Week of October 11th

UAI Staff News

Volume IX
Issue 7
October 12th, 2021

Principal Message

A Time for Healing.  Today is a hard post to write.  It's difficult for me to know where to begin.  But, I do know is that in any moment of upheaval, I turn to our north star - and that is our students.

At the root of everything we do is our students.  Their safety, their well-being, and their sense of trust in us to protect them and help them grow.

Last week, one of our teachers told her students that she is a racist and shared her biases with her students.  Regardless of well-placed intentions, in sharing with her class her own biases and thoughts about her own racism, this teacher failed to consider the impact of her actions on the safety, mental health and well-being of her students.  

She failed to prioritize their safety and well-being.

Students were hearing that their teacher, who they trusted and loved, was telling them that she was a racist.  As victims of racism in their own personal experiences, they no longer heard the words that followed.  They only felt the crushing weight of racism breaking the trust and safety of their school.  

As a result, this teacher irrevocably failed her responsibility to secure the safety and well-being of the children put in her charge.  When anyone does that in our community, they can no longer be a part of our community. 

This teacher understands this and has left UAI to allow our community to come together to begin the process of healing.

Because of my own family issues, I was pulled away from the school last week.  My mother is rapidly declining, and family conflict among my siblings and next steps for her required my immediate attention this week.

In the interim, Annie and Jen led our school community through an very challenging crisis.  I thank Annie and Jen for all of their work to lead our school through an incredibly complex and difficult series of events.  I also thank all of the staff who stepped into to support and help our students process what had happened.  The community bonds we share will be the strength we'll need to rely on to move forward to repair and heal.

The impact of what happened in this class has far reaching effects throughout our entire community.  Our students, families, and staff have all felt the impact of these events and all of us need to come together to address the root causes and reconnect and heal in an effort to make sure our school is stronger, and to make sure that our students, staff, and family, do not experience this again.

What is going to happen is still in development as I am just coming back into the situation and need some time to take stock and evaluate all of the details.  The priorities will be:

1. Student Support and Safety.  Annie & Jen have worked with several teachers (apologies - I don't know who all they tapped, yet - so I don't want to leave out any names - but I am appreciative!) to speak directly and begin processing the events with those students directly impacted.  Annie & Jen have also begun working with the rest of the students who have heard or been otherwise impacted by the events of last week.  Moving forward, Annie, Jen, and I will continue working alongside teachers, counselors, and deans to use restorative practices like circles to support students in processing their experiences.
   
   
2. Student Voice.  We need to have an organized, supported mechanism to actively empower students in our school.  I am creating three separate student councils to work with UAI school leadership and a teacher-coach (see posting below) on school policies, culture, and other areas to secure equity in our community.  (See the To Do Area below)
   
   
3. Staff Voice, Safety, and Well Being.  In addition to student harm, I also know that staff are also feeling ill at ease and unsafe (for a wide range of reasons) at UAI as the result of this last week.  I will be working with Nakita and the Circles committee to collaboratively create mechanisms for staff to process experiences, and then we will also be having our first Consultation Committee on Tuesday to raise issues and ideas about what we need to do as a community to heal and move forward.
   
   
4. Family Support and Safety.  Later today, I will send out a message to families to share with the community what has happened.  The first goal is to stem the tide of rumor and provide them with clear information.  Next, I will hold an open Town Hall for families to voice their concerns and questions.  Families are always actively welcome and encouraged to join in our PTA and committees like the Equity Team, and we will listen to families via their communications and participation in the Town Hall to add in more next steps where needed.  
   

In addition, I am available for anyone who would like more individualized support, and I will be connecting with the teacher herself this week to first, see how she's doing & what I can do to support her own transition out of UAI, and then second, make sure that our students have a seamless transition for their learning.

Every step of our journey towards healing from the broken trust and loss of safety will be hard.  Now more than ever, all of us need to be a part of a collective healing and resolution.  It will probably not be perfect, because rarely is anything actually perfect, but working together, we can make it through.

Committee Updates

Committees are Staffed!  We are still working on staffing committees.  Postings close tomorrow - committees will be announced in next week's blog.  There's still time to apply!

• Equity Team: 
  Lead:  Rebecca
  Applied:  Sarah M, Phillan, Laura, Elana, Olympia (staffed to Circles)
  Staffed:   Sarah M, Phillan, Laura, and Elana

• Instructional Leadership Team: 
  Leads:  Kiri
  Applied:  Nina, Nakita, Phillan, Rachel, and Kelly
  Staffed:   Nina, Nakita, Phillan, Rachel, and Kelly
  
  

• Circles Committee: 
  Lead:  Nakita
  Applied: Juelle, Jennifer, Olympia, Jean, Kristina
  Staffed:  Juelle, Jennifer, Olympia, Jean, Kristina
  
  
  
• School Culture Committee:  
  Lead:  Jen
  Applied:  Kelly, Kristina, Elana, Cherry, Phillan, Elena, Laura
  Staffed: We are recruiting 1 staff person from each grade-team for this role (so that we have a person on each grade team to streamline communication).
• Phillan 6th Grade Rep
• Laura 7th Grade Grade Rep
• Kristina 8th Grade Rep
• Elana 9th Grade Rep
• Jessa 10th Grade Rep
• Cherry 11th Grade Rep
• Kelly 12th Grade Rep

First Consultation Committee Meeting.  The Consultation Committee will be fulfilling the role of the SRC this year.  This meeting is open to all who are interested in attending.  It will follow the UFT/DC37 meeting each month, and the agenda will be collaboratively driven by union and school leadership.

• Learning Labs:  What needs to change to make them more effective?
• Class Size:  Can we rebalance class sizes?
• School Facilities:  Who do we get desks from?
• Grading Policy PD:  How do we support teachers to implement grading policy?
• Attendance Updates:  How do we support students to come to school?
• Race, Equity, and Inclusion at UAI:  What are our next steps to continuing our work?

We will meet in room 403 at 3PM.  We'll start promptly at 3PM. The meeting is open to all who are interested in joining!  Kiri will facilitate this first meeting, with Annie taking notes and Jen keeping time.  We'll set meeting date, and meeting roles for next meeting at the end of this first one, and that will be our ongoing cycle.

