and organization, facilities management, and other administrative tasks that make our school go round. Please complete THIS FORM no later than 3PM on 15SEP25. Three positions available - programmer, purchasing support (must be willing to move boxes), and payroll support. Hours are flexible as to need.
