Volume: XIII
Issue: 8
October 13, 2025
SCHOOL LEADERSHIP MESSAGE
Thank you again for the truly exceptional work you've put in so far this fall. The foundation you have built is remarkable. We have a busy week ahead but here are some positives we must remember to hold on to:
Your commitment to student well-being is visible in every hallway and classroom. The warmth, joy, and love you foster create the safe, welcoming environments necessary for deep learning. And our kids are HAPPY!
We are seeing strong, cohesive implementation of our core instructional routines. The consistent use of strategies like Notice & Wonder and So Basically (Stronger and Clearer less-so) has already made student thinking dramatically more visible. This collective focus on making thought processes explicit is a powerful move that is elevating our practice.
These strengths are not just feel-good points, they are the essential, hard-won prerequisites for the next, crucial phase of our growth: maximizing student intellectual ownership.
We’ve identified that the default pattern of classroom talk is too often Teacher-Student-Teacher-Student (T-S-T-S). This pattern centralizes you, the teacher, as the only legitimate audience and validator of ideas. When you talk, you own the content; when students talk to each other, they own the content.
This week, stop being the mediator - let’s intentionally and systematically break the T-S-T-S loop. This is about more than just "Turn and Talk", it's about shifting the gravitational pull of the conversation from you to the room itself.
The Three-Second Rule: After a student responds, count to three before you speak. Use that space to cue another student, not to deliver your own affirmation or follow-up question, or to rephrase the student's share out.
The Peer Challenge: Instead of asking a student to summarize, ask them to challenge, extend, or apply the previous student's idea. Example: "Madison, I hear Aniyah's interpretation of the evidence. What's a potential counter-argument you see in the text, or how does Aniyah's point apply to the next section?"
The second challenge is a shift in mindset: Supports are tools for independence, not crutches for dependence. Universal scaffolds (like providing the same graphic organizer or giving procedural steps for every student) are often holding back the very students who are ready to take risks and think more complexly. We are inadvertently limiting productive struggle.
This week - differentiate your supports - starting with zero!
Moving forward, our instructional focus is on scaffold removal. We are moving from a default of providing support to a deliberate practice of withholding it until a diagnostic need is evident.
Start with "Naked" Tasks: Present the complex task first without the whole-class graphic organizers, pre-filled notes, or extensive procedural steps. Let students engage with the complexity.
Observe and Diagnose: Look for which students immediately jump into the task and which ones are clearly stuck.
Target and Differentiate: Only deploy the scaffold after you see a student genuinely needs it. For example, give a sentence starter only to the two students who are staring blankly, and give the graphic organizer only to the small group that is struggling with organization.
This strategic removal of universal supports is the only way to build intellectual stamina and ensure every student experiences the cognitive lift they need.
UPCOMING DATES
- MON 13OCT25 - Indigenous People's Day/Italian Heritage Day
- WED 15OCT25 - School Based Support Team Appreciation Day (Psych, Soc Worker, Fam Worker, OT/PT)
- WED 15OCT25 - PPO
- MON 20OCT25 - Diwali - No School
- THU 23OCT25 - Future Ready Kick-off Celebration, 5pm
- 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... Fall College Trips: Seniors will have first priority, however the trips are also open to juniors.
- Thursday 10/23 - Queens College, 10am
- Tuesday 10/28 - Lehman College, 11am
Wednesday 15OCT: 7th Grade Trip to National Museum of the American Indian
Friday 17OCT: Whole School Pep Rally, 2pm in the gym, rapid dismissal to follow
Wednesday 22OCT: Digital Marketing Trip
Thursday 30OCT: Venture Capital Trip
Friday 31OCT: Senior Trip to Fright Fest
Wednesday 19NOV: Hamilton Trip
FUTURE READY HIGHLIGHTS
Upcoming FRNYC Events
WBL Career Exposure Trips. Through NYC Service's speed mentoring program, all students in the Career Explorations course will select one trip to attend. After learning about each field and connecting with current employees, students will receive 1:1 mentoring to discuss their post-secondary goals and backwards plan the steps needed to get there. We'll share trip lists once they are finalized!
- October 22nd from 10-12 (January Digital - Marketing Agency)
- October 30th from 3-5 (Venture Capital firm)
- November 20th from 10-12 (Climate Tech Company - Energy Hub)
- November 25th from 1-3 (LVMH)
FRNYC Kickoff Celebration. On October 23rd from 5-6:30pm in the cafeteria. Join UAI 8/9 graders & their families (and prospective students!) to learn about FRNYC and the Pre-Nursing and Education Pathways available to students at UAI. Light snacks and beverages provided.
- Email Kelly if you'd like to support with the event - we're looking for 3-4 people to assist.
TO DO THIS WEEK
PPO. This Wednesday, we will be having our first PPO (Principal Performance Observation) with Dr. Buffie Whitfield, who is the Executive Director of School Support & Operations in Superintendent Fred Walsh's office. Teachers who are up for tenure SHOULD EXPECT A CLASS VISIT!