To Do This Week

Please review your responsibilities as a Mandated Reporter. As school officials, we are all mandated reporters.  Please take the time to review expectations around Mandated Reporting.  After you have reviewed this slide deck, please sign off to indicate that you completed the requirement. 

Metrocards.  We have ordered replacement Metrocards to accommodate our students in need. Once we receive them we ask that you help us keep to our new policy for distribution.  Metrocards will be distributed on Tuesdays and Thursdays ONLY in the main office.  Please! If/When a student tells you they are in need of a Metrocard send the name of that student and respective advisory information to Ms. Aisha and Dai as a heads up. It would be incredibly helpful. 

Attendance.  I've put together our first monthly attendance report.  Please review your advisee's attendance rates.  For any student who is not meeting the goal of having 90% or better average daily attendance, please prioritize them for outreach.

Advisory Leadership Council.  I am launching three student leadership opportunities to join my PAG, my principal advisory group.  The goal of this advisory group is to get student input and insight into the continual improvement and growth of UAI, and in identifying student-articulated needs to improve UAI for all.

This is not a formal election or students government.  We will move to create a formal structure for that.  This is an advisory council that will advise the principal on school wide decisions.

I am looking for 1 student from each advisory to meet with me weekly during their learning lab time (1st period for juniors and seniors, 3rd for 8th-10th graders, and 4th for 6th/7th graders).  We will meet weekly on Fridays to:

• Raise up student concerns (as sourced from the advisories they represent)
• Co-construct solutions/strategies to address concerns
• Create Communications to share with their constituencies (aka advisories)

In advisory this week, please let students know that

• Ms. Kiri is looking for students representatives to join her PAG (principal advisory group)
• These are student leadership positions aimed at elevating student voice and engagement in our school.
• Each advisory chooses 1 representative to join me and to discuss student identified areas of improvement for UAI and to share out with students developments and work at UAI aimed at school improvement and our anti-racist progression towards full inclusion.
• There will be three PAGs that meet each Friday during Learning Lab

In advisory this week, also please encourage students to

• Become a representative for their advisory (if interested).  Please encourage students into leadership positions for their own growth and development!
• Support your students to identify collaboratively what qualities they want in a student who is representing them and their voice.  
• Identify a time in your advisory class to have the representative report back or collect feedback from the advisory.

By the end of this week, please email me the name of your advisory's student rep to my PAG

Per Session Postings

• PAG Teacher Coach.  Work for 1 hour a week to plan PAG meetings and student supports with Kiri.  Teacher will receive per diem coverage to join in meetings with student PAG.  Posting closes 26OCT21

Week of October 4th

UAI Staff News

Volume IX
Issue 6
October 4th, 2021

Principal Message

We've launched - now it's time to settle into our rhythm.  While we still have some kinks to work out of the program, we are now officially launched and through our first weeks of school.  The natural rhythm of each year has us beginning to settle into our routines with work, our students, and their families.

Now is the time to make sure those routines and habits are effective and healthy.  So, this week, as we wrap up the fourth week (and first full month) of school, take stock.  Check in with

• Yourself - what work routines and patterns are becoming established?  Are these effective, sustainable and efficient?  Take time to think about what that means for you (because individual folks have different things that work for them).  Are these routines and patterns working for you?  If yes, think about how you will maintain these patterns and routines... If no, think about one thing you need to change to improve.
  
  
• Your Students - How well are your students responding to your classroom community, lessons and instruction so far?  What has been the most impactful for them?  What change in order to improve?  You have some options here - you can do a whole class survey (google form), a small group discussion (Focus Group), or random samples (individual conferences).  Whatever works for you, gather some info from your students to see how your courses are going for your students.
  
  
• Your Co-Teachers & Classroom Paras - How do you feel communications are working among your teams?  How well are individuals on the team upholding and following through on shared expectations in the classroom and/or in planning? (OR in the firehose frenzy that was the start of this year - if you forgot to establish shared expectations - when and how will your team have that convo?). What are the bright spots in your collaborative work so far?  Why were they successful? What is the most important shift that needs to happen for October?  What will your team do to make that shift?  On the agenda for your next co-planning session, create time for a check in on these questions.
  
  
• Our School Community.  How well are we as a school community doing to create a physically and emotionally safe, inclusive and equitable learning environment?  Please take a moment to share your thoughts and insight on this BRIEF SURVEY.  I'll be sending this survey out on the first Monday of each month so we can track our development and progress towards goals.  We may not be perfect to start... but we're all on the journey towards growth and mastery this year.  

Checking in is a critical step to sustaining ourselves this year.  Please make it a priority for yourselves and with your students!

Committee Updates

No Updates this week.  We are still working on staffing committees.  Postings close tomorrow - committees will be announced in next week's blog.  There's still time to apply!

To Do

Google Classrooms.  October 1st passed, and that was the deadline set by the UFT and DOE for staff to have their Google Classrooms up and running.  I know most of you all have already done so, but I have been bad in reminding folks, so some may have fallen behind.  

As you know, students who are quarantined will be accessing Google Classrooms for their work and assignments while at home.  Now moving forward, we will begin to also use Google Classrooms to provide students work in class when staff are absent.  To that end, here's what needs to happen

• Generic Student Accounts.  Please add the generic student account to each of your google classrooms.  This will allow our out-of-classroom staff to support students who (for whatever reason) are unable to log into your Google Classroom with their own accounts.  It will also allow us to grab materials for students or families who are having issues with internet access.   Those generic student accounts are simply, "studentgrade6@uainstitute.org", "studentgrade7@uainstitute.org)", etc.. for students grade 6-12.  If you have students in multiple grades in your course, please add all the generic student accounts that apply.
  
  
• Parent/Guardian & Advisor Access.  Please invite parents and guardians and advisors to your google classrooms, too.  This will help them help you keep students on track in your classes.  You can find student emails on the UAI Roster Tab of the UAI Schedule.
  
