Week of 13JUL

UAI Staff Summer News

Volume VIII

Issue 1

July 13, 2020

Principal's Message

Summer Blog Posts.    Summer blog posts will be much less frequent than school year posts.  I'll also be experimenting with how to more effectively share information in the blog so that you can more readily access it.  So please, do email me your feedback!

Announcements

Happy Summer Birthdays!!!

Ms. Aisha (30JUN); Ms. Cassandra (05JUL); Mr. Joey (13JUL); Ms. Joanna (16JUL); 

Natalie (20JUL); Marsha (24JUL); Matthew (19AUG); Rebecca F(21AUG); Doris (26AUG)

School Re-Opening in Fall 2020.   This summer, the Chancellor has set up regular meetings to discuss plans for school re-opening with principals.  All info points to an actual opening in September.  Until we hear otherwise, we have to move forward in planning for this to occur.  So far, we've had two of these meetings with the Chancellor.  More are forthcoming.  Here's what we know so far:

• UAI will possibly adopt an Alternate Days Model.  There are limited models available - Alternate Days or Alternate Weeks.  We must choose one as a community.  The Chancellor's preferred model is Alternate Days, as is true for our SLT parents and students.  CLICK HERE to learn more.

• Two Important Surveys are out on Wednesday, July 15th.  The DOE will release two surveys on 15JUL20.  For students and families, they will be able to indicate whether or not they want to be REMOTE ONLY for the start of the fall.  Staff will be able to request COVID accommodations in a survey to be released that day.  CLICK HERE to learn more.
  
  
• Schedules may not be available until August.  With the surveys not due until August 7th, we will not be able to produce a program until after we get back that information.  There are many unknowns as of yet.  Without all the information, we cannot fully program the school.  CLICK HERE to learn more.

• PPE and other COVID Mitigating Factors will be in place.  The DOE is centrally providing PPE to schools, and school facilities are currently undergoing enhancements to equip them with electrostatic disinfecting tools (the kind airplanes use to disinfect between flights), update HVACs to improve ventilation, and ship masks and sanitizer supplies to schools.  We will never reach a point where there is 0% risk of COVID transmission, but with a combination of prevention steps, the plan is to mitigate transmission as much as possible.  CLICK HERE to learn more.

Technical Training.  Our original goal was to be able to provide teachers with at least WHAT they will be teaching by July 15th.  However, without know who will be remote only (students and staff), we cannot really say for sure.  That said, course assignments are highest priority, and we're pushing to get that to staff as soon as we can.  We don't want to rush and tell you something now, only to have to shift it later when more facts are in play.  So please be patient as we try to gather all the necessary info for a final decision.

In the meantime, if you are itching to get a jump on next year, you can still use these next few weeks to deepen your skills in platforms that we know for sure we will be using:

• Google Classroom Tutorials
• Google Calendar Tutorials
• Zoom Tutorials
• Explore the Teach Hub

Personal Professional Development.  There are many, many options available to staff to explore new skills and learning.  Here are two you may wish to explore

• When Schools Cause Trauma
• Summer Workshops from the DOE Office of Equity

Summer Restructuring Committee Work.  The Summer Restructuring Committee will be continuing the work of the SCI and ACT committees as we prepare to open the school for the 2020-2021 school year.  This week, we will be working collectively as school leadership and school staff to co-create our goals for the summer and clearly articulate the work that needs to be done (and by whom and by when).  On the committee are Annie, Cherry, Jen, Kiri, Nadine, Nina, Rachel, Phillan, and Tiffany.  The committee will be deciding on how best to share our work, discussions and progress with the rest of the UAI community.