In preparation for the visit you should be working on:
- Linking all lesson plans into your pacing guides
- Making sure your lessons center student thinking (i.e. students should be doing the lion's share of the work for the majority of the period - there shouldn't be any stretch of time longer than 2-3 minutes where kids are listening passively. They should be thinking, writing, talking, or discussing as much as possible). Please be super cognizant and shorten the amount of time you are talking and inadvertently doing the thinking for the kids. Some of the most difficult teacher moves is waiting in that awkward silent space while kids struggle. HINT: Narrate what you're doing to the kids in place of doing the thinking FOR them. It's ok to say, "I want you to try to try this on your own...so, I'm going to wait...or I want you to ask others first... or I want you to try on your own"...or whatever feels good for you to say!
Ensuring unnecessary scaffolds are removed so that all students are engaged in critical thinking throughout your lesson. HINT: Before you decide that they cannot do XYZ...be the scientist! Test to see what they CAN do, and put the scaffolds on the back burner. Have the scaffolds in your back pocket IF they flounder. Again, narrate what you're doing! It will definitely feel risky, but you all CAN manage a classroom well! The kids trust you. Now, it's time for you to trust them to take bigger, intellectual risks! For example, "We're gonna try something different today.. I want you to do....on your own...without (whatever scaffold you've been using)." Just pull out a piece of paper/post it whatever...let them try!
Buffie ultimately will decide who we see but we will suggest this draft agenda.
8AM Morning Meetings & Class Visits
9:30-11:10 - Classroom Visits
9:30-9:40 - Mike - 6.2 ELA
9:45-9:55 - Fatima - 7.1 SS
10:00-10:10 - Noelle - Theater
Break
10:30-10:40 - Thomas & Matt - Bio
10:40-10:50 - Camryn - Earth
10:50-11:00 - Small Group - Patricia
11:00-11:10 - Small Group - Yasmeen
11:15-12:10 - Team Meetings
11:40- Student Group
SL-IEP, ENL, YLC, SGA, Clubs
11:10 - Teacher Meeting
Shan, Amanda, Mike, Fatima, Alison, Noelle, Thomas, Matt, Cam, Patricia, Yasmeen
Tiffany, Mary, Laura, Kelly, Judy, Liza, Phillan, Denyda
12:10 - Algebra I - Jasmine & Sue - ICT Think Tank
12:20 - Buffie Work Time
12:50 - Debrief with Kiri & Annie
Grades in Google Classrooms. We are in our 6th week of classes, and all classes should DEFINITELY have some graded work in Google Classrooms. Please make sure you are uploading grades into your Google Classroom gradebooks AND make sure you are also being super clear with kids about progress in your class. The end of the marking period is only a month away, and unless you are mindful now, you will be setting yourself up for a tough spot with kids before you know it. Transparency, communication, and support are key to ensuring your kids thrive. So please, make the time to attend to your grades and make sure kids know that they are in your Google Classrooms. This week's outreach will be focused on kicking off communications home with families around student performance (this will be the focus for the next few weeks). So, please, make sure you're ready to communicate clearly.
SDC is Starting. The School Development Committee is starting back up. Join us to plan PDs (we will focus on Student-led IEP planning) monthly at 7:45am on the third Thursday of the month in room 301. Our first meeting will be October 16th! If you'd like to join in as a principal appointee to the School Development Committee (SDC) to plan upcoming rounds of SL-IEP and PD for the staff, please say yes and leave your name! https://forms.gle/FgbHWvCBQ8pZpHNN6
Instructional Rounds start on October 15! As promised, all teachers will engage in Instructional Round Cycles and our first round starts next week! Our focus for this round is on our special populations and instructional routines. We will send out more info in the coming week.
Please see below for our schedule and reach out with questions.
- October 14: Sarah R, Phillan, Tom M, Jake, Thomas, Roger, Marsha, Sue
- October 24: Mike, Freida, Patti, Jasmine, Yasmeen, Mayisha, Celeste, Camryn, Judy
- October 27: Denyda, Fatima, Matt, Mary, Laura, Brett, Martine, Noelle, Liza, Meg
- October 29: Sarah M, Elena, Shan, Amanda, JRob, Tom W, Patricia, Allison, Kelly
Friday OCT17 Filming. This Friday we will have a videographer in the building to film student activity for our new promotional videos. If you have anything amazing you're planning for your class that you think will be worth filming (i.e. a Socratic seminar, a science lab, etc) please let Jen know so we can add your class to the schedule!
Sign up for Brooklyn PTA Fun Run! Every year, there is a Brooklyn PTA Fun Run in Prospect Park to raise money for PTAs at schools around Brooklyn, and UAI will have a team running this year! The race is a 5k Fun Run around the Prospect Park loop, starting from the Lefrak Center at 10:00am on Saturday, October 25th (participants should arrive at 9:00AM to pick up race bibs). All are welcome to join our team and support our school, whether you plan to run, run/walk, walk, scooter, bike, or just cheer our team on at the finish line! Race info can be found here.
Race registration costs $25 plus a small fee, but free tickets are available to those for whom this would be a hardship - just let me know and I'll reach out to the race organizers. Our school needs to register a certain amount of participants to get a share of the proceeds, so spread the word to staff and families so we can have a great turnout! You can register to be a part of the UAI team here.
Please reach out to Mike if you have any questions. I hope you'll be able to join!
Purchasing Requests. In an effort to better track and streamline purchasing, we ask that you fill in this form for all purchasing requests. You can find the form on our staff Google Classroom as well.
PER SESSION POSTINGS
FOR ALL PER SESSION JOBS: You must apply by completing THIS FORM