  
• Share Google Classroom Codes & Links.  Please upload your Google Classroom Links and Codes to THIS DOCUMENT.  We'll be using this with the Instructional Leadership Team to help provide folks with support in organizing Google Classrooms, using Google Tools for rubric-based feedback, and communicating with students and families about feedback and grading.

Pacing Guides and Access to Lesson Plans.  If you have not already done so, now is the time to consider organizing your instructional tools in a UAI Pacing guide.  Folks who use the pacing guide share that this organization, while an investment at first, provides easy access to materials and pacing for future use (e.g. next school year).  Additionally using the UAI Pacing Guide makes lessons and materials readily accessible to planning team members so that collaboration and communication is maximized. 

Finally, as we begin to work in planning teams with your Instructional Leaders and as we begin to launch feedback and evaluative observation visits, we'll be needing access to lesson plans. Again, the UAI Pacing Guide makes all of those materials readily accessible

So, please use this Pacing Guide Template and upload your own Pacing Guide to this Pacing Guide Folder by Tuesday, 12OCT21.  If you prefer to store your materials in your own system, then please put lesson plans (and associated materials) into a single shareable folder and upload it into the Pacing Guide Folder by Tuesday, 12OCT21.   Please name your Pacing Guide (or shared folder) like:

• "YOUR FIRST NAME"_"COURSE NAME_SECTION"_2021-2022
• So - for example "Kiri_Chemistry_7_2021-2022"

Announcements

Monday PD, Tuesday Grade Teams, and Flex Time.  At the beginning of the year, I introduced the idea of flexible Monday and Tuesday time.  Essentially, our standard extended time on Mondays (80 minutes) and Tuesdays (75 minutes) will be used as follows

• Monday Professional Development Time (80 minutes)
  The first Monday of the month will be staff-wide PD focusing on maximizing inclusion and elevating teacher capacity to equitably support and teach our English Language Learners and Students with Learning Differences.   
  
  The Special Education and ENL teams have come together to create a Planning for Inclusion PD series to ensure ALL of our students have equitable access to class materials, lessons, and tasks.  
  
  All Monday time except the Mondays listed below will be teacher-directed planning time that can be remote or at school (teacher choice).  All of the following Mondays are in-person PD in the library from 3PM-4:10PM
  
• ELL Team (ILT lead - Kelly) Mondays:  
• 04OCT21 (Agenda), 06DEC21, 07FEB21, 04APR21
  
• For our First Monday's PD, the ENL team will begin this work by focusing  on the inclusion of ELL students through intentional use of teacher language.  We'll explore strategies to increase language access for students on presentations (Powerpoings, Peardecks, etc) and we'll discuss why it's essential to plan for a variety of students when creating student-facing documents of information.
  
  Please bring a student-facing presentation (Powerpoint/Nearpod/Peardeck) that you plan to use this week to the PD.  We will be revising and refining it to maximize access and inclusion for our ELL students.
  
  
• SWD Team (ILT lead - Phillan) Mondays:  
• 08NOV21 (1st Monday moved for special celebratory event), 
• 10JAN21 (the 1st Monday is right after break - bad timing)
• 07MAR and 09MAY21 (02MAY is EID - no school)

• Tuesday Grade Team Meeting Time (75 minutes)
  The first Tuesday of each month will be dedicated to Grade Team meetings.  During these meetings Grade Team leaders will lead teams through a review of attendance and will facilitate the team to develop and review impact of strategies used to improve student attendance.   After attendance business is complete, Grade Teams can also use the time to address any grade-specific business that needs to be addressed. Grade Team leaders will share agendas with Grade Teams.
  
  Outside of first Tuesdays, teachers should use the 75 minutes flexible (and remotely if they choose) to contact homes and do outreach about attendance or classwork/class celebrations.  Those first Tuesdays will be
• Fall Dates:  05OCT21, 09NOV21 (02NOV is Election Day), 07DEC21, 11JAN21 (this give us a week to come back from break and regroup)
• Spring Dates:  01FEB21, 01MAR21, 05APR21, 03MAY21, 14JUN21 (07JUN21 is a Clerical Asynch day)
  

• Please Complete This Form.  This use of extended time on Mondays & Tuesdays is outside of the UFT & DOE contractual agreement.  We are outside of the SBO season (School Based Option season - the time period where we can vote in variances to the contract).   However, we need to know if everyone is on board and if anyone objects.  If anyone objects, then we will revert to standard contract where all extended time on Mondays and Tuesday will be used in-person and traditionally (e.g. weekly Monday PD time and weekly on-site family outreach on Tuesdays).  Please indicate your preference by CLICKING HERE.

Per Session Postings

• Posting Extended to 04OCT21: 
  Equity Team: 
  Applied:  Sarah M, Phillan, Laura, Elana, Suzannah, Olympia
  Staffing:  TBD by current Equity Team.  If you are still interested in joining the Equity Team, please email Kiri and click here to apply 
  
  

• Posting Extended to Posting Closed: 
  Instructional Leadership Team: 
  Applied:  Nina, Nakita, Phillan, Rachel, and Kelly
  Staffed:  Nina, Nakita, Phillan, Rachel, and Kelly
  
  

• Posting Extended to 04OCT21: 
  Circles Committee: 
  Applied:  Nakita, Juelle, Jennifer, Olympia
  Staffing:  Still TBD.  If you are interested in joining the Circles, please email Kiri and click here to apply 
  
  
  
• Posting Extended to Posting Closed:  
  School Culture Committee:  
  Applied:  Kelly, Kristina, Elana, Cherry, Phillan, Elena, Laura
  Staffed: We are recruiting 1 staff person from each grade-team for this role (so that we have a person on each grade team to streamline communication).
• Phillan 6th Grade Rep
• Laura 7th Grade Grade Rep
• Kristina 8th Grade Rep
• Elana 9th Grade Rep
• Jessa 10th Grade Rep
• Cherry 11th Grade Rep
• Kelly 12th Grade Rep

Week of September 27th

 UAI Staff News

Volume IX
Issue 5
September 27th, 2021

Principal Message

First Full Week and Now Onto October.  It's hard to believe that this Friday will be the first day of OCTOBER already!   We our first 5day week in the books and by the end of this week, we'll have September all wrapped up!  

