Week of 31OCT22

UAI Staff News

Volume X

Issue 10

October 31st, 2022

Happy Halloween & Wrapping Up MP1. It is a UAI tradition to dress up for Halloween.  For sure, you are not required to do so!  Many do not, and that's ok!  

As we finish out the last day of October, it is hard to believe that we are through two of the 10 months of school already.  Some days, it feels like it's been 2 years, but before you know it, we'll blink and it will be Christmas.   It is so true.

At this point in the fall, the shiny promise of September has faded away, and we are all feeling the weight of how much challenge our students face and how much work we need to do to meet them where they are and push them to where they need to be.  It is a huge job - and with any challenge, there will be times that we fall short of our goals AND then, there will be times when we knock it out of the park!

We need to make it a priority to value both the journey and the destination - in both the work of our students and ourselves.   The process (journey) is our learning experience.  We practice, we fail.  We experiment, we learn, we may fail or get lucky - but either way we refine and try again.  We keep trying until we are satisfied that we've met our goals well.

Remember to honor both the learning growth AND the achievements - in both yourself and your students.  That is the intersection of Joy and Power - to be able to honor & celebrate both.

Important dates. 

• Monday, 31OCT22.  Halloween - Costume Parade
• Wednesday, 02NOV22.  Social Studies Instructional Rounds
• Thursday, 03NOV22.  Thursday PD:  Grading For Learning in Google Classroom (Amanda)
• Saturday, 19NOV22.  In-Person UA Fair
• Thursday, 10NOV22.  Last Day of MP1
• Monday, 14NOV22.  First Day of MP2
• Wednesday, 16NOV22.  MP1 Grades Due at 3PM
• Thursday, 17NOV22.  Evening Parent Conferences - 5PM
• Wednesday, 23NOV22.  Rapid Dismissal at 2:30 
• Thursday, 24NOV22.  Thanksgiving Recess - NO SCHOOL
• Friday, 25NOV22.  Thanksgiving Recess - NO SCHOOL

Announcements & To Dos

UAI Teacher's Choice.   All staff will be reimbursed up to $250 for teacher selected school materials.  If you have already spent the funds, start gathering up your receipts.  You will be reimbursed for everything (except tax - if you didn't use the tax exempt form).   If you have yet to spend, please reach out to Dai for the Tax Exempt form/number.    Stay tuned for directions on how to submit your receipts for reimbursement.  These will all be due the Friday before Thanksgiving (with reimbursement checks expected to come just before the winter holidays!)

<<Repost>> First Round of Evaluative Observations Begin.   First round of informal observations continue this week.  Please review Danielson and the UAI Look For Document.  Our goal is to complete the round of informal observations by November 8th.  As a reminder, the observation requirements are:

• Tenured Teachers - minimum of 1 fall informal and 1 spring term informal observations (unscheduled min 15min observation)
• Untenured teachers - minimum of 4 observations (2 in fall and 2 in spring) - 3 informal observations and 1 formal observation (scheduled, full period observation)

All teachers are welcome to ask for more observations - these are just the minimum.

Thanksgiving Charity.  As the festive season is quickly approaching, Aisha, Jen, and Jelissa are again seeking your assistance in putting smiles on the faces of some of our students as we did last year with our food hampers and turkey giveaways.

If you were not part of Team UAI last year, through the contributions of staff and through ground work from Miss Jay and her significant other,  we literally turned our main office into a farmers market. Many of our students were able to walk away with bags of fruits and vegetables and turkeys for Thanksgiving. 

We know that this year things have changed significantly and prices have increased exponentially, nonetheless, we still want to try to gift our students with turkeys again this season.

So again, we seek your assistance in donating whatever you are able to in an effort to assist us in being a blessing to some families this year.

We will accept cash, or you can cash app your donation to $AHuggins4. Of course, we will keep a record of all monies sent and the final figure will be presented to all who donated. A HUGE THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE.

