Week of 05OCT26

 

  Urban Assembly Institute of Math &                      Science for Young Women

05 October 2026

School Leadership Message

It was a busy week! It finally feels like we're in the swing of things and we're ready to push our instructional practice. As we're walking through classrooms, we're seeing a lot of effective practice - behavior management is strong, and kids are sitting in groups ready to engage in learning. Now that foundational structures and climate are solid, our next high-leverage move is elevating academic rigor. As we move forward, our focus will be on raising cognitive demand for all students: asking open-ended 'why' and 'how' questions, increasing student-to-student discourse, and giving students more ownership over solving complex problems.

Here's some questions we will work on answering through this year's PD sessions:

1. When you lead a whole-class discussion, who is doing most of the thinking and talking - one student at a time, or everyone in the room? How can we consistently replace the traditional teacher-to-student call-and-response pattern with Total Participation Techniques (like Turn & Talks) that require every student to process, articulate, and defend their ideas with a peer?
2. How can we elevate the level of rigor of our tasks? Does this assignment ask students to recall information, or does it require them to analyze, synthesize, and grapple with complex ideas? How can we ensure our daily tasks go beyond procedural accuracy to demand higher-level cognitive work - offering multiple pathways, encouraging productive struggle, and requiring students to cite evidence, hypothesize, or draw their own conclusions?

This week we will be coming into classrooms to give non-evaluative feedback specifically around Danielson 3C - Engaging Students in Learning. 

We are raising the bar this year on the academic expectations we have for all of our students. In turn, the bar must be raised for all of us - and that starts with me. So, this year, you will receive much more constructive, honest and direct feedback from the admin team - both informally and through the evaluation process.

I am excited to be on this journey with all of you and I look forward to leaning into the hard work ahead of us.

Week of 28SEP26

    

       

   Urban Assembly Institute of Math &                      Science for Young Women

28 September 2026

School Leadership Message

Last week's conference event and PTA meeting was a good reminder of the importance of building strong and trusting relationships with our families. When families and school staff have open lines of communication and a strong sense of partnership, we are better able to support student academically, socially, and emotionally. We are going to continue to prioritize meaningful family engagement and look for new ways to create opportunities for collaboration, communication, and connection.

• We will continue to ensure our family phone call system is working effectively and consistently - where all families are given at least monthly updates on how their child is doing academically and social-emotionally across all classes.
• We will engage families in meaningful conversations about their student’s progress, areas for growth, and the supports they can expect from us as we work together to help their child succeed.
• To do this, we will host whole school evening workshops focused on understanding their student's screener data and the ways in which we are pushing their child to grow. 
• We will formalize our PTA and SLT structures so that parents have a true role in and authentic voice in shaping how we serve our students and families.

This week as you have your Initial Planning Conferences, you should expect to speak to your own personal goals for strengthening your relationships with the families of the students you teach. Building strong family partnerships is not the responsibility of one team or one role, it is something we all contribute to through consistent communication, trust, and a commitment to knowing and supporting our students and their families.

Week of 21SEP26

 Urban Assembly Institute of Math and                        Science for Young Women

21 September 2026

School Leadership Message

We have a busy and exciting week ahead, including our first opportunity to welcome families into the building. This is an important moment for us as a school community. For many of our families, this will be their first chance to meet their child’s teachers, learn more about what their students will be learning this year, and begin to build relationships with the staff who will be supporting their children throughout the year.

We want families to leave our building feeling welcomed, informed, and connected to our school community. Every interaction matters, from a personal phone call inviting a family to join us, to greeting families at the door, sharing what students are learning, and taking the time to answer questions. These early connections help lay the foundation for strong partnerships between school and home.

As we head into the week, please be intentional about making families feel that they belong here. We have a great opportunity to start the year by showing families who we are, what we value, and how committed we are to their children’s success. Thank you for helping make this week a meaningful and welcoming experience for our students and families.

Week of 14SEP26

 

Urban Assembly Institute of Math and                        Science for Young Women

14 September 2026

School Leadership Message

What a first week! I want to thank each of you for helping make the opening of the 2026-27 school year such a huge success. This week there was an incredible energy throughout the building... students were excited to be back (and staff seemed excited too), classrooms were welcoming and purposeful, and our community felt joyful!

A successful opening is the result of countless decisions, meetings, planning, and small acts of care. From greeting students at the door, to helping them find a classroom, to establishing routines and expectations, to simply making a student feel like they belong - these moments showed our students what it means to be part of the UAI community.

We now have the gift of a full school year to get better, to hold ourselves and our students to higher expectations, and build stronger relationships. There will be difficult weeks, unexpected challenges, and moments when we have to adjust course. But I am incredibly optimistic about what we can accomplish together.

Thank you for an outstanding start and, more importantly, thank you for everything you did to make our students feel that UAI is a place where they are known, supported, and loved.

Looking forward to week two!