Of course, this wouldn't be the DOE if guidance wasn't shifting constantly like sand in a dessert.  So..here's the latest...

Nearly all of us are doing an excellent job with helping students maintain distance in classrooms and keeping their masks up.  Hallway passing is not distanced, but they are also not in the halls long enough to be considered close contacts.  So, yay us! 

The DOE has updated guidance on what is considered to be a close contact.  What is definitely the same is that anyone who tests positive for COVID must quarantine for 10 days.  Also the same is if a person is experiencing COVID like symptoms (fever >100, cough, new loss of taste/smell), they cannot enter the building and must test negative for COVID and be symptom free for 24 hours before reentry.

What has changed is the definition of Close Contact.  Students who are continually masked and 3 or more feet away from someone who tests positive for COVID are not considered to be close contacts anymore.  Only close contacts are expected to quarantine.   Since all of our classrooms are able to space students 3' or more, and masks are mandated 100% of the time, we can expect our list of quarantined students to shrink.

Folks who are vaccinated and exposed are not expected to quarantine unless they are symptomatic (again, Fever>100, cough, new loss of taste/smell).

This is undoubtedly news that increases anxiety more than anything.  As we cope with our anxieties, it's important to center the truth that being vaccinated protects us from hospitalization or death due to COVID, and being young protects our students from those same things.  Even with Delta surging a huge spike in children being infected with COVID, youngsters still share a very similar LOW risk of hospitalization/death due to COVID as vaccinated adults.

That said, even though the risk is low (1-2% for both groups, children/vaccinated folks), it's stressful to think about the risk that one child could suffer.  That is so true.  But keep things in perspective.  We all encounter risk each day.  Taking the subway; riding your bike to work, walking home from school.  Risk of bad things happen is never zero.  So, while it is true that the DOE is playing a numbers game with folks' lives, it is also true that at present at least, the numbers are very much in their favor.

Thank you all for weathering these sandy dunes of policy shifts with me. 

Thank you more for all that you do to keep our kids safe and learning in this crazy times!

Committee Updates

No Updates this week.  We are still working on staffing committees.  Please scroll down to the per session postings.  We're launching committee work next week.  So, theres still time to apply!

To Do

Program Check.  We have completed one full week of the 6th-10th grade programs and we're kicking off the first full week of 11th/12th grade programs.  The first week of any program will have glitches.  So please reach out if you see anything on your program before hand or on the day of.   Even though you are not a student, please use the Program Change Request form to notify me of any program glitches.  It's the best way I can track needed changes.  If you email me any of your ideas or issues, they will be lost in my inbox!  So, please use the form!

Take Skedula Attendance and Bubble Sheet Attendance.  Now that the program has been uploaded, you should be able to take attendance in Skedula and on your bubble sheets (for your 2nd period classes only).   Please continue to take Learning Lab and Small Group attendance on THIS ATTENDANCE FORM

Quarantine Attendance.  If students are on COVID quarantine due to being in close contact with a COVID positive individual, please do NOT mark them absent.  They are considered present and remote.  There's no real way to mark that in Skedula (I don't think)...so for now just leave them as present.  Please refer to THIS SHEET  to see who is on Quarantine.

Maintain 3' distance (or more) and ALWAYS have masks up.  Please remember to be vigilant about spacing and masking with kids in your classrooms.  Please do NOT allow children to eat inside your classrooms AT ALL.  They can take quick drinks of water if needed, but please do not allow food in the classroom at any time.  This is both a COVID safety rule and a health & hygiene rule.  Please follow it and help your students follow it.

Program Change Updates.  I am working through all the program change requests each day and making changes daily.  I'm hoping to complete them all by early this week, but certainly no later than Friday.  Please help your advisees access PupilPath so they can see the changes as they happen.  Also, there will be incidents where students do NOT get their choice.  Please help them understand that while students may not always get what they want, they will always get what they need!

Technology Distribution.  Phil and Dai are working together with your updates on the UAI Roster Tab from the UAI School Schedule to get students the tech they need.  They are beginning this Friday to distribute the tech.  So please make sure you have updated the Technology Column for your Advisees.

Announcements

Introducing Our New School Business Manager.  I am please to finally announce that Dai Jiménez has finally been processed by DOE Human Resources and was finally able to join UAI for reals!  As our School Business Manager, Dai will be charged with managing Purchasing, Staff Payroll, Timekeeping & HR support, School Facilities, and School Compliance.  She will be ramping up to assume full responsibilities of Purchasing and Facilities right away, with Compliance, Payroll and Timekeeping to come by November.

We'll be having a quick full staff meeting so Dai can meet you all on Monday at 3PM in the library.  Dai's office is 201 (ext 20111/daij@uainstitute.org).  For now, in her own words, here's a brief intro:

My given name is Davira Jiménez. I prefer to be called Dai, however. Ya know, like toDAY. I am a proud Brooklynite, born to parents of Afro-Caribbean descent. And, I am absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to work within a Brooklyn community. 

I am excited to be joining UAI as the School Business Manager. Before UAI, I worked in other schools as an Operations professional and Culture advocate. As a result of my time in schools I have become more in touch with the importance of prioritizing the safety and care of the communities I work with. I believe wholeheartedly in the learning, the understanding and the restoring of faith in our communities. Not just the ones I come from directly. 

Needless to say, I look forward to sharing the learning with all of you. Thank you for having me. Now, let's make it a great year!