Yours in unity:

Miss Aisha

Miss Jen

Miss Jelissa

UAI Instructional Rounds Begin.  This week the Social Studies team will conduct their instructional rounds (IR).  Good Luck IR teams!  We're all looking forward to what you learn and we look forward to you sharing your work so that we may all benefit and collectively leverage up the quality of classroom instruction across UAI!

E-Waste Pick Up.  Before the end of the month, we are removing e-waste from the building.  Do you have e-waste (100% useless tech) in your classroom / office? Do you have something that might be e-waste but you're not sure?  Please set it aside, label it, and then contact Jason (jasonpr@uainstitute.org) in a separate email.  He will retrieve your e-waste and move it to a central location for DIIT.   Please contact me in a separate email and I'll inspect the tech.  If everyone quickly scans their classrooms and offices, we can complete this task before the end of the day on October 25th. Let's work together to reclaim space in the building!

Interim Assessments Continue.  This week we will be starting our MAP Math assessments for students in grades 6-11.   Students who have not yet completed the DRP can continue their work this week, but both MAP Math and DRP must be completed by Friday.

• Week of Oct 24.  The MAP Math test will be launching for grades 6-11.  As with the DRP, students will take this exam during Learning Lab.  Amanda is our testing coordinator for the MAP Math exam and will be reviewing how we will administer the test in Monday 24OCT22's PD.
• Monday Oct 31.  The DESSA is a social-emotional skills inventory that teachers complete about students.  We will use PD time on 31OCT to complete this inventory.  Jen is our testing coordinator for the DESSA and will lead staff through what it is and how to complete it during PD.

<<Repost>> Student Password Reset.  Any UAI staff member can reset a student's email and look up their DOE email account.  With your DOE credentials, you should have access to reset a student's DOE password (you don't need the email - just a student's OSIS - which you can find on their schedule)

1. Go to https://idmapps.nycenet.edu/passwordreset/(Open external link) and sign in with your DOE credentials. If you don’t have access, scroll down to the bottom of the page for instructions.
2. Enter the student’s OSIS ID number.
3. Enter a password for the student.
4. Provide the password to the student. 
5. When you give the password to the student, tell them to sign into the Student Password and Account Management tool(Open external link) and reset their password to something unique (if you gave them a generic password).
6. Once they reset their own password and set up their account, they are all set and can begin accessing DOE digital learning platforms.

Per Session Postings

For ALL per session activities (view all 2022-23 postings here),
please complete Per Session Application For

11OCT22 Posting

UAI After School Supervisor.  This position would be the person supervising UAI after school courses on Wednesday & Thursdays from 3-5PM.  The role would be to manage any communications with home around pick up making sure parents kids who need pick up are picked up, and managing any issues that may arise during after school (mediating any conflicts, assisting teachers with needed resources, monitoring student movement throughout the after school spaces).  This position would operate out of the deans office and would be in charge of managing all UAI after school activities on these two days.  Two positions available for the year.

Per Session Postings Now Closed

Week of 24OCT22

UAI Staff News

Volume X

Issue 9

October 24th, 2022

Today's Post comes from our very own Amanda Etheridge, HS Math Teacher and Action Researcher Extraordinaire!  I've had to edit chunks out to make sure it fits on the blog, but you should definitely read her full article HERE

Who has Power in the Classroom?  At the start of the year, my school changed part of their mission from “empower all students“ to “help all students maximize their power and potential.” ...Power is not something you give to students – it is something they have had all along.

What does this look like in a classroom and how do we even start? .. What are the students doing? How are they interacting with each other and with you? What are you doing? Who is doing the talking, the thinking, and the work?  How does what you [envision actually match ... your classroom today]? How does your classroom reflect your beliefs about power, student learning, and your role as an educator? 

Consider the ... ideas below... some you may already be doing, some may be long-term goals to work towards, and some may seem (or be) insurmountable in your current environment. Let [these ideas] inspire you to think about a manageable next step. Because, just like students, we are always learning and growing one day at a time.