Week of 07SEP26

 

    Urban Assembly Institute of Math and                                Science for Young Women

07 September 2026

School Leadership Message

And we are off!  I am incredibly excited to welcome you to the 2026-27 school year. The launch of this year brings with it a fresh start and a new chapter in UAI's story. I am honored to work alongside you all as we build off the successes of the past 20 years and re-establish our community as one rooted in love and excellence.   

Our focus this year will be intentional and sustained. Over the course of this week's professional development you’ll see how our new instructional vision will serve as our anchor, how we will support and prepare every staff member for success, and how updated clarity around our leadership structures will guide our work. Equally important, we’ll make time to connect with one another and start to build the trust that we know will drive our community forward.

We are about to start a 180-day marathon. I am incredibly proud to begin this journey with each of you, and I hope we enter it knowing that the work ahead will not always be easy, but it will always be worth it. There will be moments that challenge us, moments that energize us, and moments that remind us exactly why we chose this work. Through all of them, we will continue to come back to what matters most: our kids.

This year, I ask each of us to bring our best, to give one another grace, to hold ourselves and each other to high expectations, and to never lose sight of the amazing students who walk through our doors each morning. They deserve a school filled with adults who believe deeply in their potential and who are willing to work together to make that potential a reality.

Here’s to 180 days of Rigor, Power, Equity, and Joy - and to building a UAI that we are all proud to call home.

Bring your running shoes ;)

First Blog 31AUG26

     Urban Assembly Institute of Math and Science for Young Women

31 August 2026

Last Blog of 2025-26

                                                           

Volume: XIII

Issue: 42

June 22, 2026

SCHOOL LEADERSHIP MESSAGE

It’s hard to believe, but here we are, at the close of the 2025-26 school year! Time truly flew by, and as we wrap up this year, I just wanted to take a moment to reflect on the incredible work we've done together. There’s so much to celebrate, and I'm incredibly proud of everything we've accomplished. Here are some of the highlights from this school year:

• Successfully implemented student-led IEP and ENL meetings, empowering students to take ownership of their learning, advocate for their needs, and actively participate in planning for their future.
• Made significant progress in closing the achievement gap between ENL students and their general education peers through targeted instruction, collaborative support, and interventions.
• Continued to foster an inclusive learning environment where all students felt valued, supported, and challenged to reach their full potential.
• Expanded opportunities for student leadership, voice, and engagement throughout the school community.

These accomplishments are a testament to the dedication, collaboration, and unwavering commitment of our entire team. Thank you for your hard work, passion, and support throughout the year. Together, we have made a meaningful difference in the lives of our students, and I look forward to building on this success in the years ahead.

Wishing everyone, but especially Kiri, a restful, well-deserved summer!

IMPORTANT DATES

• JUN22: MS Field Day
• JUN24: 8th Grade Graduation!
• JUN25: 12th Grade Graduation! 2:15p Staff celebration.
• JUN26: LAST DAY!

TO DO THIS WEEK

Last Week Plans. We’re looking forward to next week’s graduations and last day! I want to send out some info regarding dismissal times for MS and plans for celebrating. 

• See here for HS graduation plans and staff assignments.
• On June 25th, middle school students will be dismissed at 2pm. At 2:15pm staff are invited to join us at Fulton Hall (https://fultonhall.com/ ) for our end of year celebration. 
• On June 26th, high school students will come in for report card pick up and then are immediately dismissed. Middle school students are dismissed at 11am. 

Please help us in communicating these early dismissal times to middle school families!

Room Pack Up.  To be ready for the summer, all staff are responsible for stowing and securing classroom technology and materials.  Additionally, any personal items are NOT secure over the summer.  So, if you value it, bring it home.  Otherwise you are welcome to roll the dice and put it in your closets.  As a reminder, we are a public school, and our rooms are used by other schools and programs during the summer.  They cannot be used to store private items.  So, please make sure anything that is yours and that you value is taken home. 

End of the Year Checklist.  

• Cleaning and Stowing.  Things cannot be stored on the floors (even on the closet floors).  They will be destroyed by the wax that seeps in if you leave boxes of things on the floor. Store on shelf...or better yet, pair down things you no longer need (give to a colleague!).  Books and materials need to be stored on shelves or in closets.
• Please do not seek out Kiri or Annie before the last day of school. We will come around to rooms on the last day of school from 8-10AM to sign off on checklist sheets.  We'll come find you in your rooms.  Please make sure you are have completed the checklist by 8:30AM on Jun 26th! 

IEP Progress Monitoring. This week, all teachers and counselors must work with your SL-IEP teams and colleagues to ensure that 4th Marking Period progress on IEP goals are updated in SESIS for all students under the content area you teach and/or the service you provide.

As we experienced during the SL-IEP process, one of the challenges with progress reporting was tracking completion. To help ensure that all student goals are updated, after updating goals in SESIS, please check off completion in this Progress Reporting MP4 tracking document.  Due Date: EOD June 23. Please reach out to Mary if you have any questions.

Mandated Summer School List.  See here for the lists of students scheduled to complete coursework during summer school.