Per Session Postings

• Posting Extended to 04OCT21: 
  Equity Team: 
  Applied:  Sarah M, Phillan, Laura, Elana, Suzannah, Olympia
  Staffing:  TBD by current Equity Team.  If you are still interested in joining the Equity Team, please email Kiri and click here to apply 
  
  

• Posting Extended to Posting Closed: 
  Instructional Leadership Team: 
  Applied:  Nina, Nakita, Phillan, Rachel, and Kelly
  Staffed:  Nina, Nakita, Phillan, Rachel, and Kelly
  
  

• Posting Extended to 04OCT21: 
  Circles Committee: 
  Applied:  Nakita, Juelle, Jennifer, Olympia
  Staffing:  Still TBD.  If you are interested in joining the Circles, please email Kiri and click here to apply 
  
  
  
• Posting Extended to Posting Closed:  
  School Culture Committee:  
  Applied:  Kelly, Kristina, Elana, Cherry, Phillan, Elena, Laura
  Staffed: We are recruiting 1 staff person from each grade-team for this role (so that we have a person on each grade team to streamline communication).
• Phillan 6th Grade Rep
• Laura 7th Grade Grade Rep
• Kristina 8th Grade Rep
• Elana 9th Grade Rep
• Jessa 10th Grade Rep
• Cherry 11th Grade Rep
• Kelly 12th Grade Rep

Week of September 13th

UAI Staff News

Volume IX

Issue 4

September 13th, 2021

Principal's Message

Opening Day.  Tomorrow, we finally welcome our young ones back into the building.  It is a day of excitement and trepidation - as it always it, but even in the landscape of fear and uncertainty, the pull of community and love still reaches through it all.

20 years ago, I stood on the steps of my school and watched the trail of dust and blood covered people streaming off of the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges a they walked past my school.  I could see the column of smoke and the stink of chemicals in the air from what was once the World Trade Center.  I could see the shell shock on the people in front of me, on the faces of my colleagues, and I could feel it in the center of myself.  

Then, I turned on my heel and went back into school to rejoin the fervor of teachers, administrators, and support staff all working hand-in-hand to make sure our students and families were support an reconnected safely.  It took all of us all day to make sure every last student was safe at home.  It took a network of neighbors, sisters, aunts, uncles, friends, and loved ones to take our young ones home.  But through it all, each phone call or conversation on the stairs was the same - "Are you ok? Are we ok? Maybe, I don't know - but we are here together for one another and we all love our kids"

The news reported on this yesterday.  That after 9/11, we all came together a a single community across New York and the nation.  It happened because we reached out to one another to hold each other up and hold each other close - not because anyone had any answers or any plans - but because through the chaos our community and our love reached through to connect us all.

Today, we come back from a daily 9/11.  Still today, over 1000 folks are losing their lives each day to COVID.  But today we are in a different world space.  The larger community is not pulling together, because it's hard to galvanize people with no common enemy - and it's hard to make an enemy out of something so abstract as a virus.

But for UAI, we do have a galvanizing force - our kids, and our love for them and their families.

So, as we they come rushing back to us tomorrow, we are returning from a year of chaos and loss.  But we have the strength and love our community reaching through that haze to embrace us all in the promise and excitement of a new school year.

Make it a priority to pause and enjoy your moments tomorrow.  You are ready.  They are eager and excited, and we are all going to create a great year together.

Committee Updates

School Restructuring Committee.  The school restructuring committee worked on a variety of UAI school policies to interrogate them for bias and structural racism.   This year, the school restructuring committee will be replaced the the UFT Consultation Committee who will be charged with the same goal of continually assessing and revising school policies to ensure equity and inclusion for all.  The final piece of work the SRC completed over the summer was an overhaul to the hiring process.  Here is the final update on that work from the Hiring Subcommittee:

    Hiring Status at Beginning of Summer:

• 5 teaching staff hired...Jenetta (SPED), Liz (Chem), Shana (Bio), Claire (SPED and Science)
• 6 openings remained - Dance, Spanish, SPED, Math, School Business Manager, and Secretary
• One hiring fair remaining on July 8th (led by Phillan, Nakita, Elena, Annie, Cherry, Suzannah, Sarah R., Judy, and Kelly) and then combined Round 1 and Round 2 interviews after (led by Phillan, Cherry, Judy, Sarah R., Kiri and Kelly)

   Total Summer Hiring Data:

• 58 teacher candidate interviews and 10 office staff interviews
• 14 demo lessons with summer school students (led by Kelly, Phillan, Kiri, Sarah R., and Cherry)
• 4 teachers hired...Jessa (Dance), Nica (Math), Leonela (Spanish), and Olympia (SPED)
• 2 office staff hired... Dai (School Business Manager) and Damaris (School Secretary)

To Do

Vaccine Verification.  It is a requirement by the City of New York that all city employees, including school employees be vaccinated.  Please go to https://vaccine.schools.nyc/ to upload proof of your vaccine.  If you are not vaccinated, I will be reaching out to you to provide proof of negative COVID test each week until you are fully vaccinated.

COVID Quarantine and CAR days.  It's hard to believe that we are starting school tomorrow, and still we have no guidance on whether or not the days you have to stay out due to Quarantine are coming out of your CAR.  

Here's what I can say - do your best to conserve your CAR days.  This is a "Prepare for the worst and hope for the best" strategy.  If you have appointments that can be scheduled outside of the school day or on vacation days (like veteran's day), then try to do so.  I know it's not always possible, but try to do your best!  Once you are out of CAR days, your pay gets docked.  

As of today, there is no code to indicate you're out for COVID quarantine or COVID illness.  So, if you are out now, they are going in as regular absences and they are being charged to your CAR.  We will be able to backtrack and update if policy changes, but again - prepare for the worst and hope for the best.  Save your days if you can (so use them if you are sick, but try not to use them if you can schedule appointments outside of the school day).

Advisory Orientation Page of Links.  I made this Advisory Orientation Page O' Links to provide the most up-to-date links for this week.  If the links are not working or missing on your Grade Orientation Schedule, you can use this one to get access. 

Check Email Each Morning.  As we launch the year, there are constant adjustments to the register as we take in and discharge students over the next couple of weeks.  This year in particular, because we providing students with the option to choose their programs, there may be more changes than usual.  I will send out an email every morning to give daily updates.  This will be for the next couple of weeks.