Consider the Space

Is your desk the focal point of the room? Do you find yourself sitting at it often, creating a physical and psychological barrier between you and the students? There’s a growing number of teachers (myself included) who have given up their desks for this reason and in doing so, find themselves having more interactions with students as you sit and move among them more. Are students able to move freely through the space or are there “no go” zones? What does this say about the inherent trust (or lack thereof) we have in our students? Are students able to retrieve materials (extra paper, pencils, necessary manipulatives, their work) on their own or do they have to ask for it? As we increase access to things students need when they need them, we decrease their reliance on us and break down one of the most common power structures in a classroom-that this space is mine and you are merely a student in it...

Consider Student Interactions

Who do students interact with in the classroom?  Do they rely on their peers when they are stuck or immediately turn to you? The more we can encourage students to talk with and depend on one another, the more we break the notion that teachers are the only source of information in the classroom and level the power dynamic between teachers and students...

Liljedahl found that a teacher will answer between 200 and 400 questions in a typical day with almost 90% of them being questions along the lines of “is this right?” This stops student learning and reinforces the belief that only the teacher knows the process and has the right answer. As you’re circulating, take note of who is understanding the concepts and redirect students with those types of questions to them. Strategies and routines... where students are explaining a topic to another and are encouraged to ask clarifying questions, all support the goal of elevating students as holders of knowledge.

Consider Grading Practices

Is student work recognized in a way that celebrates their achievements and highlights the benefits of perseverance? Do our grading practices and our grade books reflect what we say about the importance of mistakes and how they are a learning opportunity or do they unintentionally penalize students and impact them more than a performance task? 

Two popular phrases adorn many classroom walls: “Mistakes are proof that you are learning” and “Mistakes are expected, respected, inspected, and corrected.” However, the way we traditionally grade students runs counter to this idea.  Joe Feldman writes in Grading For Equity “[s]tudents’ mistakes are penalized during the very stage of learning when students should be making mistakes. If mistakes on any work-homework assignments, a test, quizzes, in-class worksheets, discussions-are always penalized with a score that is incorporated into a grade no matter whether those mistakes occur at the beginning, middle, or end of learning, then the message is that mistakes aren’t ever acceptable, much less desired, and they certainly aren’t ever valuable. Students will be discouraged, not encouraged, to take risks and be vulnerable.”

We recognize that mistakes are part of learning, “But this mechanism only works if students trust the teacher enough to reveal mistakes.” This trust, or lack of trust, is built each time a teacher responds to a student’s mistakes, whether positively with care and understanding, or negatively with indifference or judgment....

How and how often are you giving feedback to students? .. Feedback can take many forms-written and spoken, verbal and nonverbal, informal and formal-and building this culture of ongoing feedback builds communication and trust between students and with you. Descriptive feedback helps students identify next steps for learning and continues the learning process. It enables students to make their own choices about what to focus on and puts the onus of improvement back on to them. 

These ideas are only a small piece of the many different ways we can support students in recognizing and maximizing their power. They are not a one-size-fits-all remedy and certainly not the only thing you can do to meet this goal. Some of these practices will take time to implement in a meaningful and impactful way and you will find yourself tweaking them until you find something that works for you and your students-rarely is someone proficient at something the first time they try it. Just like you tell your students that learning is a process and takes time, remember to tell that to yourself.  Letting go of the power we traditionally hold can be incredibly difficult-as we attempt to do so, it can seem like we are losing control over our classroom. Remember that what you are really doing is helping students recognize and use their own power.

Many THANKS to Amanda for sharing her research and insights with all of us!!

Amanda will also be hosting a Thursday PD session on these ideas and helping students learn to value learning over grades.  (It will either be this Thursday or next - still need to confirm with her!)

Important dates. 

