Week of January 19th

UAI Staff News

Volume VIII

Issue 26

January 19th, 2021

Principal's Message

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr day, and today, we are two days away from transitioning out of the tyranny of the Trump administration.  In his iconic I have a Dream speech, Dr. King said,

"So even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed."

It is hard to listen and read this speech in the light of what we know today and what we have witnessed year after year as black men and women are subjected to oppressive and fatal treatment by those charged to uphold the laws of the "American Dream"

But believing and pursuing the dream in the face of all that we know and all that we have seen is precisely Dr. King's call to action.  There is no doubt we have gone through "difficulties" (too gentle of a word in today's sense or reality).  There is no doubt that these & new "difficulties" will continue through tomorrow and beyond.  However, our charge is to continue to dream and create the justice, equity, and egalitarianism for all people.  Together, in our daily lives and our daily roles, each of us are part of the work needed to realize the American dream as it should be (not necessarily as it was originally written).

Doing the work will be hard.  But know, that in doing the work, we are creating hope and preparing our future generation to continue building on this wave of change begun so many years ago, with a speech that generated a dream for generations.

  

Don't Forget To Scroll To the Bottom to See This Week's Per Session Postings

There's QUITE A FEW NEW ONES this week!!!

Birthdays This Week

No Staff Birthdays This Week

Sunday, 17JAN:  Vicaa (11)

Monday, 18JAN:  Shaniya P (8)

Tuesday, 19JAN:  Anissa SL (6), Jahya W (9)

Saturday, 23JAN:  Uniyah (10)

                                                         

UAI Committee Updates.  

Staff Circles Committee (Members: Annie, Jennifer, Juelle, Marsha, & Nakita) No updates this week.

School Restructuring Committee (Members: Annie, Courtney, Jen, Kiri, Laura, Marsha, Nadine, Nina, and SarahM).  The SRC met on Monday 11JAN to review plans for the staff engagement on Friday, 22JAN, a follow-up experience to understanding how Deficit Thinking appears in our classroom practices and how we can better plan and approach our lessons to remove barriers to learning and combat deficit thinking.  This Friday afternoon staff meeting will be facilitated by SRC members, Nina & Nadine!

The Equity Team (Suzannah, Nina, Elana, Kelly, Phillan, Annie, Nakita, Rebecca C, Damon, Ms. King (Kianna’s mom), Ms. Barnes (Alyssa’s mom), Ms. Martuscello (Veronica’s mom), Kianna King, Emily Payamps, Jerlai Tyner, Jamilah Alshawish, Salia Naschel).  The equity team has been working on gathering data to analyze growth of students after entering UAI. Suzannah and Nina have met with Phil to gain a better understanding of this data in order to share with all of the members of the equity team when we meet again Tuesday 1/19.

Focus Groups.  Thank you to all the folks who joined us for staff focus groups in thinking about how best to prepare for the remainder of the school year.  Thank you also to those of you who shared insights from your own student focus groups.  Those were incredible informative and helpful in thinking about next semester, and in some cases next year!  If you didn't get a chance to join a focus group and would still like to share your ideas or the feedback from your own student groups, please reach out to Kiri, Annie, or Jen.  We'll set up some time to meet with you!

NX Communication.  MP2 ends next Wednesday, 27JAN21.  For any students who will be receiving an NX for your course, please make sure to do the following by Friday 29JAN21:

1. Please contact home and discuss with the families why the student has not yet met course standards and what they need to do in MP3 in order to meet standards by the end of MP3.
2. For any family that you are unable to speak to, please let Kiri, Annie or Jen know and we will provide you with assistance and support.

 

Weekly Grade Upload.  As a reminder, please upload your grades by the end of the day on Monday (but Tuesday this week because of the holiday).  By the end of the day on Tuesday 19JAN21, all gradebooks should have at least:  7 Participation Grades, 7 Progress Grades, and 1 Performance Grade.  By the end of the Marking Period, you have a total of 8 Participation Grades, 8 Progress Grades, and 2 Performance Grades.  You can review the Grading Policy to better understand what kinds of grades go into each category.