Announcements

Junior/Senior Elevate BootCamp.  We're still working on the exact schedule for the Elevate Study Skills Bootcamp for Juniors and Seniors.  This Bootcamp is the AP study skills bootcamp that helps our older students prepare for the rigor and challenge of advanced classes.  All juniors and seniors will be engaging with this bootcamp from Monday 20SEP thru Thursday 23SEP, and juniors/seniors school day those days will be 9:25AM - 1:25PM.  Teachers who teach junior/senior classes will not have regular instruction with them on those days.  Elevate tutors will be working with them.   8/9/10th classes will be normal (with a few minor room adjustments).  Stay tuned.

All Classes Should have Google Classrooms.  All teachers should create and share their Google Classrooms with me, Annie, and their Instructional Leaders by October 1st.  Try to set up Classrooms by next Friday, 24SEP.  This will make your job a lot easier should you have any students needing to quarantine next week, when instruction starts for everyone.

Pacing Guide Template.  To support your planning processes it is strongly encouraged for you to use this Pacing Guide Template.  These templates support the organization of your planning and instructional materials, and the provide a system and structure for you to readily share planning materials with collaborating teacher.  

Per Session Postings

• Posting Extended to 19SEP21: 
  Equity Team:  Last year the Equity Team worked to revamp our school grading policy (which we will review next week in PD).  As we return, we know that our School Discipline issues will require the same depth of study and reform in order to ensure equity in how we address behavior issues at UAI.  So, we are moving the grading work to an Instructional Leadership Team (see below), and this year Rebecca will lead the Equity Team to study UAI School Discipline.  Courtney & Jelissa will also be on the committee (because our deans are centrally involved with school discipline), in addition to these three, we are looking for at least two more teachers, two students, and two parents.  
  
  This committee is a per session position for teachers.
  If you are interested in joining the Equity Team, please email Kiri and click here to apply 
  
  
• Posting Extended to 19SEP21: 
  Instructional Leadership Team:  The Instructional Leadership Team will have the following members pre-selected to the team by Kiri & Annie.  These folks were all pre-selected because they each have demonstrated strong capacity in their instructional planning, work well with colleagues in elevating instructional practice & student performance, and have shown strong leadership skills in their work on teams and committees. Pre-Selected Are:  Phillan (SPED), Nina (Math), Nakita (Science), Kelly (Social Studies/ENL), and Rachel (ELA).  These teachers will be working with Kiri and Annie to continue the work required to support our move to mastery based grading and to provide support needed for staff to develop the skills and knowledge required to successfully implement mastery-based grading policies.
  
  This committee is a per session position for teachers. 
  If you are also interested in joining the Equity Team, please email Kiri and click here to apply 
  
  

• Posting Extended to 19SEP21: 
  Circles Committee:  Last year our Circles Committee worked to help develop staff understanding of anti-racist/anti-bias strategies, and to help us build relationships among staff.  Nakita will lead the Circles committee work along with Jennifer and Juelle.  This year, circles will meet monthly to continue to support our school community relationships and continued ABAR work.  
  
  This committee is a per session position for teachers.
  If you are interested in joining the Equity Team, please email Kiri and click here to apply 
  
  
  
• Posting Extended to 19SEP21:  
  School Culture Committee:  The school culture committee is charged with creating activities and events that celebrate students achievement and make school FUN!  This includes organizing virtual assemblies (no in-person gatherings this year), coordinating student of the month selection, announcement, and celebration, Spirit weeks, and collecting student opportunities both in and outside of school (e.g. after school clubs, volunteers opportunities, special classes or experiences, etc.) and communicating with and recruiting students to these opportunities so that they can continue to build out their learning experiences outside of school.
  
  We are recruiting 1 staff person from each grade-team for this role (so that we have a person on each grade team to streamline communication).
  
  
  This committee is a per session position for teachers.
  If you are interested in joining the Equity Team, please email Kiri and click here to apply 

Week of September 9th

UAI Staff News

Volume IX

Issue 3

September 9th, 2021

Principal's Message

First Day of School.  Tomorrow is our first day back to school for the 2021-2022 year.  In pre-COVID times, this day would bring a mix of sadness, excitement, anxiousness, and glee!  There is sadness in having to have to say "Sayonara, summer!",  but it's quickly followed by the excitement of beginning something new.  The anxiety comes from not knowing who our new students and families may be, but that is quickly accompanied by the glee of connecting with colleagues, friends, and former students once more.  

First days are always a mixed bag of emotions, but this year, the backdrop of returning for our first day is the landscape COVID.

This year we return from a year of isolation, quarantine, and screen-mediated teaching and learning.  Even for those of staff & students who were in-person for the last few months of school, that classroom learning was distant and screen mediated.

The yin-yang of our first day emotions are echoed in the yin-yang of our COVID emotions.  On the one hand, the anxiety of all the comes with COVID is strong and at the front of our minds, on the other hand, the liberation of finally being able to engage in teaching and learning fully and in-person is exciting and fully of joy.

Pause... Reflect...

The concept it is Yin AND Yang - not either or.  Last year, we had no option but to choose safety over joy.  This year, vaccinations and improved understanding of COVID have given us a way to work together to achieve both - COVID safety and Joyous teaching and learning.

Our journey this year will have bumps and corners around which it will be hard to see or know for sure what to do.   However, we do know that we are all in it together, and as we came together to thrive during pandemic schooling, I know that this year, working together we will not only survive & thrive - we will make incredible strides to becoming the educators we deserve to be and manifesting the school our children deserve.  Together, we can do it.

To that end, I want to share something from my principals' meeting last week. Superintendent Walsh (aka Fred) shared the vision and goals for our district.  In establishing the goals, he also shared a story about the first time he heard about Lessons from Geese.  This metaphor for our leader community resonated with me as very applicable to our own UAI family.  Hat tip to Fred for sharing his story so that I can share the same with you. Here are some lessons from geese that we can see alive and well in our own UAI school community:

• As each goose flaps its wings it creates an “uplift” for the birds that follows. By flying in a “V” formation, the whole flock adds 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone.
• Lesson: People who share a common direction and sense a community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.

• When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. It quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front of it.
• Lesson: If we have as much sense as a goose we stay in formation with those headed where we want to go. We are willing to accept their help and give our help to others.

