UAI Staff News
Volume X
Issue 4
September 19th, 2022
Settling into a Rhythm. We've finished our first full week of classes, and we are all settling into the regular rhythm of the school year.
Certainly this past week presented challenges - but then again, when students make choices that aren't the best, there will always challenges, and the fact that students making these kinds of choices is simply a part of the teenage landscape in which we all work!
When I look for joy in the work we do, I don't look at the challenge - I look at the response to the challenge. What does that look like?
- Amanda planned a lesson that directly addressed one of the key learning gaps that get in the way of student success in math classes (order of operations). With her students she normalized the work ("This will probably look familiar") and adjusted the rigor to meet students where they were so that she could bring them up to new levels of expertise. As a result, no one felt bad about learning something they saw in 6th grade, and all of them engaged and successfully rose to the challenge. I was happy, they were happy, and Amanda looked pretty joyful, too - and that was also great to see!
- Jean met a challenging week with student behavior choices with a clearheaded calmness that ensured rapid response and quick reaction to the challenges. With Annie's support, she is working hard to rapidly ramp up skills required in her new role, and her growth is moving quickly. Moving from a classroom setting to a school-level setting is not an easy jump, but Jean is bringing her signature calm, persistence, and rigorous upholding of high expectations to herself, the kids, and our community. I'm not sure joy is the word Jean would use to describe this week, but certainly she is doing powerful work!
We are seldom confronted with challenges that we choose or want. But we always have to choose how want to respond. This week as you settle into the rhythm of the school year, embrace the challenge as a powerful opportunity to leverage our core values. Find your own path to making your work with our students powerful, equitable, rigorous, and joyous! Happy 2nd full week all!
Important dates.
- Monday, 19SEP22 First PM PD day for all staff (See Q1 PD Dates)
- 3:00-3:15PM - No Staff Circle this week (Must review Emergency Protocols!)
- All staff meet in the Farm
- 3:15-4:10PM - All Advisors
- Review Plan for October
- Divvy up Lesson Plan Writing for October
- Work Time - Lesson planning for Advisory
- Monday 19SEP-Friday23SEP Annie & Kiri visit classrooms to provide feedback on Danielson Domain 2D. (See Q1 PD Plan)
- Monday 19SEP-Friday23SEP Elevate Boot Camp in 10th/11th Grade Labs (7th pd)
- College Level Study Skills for UAI 10th & 11th graders (taught by near peers in college)
- All LL meet in regular rooms, Elevate Facilitators come to you.
- All SETTS/ENL small groups meet in 205C
- ALL Staff - please actively support the Elevate Facilitators to make sure all students are engaged and learning to master these study skills.
- Friday, 23SEP22 IPC First Draft Goals are due. Please submit via this FORM
- Monday, 26SEP22 & Tuesday 27SEP22 Rosh Hashanah Observed - NO SCHOOL
- Thursday, 29SEP22. UAI Curriculum Night 5:30-7:30PM
- This will be virtual and this is one of the citywide Parent Conference nights for the year
- Please send out a Save the Date message and share the link with families
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81765931467
Meeting ID: 817 6593 1467
Passcode: UAIZOOM
- All classroom staff need to have completed Course Syllabi to share with families
- Please use the template to complete a syllabus for each course you teach, and then upload into THIS folder by EOD Friday, 23SEP22. We will then be sharing this folder with families. So, please make your syllabus shareable by adjusting the link to be "Anyone with link" can view.
Announcements & To Dos
Broadway Arts Starts This Week! Thank you all for supporting our students to opt into Broadway Arts Elective classes. These will be courses that are credited (for high school) and students will be pulled from Learning labs/Lunch Periods to join. Courses begin this week. Click here for BAE Roster and Schedule. Please let students know they should begin reporting this week! Emails will go to them, too, but not all kids are checking emails regularly yet.
Join the Equity Team! This year the equity team will continue to support staff and in creating a more just and equitable learning environment by reading texts that explore the root causes of inequities in regards to race, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, etc. We will use these readings as a foundation to interrogate our practices in order to create a more safe, inclusive, and equitable school.
We will meet every other Wednesday after school beginning September 21st. If you’re interested in supporting the staff in this process please email Annie (anniea@uainstite.org) or Rebecca (rebeccac@uainstitute.org) explaining why you would like to work with the Equity Team this year.
Attendance App Update I knew it when I said it in PD last Monday... I totally jinxed myself and spoke too soon. The DOE Attendance App is up and running, but there are still some kinks that we are working out. I know that several of you have said that you do not have access to take attendance. Here are some quick checks
- First - if you co-teach a class, please check with the co-teacher. Right now, the DOE has programmed it so that only one teacher can take attendance.