Feedback on School Policies for SRC.  The SRC will be reviewing the policies set in place last November.  Many, many thanks to the 14 folks who already completed THIS SURVEY to provide feedback on the policies.  Surveys are not ideal, but they do allow us to gather your input without loading up your calendars with tons and tons of meetings.  Your feedback matters! Please take some time to complete this survey.

Per Session Postings

To Apply for any of the following per session opportunities, please COMPLETE THIS FORM and email the appropriate point person listed in this posting.  

Peer Mentoring Program.  In a dual effort to provide students with academic support AND opportunities for leadership, we are launching a peer-mentoring program.  We are looking for 1-3 staff members to develop & lead this program that will be able to provide students with academic support from peers as well as provide students with leadership and mentoring experience.  In addition to building academic and mentoring skills, the goal of this program is to build student relationships and school community.  Please complete the per session form and email Annie with your interest.  Hours will range from 1-3 hours per week per staff member. Posting closes 01FEB.

Summer School Curriculum Writers.  In preparation for summer school, we need teachers to work collaboratively to write units and lessons plans for summer school NX students.  These curriculum writers will be expected to work 1-2 hours per week to meet/write/review units and lesson plans for the summer.  The goal will be to have fully complete lessons that can be reviewed with summer school staff by Monday, 14JUN21.  The team will be working on core subjects and working in conjunction with Annie and Kiri.  There will be 4-6 positions available.  Posting closes on 25JAN21.  Please complete the per session form and email Kiri to apply. Posting closes 25JAN.

SRC Sub Committees.  The SRC met on 04JAN to plan for the spring term to address revisions/redoing of the school schedule and to reflect on and evaluate the new pedagogical practices we implemented during remote learning.  We are looking for staff to join one of two subcommittees (Scheduling and COVID Lessons Learned).  These committees will meet regularly (as determined by the committee) to create the schedule for the 2021-22 school year, and identify and refine pedagogical practices from Remote Learning that will continue into the next school year.  Timelines on this are imminent, so this special post will begin as of today and close two weeks from today on Tuesday, 19JAN20.  Please complete THIS FORM by 19JAN20 to apply for either of these subcommittees.  As an FYI, the SRC is joining with the Circles Committee and Equity Team to revamp the hiring process.  The goal is to complete the revamp by 01FEB in time to launch our hiring season.  As a result, there wasn’t time to post a new sub-committee position for two weeks and meet the 01FEB deadline. Posting closes 25JAN.

Data Team.  The Equity Team and SRC are in need of data support.  We need a team of folks who have experience with basic functions in excel (using formulas, sorting, filtering, creating charts, etc.) and have a willingness to learn to master DOE data platforms (ATS, STARS, New Visions Data Portal).   The job will be to access DOE data platforms to pull requested data (as requested by the Equity Team or SRC) and use tools (like Excel) to present that data in accessible formats for the Equity & SRC teams and for the staff and community in general.  Hours will vary as needed, but will average at 1-2 hours per week (in training and working).  Posting is open through 25JAN, please complete the per session interest form and email Kiri if interested. Posting closes 25JAN.

Academic Skill Development Advisory Lesson Developer. The Counseling Team is looking for on person to help create advisory lessons that will support student academic skill building. Topics include, but are not limited to: Navigating GC efficiently, How to use Google Calendar to support time management and work submission, How to Navigate Pupil Path to support Informed decision making. The Ideal candidate will create at least 1 unit of lessons (8-10 lessons) . Lessons must include both the lesson plan for advisors and accompanying slides and student activities. Approx 20 hours of per session total. Posting closes on 25JAN. Please complete the per session interest form and email Jen if interested. Posting closes 25JAN.

Black History Month Community Activity Submissions. The Culture Committee is beginning to plan Black History Community Activities and we are looking for a wider range of staff voice and ideas. If you would like to help plan a community event for February, please complete the per session form ASAP. This year’s theme for Black History Month this year is: The Black Family: Representation, Identity and Diversity. Approx 10 hours of per session total per position with a minimum of two positions. Posting closes 25JAN.

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