• When the lead goose tires, it rotates back into the formation and another goose flies to the point position.
• Lesson: It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership. As with geese, people are interdependent on each others skills, capabilities and unique arrangements of gifts, talents or resources.

• The geese flying in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.
• Lesson: We need to make sure our honking is encouraging. In groups where there is encouragement, the production is much greater. The power of encouragement is the quality of honking we seek.

• When a goose gets sick or wounded, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with it until it is able to fly again. Then they launch out with another formation or catch up with the flock.
• Lesson: If we have as much sense as geese, we will stand by each other in difficult times as well as when we are strong

This last year of pandemic school in the midst of own racial reckoning did not destroy us.  We stayed together through it all and our hurdles and challenges forged a new strength in our UAI family.  Together we will encounter countless hurdles, and together we will find the way to navigate them and find the joy and excellence in our teaching and our students' learning.  

I am proud and lucky to lead our amazing group of talented, committed, and loving professionals who are poised to capably lead our students and families through another year like no other.  It will definitely be another strange year - but with you all, it will be a year that we will end with loud cheers of pride and joy as we celebrate the growth and achievements of our students!

Welcome to 2021-2022, UAI.   Let's get started!

Committee Updates

School Committees for 2021-2022

On Friday, we will be reviewing committee accomplishments last year and the work for this year.  If you are interested in joining the work, please review the per session posts below.  The posting closes on Sunday, and committees will be selected and begin working after that.  Once they are up and running, you can refer to this section of the blog to follow committee updates.

Announcements

PD Agendas.  CLICK HERE to review the agendas for the first days of school.  During these two days, we will be reviewing the state of our school and goals for the year.  In addition, we'll be investing time in building strong foundations for the relationships that will sustain our community and our students & families throughout this school year.  Of course, we will also review school launch logistics and on both days, time is set aside for classroom setup and family outreach.  We'll have Panera breakfast on both days and lunch is on your own.

As a reminder to those who may be rusty- when you arrive, move your time card from Out to In and when you leave, stop by the main office to move it back from In to Out.

Staff Handbook and Emergency Contact Information. Please read the staff handbook prior to the end of the day tomorrow (09SEP21). All staff are expected to have read through the handbook and to have completed the "Staff Handbooks Sign Off & Emergency Contact Information" form by the end of the day tomorrow.

• Staff Handbook
• Staff Handbook Sign Off & Emergency Contact Information 

COVID Protocols.  Here is the link to the 2021-22 DOE COVID Protocols.  There are multiple layers of mitigating measures to minimize COVID transmission and severe illness or hospitalization.  No single measure will be sufficient to do this.  That is why both the DOE and the CDC have recommended enacting multiple tactics to maximize safety.  This year we will again have multiple layers of protection.

• VACCINATION. As a reminder, it is a requirement that all NYCDOE employees MUST be fully vaccinated by September 27th.  If you have not already done so, please submit your vaccine verification now.  
• To encourage vaccination among our eligible students and families, we are hosting a pop-up vaccination clinic at our school site.  

• SCREENS.  Complete the Health Screening and Present it to School Safety or UAI entry staff when you arrive to the building.  In addition, your temperature will be taken upon entry. 

• MASKING. Masks are required to be worn at all times in the building.  I know that some of us have gotten into the habit of unmasking in front of other unvaccinated adults.  It was summer, there weren't that many of us.  It was a bad habit.  Moving forward, we need to model good habits for our students and develop good mask discipline for ourselves.  Please wear your mask at all times when you are in building spaces with others.  If you are eating lunch in the building with others, please make sure you are at least 3' away and not facing one another while you eat.  
  
  
• DISTANCING.  Maintain physical distancing.  At all times, the goal is to keep at least 3' between you and other individuals if you are in the same vicinity for 10 minutes or more (or an accumulation of 10 minutes or more - so like a few minutes here...a couple of more minutes later...)

• AIR FILTRATION.  Our building has two measures of air filtration specifically targeted to mitigate COVID transmission.  The first layer, our main protection is our building filtration and air flow.  Our building has been fully inspected and equipped the the MERV-13 air filters.  The added layer is at the classroom and office level.  All offices and classrooms have been equipped with room air filters (two per classroom and one per office).

• COVID TESTING.  The DOE will randomly test unvaccinated individuals bi-weekly for COVID-19.  Vaccinated students and staff will not be tested.

• SANITATION.  Each classroom is equipped with anti-bacterial wipes and hand sanitizers to help staff and students maintain clean work spaces, shared materials and clean hands.

• QUARANTINE.  In the event there is a positive case in a classroom, individuals who are at least 12 years old and 

• VACCINATED staff and students, and 
• not showing symptoms will continue to attend school in-person. Out of an abundance of caution, these individuals are encouraged to take a COVID-19 test 3 to 5 days after exposure.  

• showing symptoms OR with a verified positive COVID test will be directed to quarantine for 10 calendar days. Students will have access to remote learning while quarantining.  We are still awaiting explicit attendance guidance and work expectations for NYCDOE employees. 

• UNVACCINATED students
• regardless of them showing or not showing symptoms will be directed to quarantine for 10 calendar days. Students will have access to remote learning while quarantining.  On day 5 of their quarantine, students can take a COVID-19 test, and with a negative result, return to attending school in-person after day 7.

• PODS.  For our youngest students in 6th & 7th grade who are not yet eligible for the vaccine, they will continue to travel in podded cohorts.

So, it is true that any single one of these layers have holes.  No one mitigating strategy is sufficient.  This is a metaphor for our work too.  No single one of us is sufficient to achieve our collective school goals.  Only together, as a community can we reach our objectives.  Similarly, only a community of mitigating measures can maximize health and safety for our school.

COVID Data.  The data table below is from the NYC COVID data site.  Here you can see the rates of vaccination by age, borough, and ethnicity.  (At UAI, for our high school - our students are 11% AAPI, 56% Black, 18% Latinx, and 12% white, which is really our kids from the middle east).