• Monday, 31OCT22.  Halloween - Costume Parade

Announcements & To Dos

First Round of Evaluative Observations Begin.  Annie and I will begin our first round of informal observations this week.  Please review Danielson and the UAI Look For Document.  Our goal is to complete the round of informal observations by November 8th.  As a reminder, the observation requirements are:

• Tenured Teachers - minimum of 1 fall informal and 1 spring term informal observations (unscheduled min 15min observation)
• Untenured teachers - minimum of 4 observations (2 in fall and 2 in spring) - 3 informal observations and 1 formal observation (scheduled, full period observation)

All teachers are welcome to ask for more observations - these are just the minimum.

Thanksgiving Charity.  As the festive season is quickly approaching, Aisha, Jen, and Jelissa are again seeking your assistance in putting smiles on the faces of some of our students as we did last year with our food hampers and turkey giveaways.

If you were not part of Team UAI last year, through the contributions of staff and through ground work from Miss Jay and her significant other,  we literally turned our main office into a farmers market. Many of our students were able to walk away with bags of fruits and vegetables and turkeys for Thanksgiving. 

We know that this year things have changed significantly and prices have increased exponentially, nonetheless, we still want to try to gift our students with turkeys again this season.

So again, we seek your assistance in donating whatever you are able to in an effort to assist us in being a blessing to some families this year.

We will accept cash, or you can cash app your donation to $AHuggins4. Of course, we will keep a record of all monies sent and the final figure will be presented to all who donated. A HUGE THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE.

Yours in unity:

Miss Aisha

Miss Jen

Miss Jelissa

UAI Instructional Rounds Begin.  This week and next the English and Social Studies teams will embark upon our first rounds of instructional rounds (IR).  IR is a pedagogical practice that school and districts use to elevate the quality of teaching and learning.  Focusing on a problem of practice & theory of action to address that problem, teams of educators make rounds of visits to a variety of classrooms.  Using low-inference observations, the team collaboratively develops an informed understanding of the current state of affairs in the classroom vis a vis the problem of practice, and the team works collaboratively to problem solve and propose next steps to leverage up the quality of teaching & learning.

For this first round, the humanities teams are going into classrooms to investigate how we can better structure lessons, tasks, questioning and assessments to increasingly promote student thinking vs. students doing.  In many classrooms, lesson activities are asking students to complete tasks, and many students are actively completing those tasks. However, the level of intellectual rigor is inconsistent across classrooms.  This was also something that Fred saw in his visit last week.  Working together, we plan to make observations and uncover barriers in planning or teaching that unintentionally inhibit student thinking.  With this new understanding, we will also collaboratively developing strategies to maximize student thinking.

Good Luck IR teams!  We're all looking forward to what you learn and we look forward to you sharing your work so that we may all benefit and collectively leverage up the quality of classroom instruction across UAI!

E-Waste Pick Up.  Before the end of the month, we are removing e-waste from the building.  Do you have e-waste (100% useless tech) in your classroom / office? Do you have something that might be e-waste but you're not sure?  Please set it aside, label it, and then contact Jason (jasonpr@uainstitute.org) in a separate email.  He will retrieve your e-waste and move it to a central location for DIIT.   Please contact me in a separate email and I'll inspect the tech.  If everyone quickly scans their classrooms and offices, we can complete this task before the end of the day on October 25th. Let's work together to reclaim space in the building!

Interim Assessments Continue.  This week we will be starting our MAP Math assessments for students in grades 6-11.   Students who have not yet completed the DRP can continue their work this week, but both MAP Math and DRP must be completed by Friday.

• Week of Oct 24.  The MAP Math test will be launching for grades 6-11.  As with the DRP, students will take this exam during Learning Lab.  Amanda is our testing coordinator for the MAP Math exam and will be reviewing how we will administer the test in Monday 24OCT22's PD.
• Monday Oct 31.  The DESSA is a social-emotional skills inventory that teachers complete about students.  We will use PD time on 31OCT to complete this inventory.  Jen is our testing coordinator for the DESSA and will lead staff through what it is and how to complete it during PD.