- Next- please make sure you are logging in with your DOE credentials (yes you have to use the annoying code that shows up on your phone, but you can also have it emailed to you FYI). If your DOE email is not working, you will not be able to use the app.
- Finally - if none of that works, please submit your problem using this form (apologies for another form, but I can't track all the emails, and I need a single place to catch these problems so I can run through them with the attendance folks). Thank you all!
Student Password Reset. With your DOE credentials, you should (may?) have access to reset a student's DOE password (you don't need the email - just a student's ID - which you can find on their schedule)
- Go to https://idmapps.nycenet.
edu/passwordreset/ and sign in with your DOE credentials. If you don’t have access, scroll down to the bottom of the page for instructions. - Enter the student’s OSIS ID number.
- Enter a password for the student.
- Provide the password to the student.
- When you give the password to the student, tell them to sign into the Student Password and Account Management tool and reset their password to something unique (if you gave them a generic password).
- Once they reset their own password and set up their account, they are all set and can begin accessing DOE digital learning platforms.
Program Updates. So the DOE remote desktop (the program that allows me to make program changes from home) was down all weekend - which means I totally missed my commitment to get all rosters settled before this week started. I'm going to clear out my calendar for Monday to prioritize this and commit to finalizing all shifts by the end of Monday! I know how disruptive this - so MANY MANY apologies for the delay.
Per Session Postings
For ALL per session activities (view all 2022-23 postings here),
please complete Per Session Application Form
19SEP22
UAI Teams & Committees. Many different teams of folks work to move UAI forward in its work on many different fronts. All staff are welcome and encouraged to apply to join! Please complete the persession form above and email the team leader to apply.
Equity Team. The equity team will continue to support staff and in creating a more just and equitable learning environment by reading texts that explore the root causes of inequities in regards to race, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, etcMeets every other Wednesday after school beginning September 21st from 3-4PM. Rebecca is the Teacher Leader for this Team. Email Rebecca to apply. (rebeccac@uainstitute.org)
Attendance Team. The attendance team will be tracking and intervening to support students with severe and chronic attendance issues. Our goal is support our students and families to meet a 90% average daily attendance rate. Freida is our Attendance lead teacher. Meeting times are still TBD. Email Freida to apply. (freidas@uainstitute.org)
Parent & Family Engagement. This team will work to maximize our parent involvement and family engagement. Members will meet up to one hour a week for PTA, School Leadership Team and Family Engagement activities. Extra hours allotted for family engagement activities. Jen is the lead for this team. Email Jen to apply (jenc@uainstitute.org)
Advisory Planning Team. This team is charged with support Advisory Teacher teams in developing, planning and sequencing advisory course content. This team meets weekly for 1 hour. Jen is the lead for this team. Email Jen to apply (jenc@uainstitute.org)
Culture committee. This committee develops, plans, and executes students activities to put the FUN in FUN UAI. (yeah that was terrible). This team meets up to one hour a week to plan and supervise culture events that will engage students and families in activities that engage our community in lifting up and celebrating our students, staff, and families. Jen is the lead for this team. Email Jen to apply (jenc@uainstitute.org)
Website Maintenance & Social Media. Our website and social media are two chief ways folks get information about our school. If you have the skills and interests to bring some vavavoom to our public presence - you are most encouraged to join! Up to one hour per week for this team. Jen is the lead for this team. Email Jen to apply (jenc@uainstitute.org)
New Student Recruitment. Middle School and High School Applications are about to kick off. If you like to visit other schools and meet with families and potential students and you are interested in recruiting new students to our school - please join! Hours are flexible. Jen is the lead on this team. Email Jen to apply (jenc@uainstitute.org)
12SEP22
After School Professional Development. Shortly, we will be launching Thursday after school professional development sessions. These sessions are open to all staff, and will be training rate per session. You do not need to apply - simply show up to the sessions you wish, and you'll get paid (provided you submit your per session correctly!). Stay tuned for the Thursday PM offerings.
UAI Testing Team. We are looking for 1-3 people to support UAI testing. This team will be responsible for Coordinating, planning, and executing all tasks to successfully execute:
- AP & P/SAT Testing - March P/SAT exams, May AP Exams
- Middle School Testing - April/May MS Math & ELA Exams
- Interim Assessment Testing - DRP, MAP Math, and DESSA - three times a year
- Regents Exam Testing - January & June Regent Exams
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