Looking at this data, we can expect similar numbers of vaccinated students in our classrooms.  Last year, we had all of the above mitigating factors without vaccination.  Last year, we had almost a full semester of in-person learning with zero vaccines for students and low rates for staff (which increased as the spring semester progressed).  

This year is different.  This year 100% of our staff is fully vaccinated (or will be by 27SEP), and looking at the data below, we can see that significant numbers of our students are also fully vaccinated.  Vaccination remains the most effective means of protecting against serious illness or death from COVID (notice how I didn't say catching COVID).  There will be breakthrough infections, but the likelihood of vaccinated folks with breakthrough infection ending up in the hospital is still miniscule.

I

To Do This Week

Classroom/Office SetUp.  All staff charged to work collaboratively to setup offices and classrooms so that they are ready for student learning on Monday, 13SEP21.  Our custodians are spread thin as they are being pulled by multiple folks in multiple places.  So, where possible please work together to move items, but do so carefully so as not to harm yourself or your colleagues. Also, 

• Please do not scratch the floors.  If you want to move heavy furniture, use sliders.  Either purchase your own or use cardboard to place under the feet of heavy desks or corners of shelves to push furniture.  Please lift desks and chairs to move (or purchase felt feet - remember you get $250 in reimbursable UAI teacher choice).

• Please do not leave anything in the hallways.  If you need any furniture moved out of your classroom, please place it by the door and label it for removal.  I will ask custodians to check the classrooms each night for furniture removal. 
  
  
• Please do not TAKE any furniture without asking.  If you need furniture, please visit other classrooms and spaces and ask the persons who are in those rooms if they have anything you can use.  Please DO NOT JUST TAKE furniture.  Have a conversation (via in-person, text or email exchange) with the folks who are in that room (names of room assignments will be hung on the doors) before removing any furniture from that room.
  
  
• Students Chairs are spaced 3' apart.  Use the floor tiles as guides.  There should be 3' between the center of the chairs.  Avoid setting up chairs where students are facing one another.  Side-by-side is ok, but directly facing and 3' apart not so good.  If you're confused, come find me or Annie or Jen.  We'll pop by to give some advice.
  
  
• Decorate with Representation & Inclusivity.  As you prepare your classrooms for learning, please make sure you are creating warm and inviting classrooms that show students that we know who they are and that they are valued.  What we choose to display illustrates what we value.  Show our students that they are valued by creating displays and signs that respect, celebrate, and represent our learners and their rich diversity!
  
  
• Please NO microwaves or refrigerators in classrooms or offices.  So, at the end of this week, I'll be doing a walk through with custodians to check all offices and classrooms (and closets) for microwaves and refrigerators.  Please do not install them in your offices or classrooms this year.  Please use the ones provided for you in the teacher's lounge in the main office.  Custodians will remove any microwaves and refrigerators from classroom and office spaces this year, if they find them while cleaning.

Tasks to complete this week.  In addition to PD and preparation for week one, all staff will have several tasks to complete tomorrow and Friday in addition to setting up classrooms and work spaces.   Time will be allotted for the following:

Advisory Calls Home.  All Advisory Staff will work in grade teams to create advisory groups this year.  Also, advisors will be expected to contact advisees using this checklist to provide students the information they will need to be ready for the first day of school.  

Course Descriptions.  All Classroom teachers will need to complete student-facing course descriptions and upload them into the UAI Course Catalog.  Teachers will receive support from instructional leaders in their subject team meetings to do this. 

Per Session Postings

• Posting Closes 12SEP21: 
  Equity Team:  Last year the Equity Team worked to revamp our school grading policy (which we will review next week in PD).  As we return, we know that our School Discipline issues will require the same depth of study and reform in order to ensure equity in how we address behavior issues at UAI.  So, we are moving the grading work to an Instructional Leadership Team (see below), and this year Rebecca will lead the Equity Team to study UAI School Discipline.  Courtney & Jelissa will also be on the committee (because our deans are centrally involved with school discipline), in addition to these three, we are looking for at least two more teachers, two students, and two parents.  
  
  This committee is a per session position for teachers.
  If you are interested in joining the Equity Team, please email Kiri and click here to apply 
  
  
• Posting Closes 12SEP21: 
  Instructional Leadership Team:  The Instructional Leadership Team will have the following members pre-selected to the team by Kiri & Annie.  These folks were all pre-selected because they each have demonstrated strong capacity in their instructional planning, work well with colleagues in elevating instructional practice & student performance, and have shown strong leadership skills in their work on teams and committees. Pre-Selected Are:  Phillan (SPED), Nina (Math), Nakita (Science), Kelly (Social Studies/ENL), and Rachel (ELA).  These teachers will be working with Kiri and Annie to continue the work required to support our move to mastery based grading and to provide support needed for staff to develop the skills and knowledge required to successfully implement mastery-based grading policies.
  
  This committee is a per session position for teachers. 
  If you are also interested in joining the Equity Team, please email Kiri and click here to apply 
  
  

• Posting Closes 12SEP21: 
  Circles Committee:  Last year our Circles Committee worked to help develop staff understanding of anti-racist/anti-bias strategies, and to help us build relationships among staff.  Nakita will lead the Circles committee work along with Jennifer and Juelle.  This year, circles will meet monthly to continue to support our school community relationships and continued ABAR work.  
  
  This committee is a per session position for teachers.
  If you are interested in joining the Equity Team, please email Kiri and click here to apply 
  
  
  
• Posting Closes 12SEP21: 
  School Culture Committee:  The school culture committee is charged with creating activities and events that celebrate students achievement and make school FUN!  This includes organizing virtual assemblies (no in-person gatherings this year), coordinating student of the month selection, announcement, and celebration, Spirit weeks, and collecting student opportunities both in and outside of school (e.g. after school clubs, volunteers opportunities, special classes or experiences, etc.) and communicating with and recruiting students to these opportunities so that they can continue to build out their learning experiences outside of school.
  
  We are recruiting 1 staff person from each grade-team for this role (so that we have a person on each grade team to streamline communication).
  
  
  This committee is a per session position for teachers.
  If you are interested in joining the Equity Team, please email Kiri and click here to apply