<<Repost>> Student Password Reset.  Any UAI staff member can reset a student's email and look up their DOE email account.  With your DOE credentials, you should have access to reset a student's DOE password (you don't need the email - just a student's OSIS - which you can find on their schedule)

1. Go to https://idmapps.nycenet.edu/passwordreset/(Open external link) and sign in with your DOE credentials. If you don’t have access, scroll down to the bottom of the page for instructions.
2. Enter the student’s OSIS ID number.
3. Enter a password for the student.
4. Provide the password to the student. 
5. When you give the password to the student, tell them to sign into the Student Password and Account Management tool(Open external link) and reset their password to something unique (if you gave them a generic password).
6. Once they reset their own password and set up their account, they are all set and can begin accessing DOE digital learning platforms.

Per Session Postings

For ALL per session activities (view all 2022-23 postings here),
please complete Per Session Application For

11OCT22 Posting

UAI After School Supervisor.  This position would be the person supervising UAI after school courses on Wednesday & Thursdays from 3-5PM.  The role would be to manage any communications with home around pick up making sure parents kids who need pick up are picked up, and managing any issues that may arise during after school (mediating any conflicts, assisting teachers with needed resources, monitoring student movement throughout the after school spaces).  This position would operate out of the deans office and would be in charge of managing all UAI after school activities on these two days.  Two positions available for the year.

Per Session Postings Now Closed

Week of 17OCT22

UAI Staff News

Volume X

Issue 8

October 17th, 2022

Choosing Happiness.  Life is short.  Childhood is even shorter.  It is super important to continually challenge and push our students to achieve and grow.  It is equally important to raise up happiness and joy, and to remind our students (and ourselves) that happiness, like everything we do in life, is a choice, and we need to make it a priority to make that choice daily.

Sometimes it is far too easy to focus solely on the things that seem unfair or things that are not right or stuff that just hasn't gone well.  As a species, natural selection has left us with an extremely developed capacity to identify, analyze, and think deeply about problems.  It may have started with something basic as - how do I find food or how do I not become food - but in our modern human form, this same skill has us sometimes over-focusing on the negative.

BUT - as humans, we also have the ability to shift our focus and reconsider our perspectives.  We simply have to make that choice, and push ourselves and our students to choose happiness - choose joy.

Over the last few weeks, I have been pushing on getting grades into Google Classrooms and on getting folks to contact home of those kiddos who are not yet passing.  This has probably led to undo focus on the things that don't seem to be working (in our own instruction and/or in our students choices & work).

In the upcoming weeks, choose also to find ways to change or correct the current path and/or to celebrate the success of those who are doing well.

When school staff actively work to choose joy and to help their students find ways to do the same, we help our students discover their own capacity and power to shift their narratives from characters in plays that happen TO them to authors of their own pathways and decisions.

So, this week, work on finding your joy and leading others to finding their own, too. When you do, you will be creating so many different pathways to power!

Important dates. 

• Week of 17OCT22.  UAI Spirit Week
• Monday, 17OCT22.  Pajama Day
• Tuesday, 18OCT22. Color War Between Grades
• Wednesday, 19OCT22.  90s Day
• Thursday, 20OCT22. Rep Your Flag Day
• Friday, 21OCT22.  Twin Day

• Monday, 24OCT22. Diwali Celebration After School

• Monday, 31OCT22.  Halloween - Costume Parade

Announcements & To Dos

Principal Performance Observation (PPO) Visit.  Superintendent Fred Walsh and Deputy Superintendent Alison Breedy will be visiting UAI and UAI classrooms on Tuesday afternoon.  During this visit, Fred & Alison will be coming to see the quality of instruction and to evaluate the structures and systems we have in place to elevate & grown our instructional practice & ultimately students achievement.   None of us are perfect, and all of us are continually striving to get there.  We have focused this year on our structures to get them started.  I am thoroughly excited to share our narrative and our work this year so far.  

• 12:30 - Arrival and Opening Meeting with Annie & Kiri
• 12:50 - 1^st Classroom Visit - African History (grade 8/9) with Ms. Shan 
• 1:05 - 2^nd Classroom Visit - ICT MS Social Studies (6^th gr) with Ms. Fatima 
• 1:20- 3^rd Classroom Visit - AP English Lit with Mr. Joey 
• 1:35 - 4^th Classroom Visit - ICT Algebra 2 with Ms. Joanna & Ms. Christina 
• 1:50 - 5^th Classroom Visit - Earth Science with Mr. Thomas
• 2:00 - Final Meeting and Debrief with ILT (Instructional Leadership Team), Annie & Kiri

Many thanks to those who are opening up their classrooms to the visit.  I wish I we had time to see you all!  However, the timing of the visit and tight schedule limit our options.  Thank you to those lucky teachers who are in the zone of visitation!  Your ILT lead will be on hand to provide direct support for the visit.

Interim Assessments Begin.  This week we will be starting our interim assessments for students in grades 6-11.   We use the DRP (Degrees of Reading Power) to track student reading capacity, the MAP Math exam to see how our students math skills are developing, and the DESSA let's us know how students are developing social-emotionally.  Each of these assessments are given three times a year (Fall, Winter, and Spring).   This week begins the Fall testing period.

• Week of Oct 17.  The DRP will be launching this week for grades 6-11 in learning labs starting on Tuesday.  Marsha is our testing coordinator for the DRP and will be reviewing how we will do this during Monday PD.
• Week of Oct 24.  The MAP Math test will be launching for grades 6-11.  As with the DRP, students will take this exam during Learning Lab.  Amanda is our testing coordinator for the MAP Math exam and will be reviewing how we will administer the test in Monday 24OCT22's PD.
• Monday Oct 31.  The DESSA is a social-emotional skills inventory that teachers complete about students.  We will use PD time on 31OCT to complete this inventory.  Jen is our testing coordinator for the DESSA and will lead staff through what it is and how to complete it during PD.

UAI After School.  UAI After School starts this week.  Please share this updated flyer with your advisory this week and encourage them to sign up!  If you are still interested in running a club, it's not too late.  Just email Kiri!   All after school club teachers must submit student sign-in sheets with their per session sheets.  There needs to be at least 8-10 consistent students for a club to persist.  If a club fall below 8 students, it will, unfortunately, have to be cancelled.

We're still looking for someone to lead the following clubs - please email Kiri if you're interested

• Black Student Union
• Muslim Student Alliance
• Student Council
• Stoked

<<Repost>> Student Password Reset.  Any UAI staff member can reset a student's email and look up their DOE email account.  With your DOE credentials, you should have access to reset a student's DOE password (you don't need the email - just a student's OSIS - which you can find on their schedule)

1. Go to https://idmapps.nycenet.edu/passwordreset/(Open external link) and sign in with your DOE credentials. If you don’t have access, scroll down to the bottom of the page for instructions.
2. Enter the student’s OSIS ID number.
3. Enter a password for the student.
4. Provide the password to the student. 
5. When you give the password to the student, tell them to sign into the Student Password and Account Management tool(Open external link) and reset their password to something unique (if you gave them a generic password).
6. Once they reset their own password and set up their account, they are all set and can begin accessing DOE digital learning platforms.

Per Session Postings

For ALL per session activities (view all 2022-23 postings here),
please complete Per Session Application For

11OCT22 Posting

UAI After School Supervisor.  This position would be the person supervising UAI after school courses on Wednesday & Thursdays from 3-5PM.  The role would be to manage any communications with home around pick up making sure parents kids who need pick up are picked up, and managing any issues that may arise during after school (mediating any conflicts, assisting teachers with needed resources, monitoring student movement throughout the after school spaces).  This position would operate out of the deans office and would be in charge of managing all UAI after school activities on these two days.  Two positions available for the year.

Per Session Postings Now Closed

Week of 11OCT22

UAI Staff News

Volume X

Issue 7

October 11th, 2022

Beginning Week Six.  We are officially beginning week 6 of school.  We have about three and half weeks remaining in marking period 1, and then *poof* we will be a quarter of the way through the year.  It is amazing how quickly time slips forward.  

So, as you enter into this 6th week of school, pause the flow here and there and make a moment to take stock of what we have all accomplished this year already.  Center our UAI Core values Power, Rigor, Joy, and Equity in your reflection, and leverage them to guide your next steps.

At the UAI School Level, we are at week 6 in our journey towards our school goals

• Power:  Graduation Rate & Post-Secondary Planning
• By June 2023, at least 96% of our students will graduate within 4 years, and 100% will have tangible, actionable college & career plans that chart clear paths to social & economic mobility.
• Rigor & Joy:  Attendance
• By June 2023, UAI will have a schoolwide average daily attendance rate or 90%, with 70% of all students having individual attendance rates of 90% or better.
• Equity: Trust
• By June 2023, UAI will improve 5% in positive responses in each of the following three categories:
• Teacher-Principal Trust: Teacher-principal relationships are grounded in social respect and are marked by a genuine sense that all actors are working toward outcomes that are best for students (from 92% to 97%)
• Student-Teacher Trust: Teachers build trust by treating students with respect, matching their words and actions and maintaining an open dialogue with students (from 90% to 95%).
• Parent-Principal Trust: Parents feel respected and supported by school and school leadership and are treated as partners in educating their children. (from 93% to 98%)

And then thinking... taking stock of what have we done on this journey...

• Power:  Graduation Rate & Post-Secondary Planning
• Instructional Leadership Team is meeting regularly with School Leadership and with their teacher teams to continually focus on improving the quality of instruction and the impact of student achievement.  
• College & Career Exposure in College Classes and Advisory have begun.
• Rigor & Joy:  Attendance
• Advisors have begun to make connections and using circles to build community and belonging among students.
• High Interested clubs, classes, and activities are in (or getting into) place to pique student interest in coming to school.  Broadway Arts Electives, Girls Inc After School and PSAL after school activities have started.  UAI After School is about to start (19OCT).  Additionally, Advisory community celebrations (e.g. Hispanic Heritage month and door decorating contests) are up and running.
• ILT and teacher teams continue to work collaboratively to build engaging lessons and strong, safe, classroom learning environments.
• Equity: Trust
• Weekly blog messaging and alignment of PD, committee, and teacher planning team work emphasizes school goals and achieving the highest possible outcomes for our students and families.
• Restorative Justice Practices (e.g. Circles in Advisory, Restorative Practices in Disciplines) have launched and are beginning to establish expectations of respectful interaction among staff and students.
• Curriculum Night was a success, and weekly family outreach is now happening.  Teachers are expected to reach out to families with students who are not yet successful in classes.

 We do a LOT of things....but now that we're six weeks in...we have to pause to see how that's going.  Given that this is the first time I'm reminding you to take stock - you may not know exactly how it's going.  That's OK!  That's why I'm writing this post.  I'm asking you (and myself) to see or figure out a way to check in on your goals and your students' progress right now.  So, how are things going at UAI

• Power:  Graduation Rate & Post-Secondary Planning - TBD
• The ILT is meeting tomorrow to check in on progress towards goals and to reflect on where we are on PD timeline.  We will share a report out next week.
• Danielle & J have a college milestone tracker they use to mark the progress of seniors towards post-secondary planning.  Kiri & Jen need to check in with them on that progress thus far.
• Rigor & Joy:  Attendance - We are far from this goal and we have some work to do...
• Current Attendance Rates
• Grade 6
• 92% - Current Year to Date (YTD) Average Daily Attendance (ADA)
• 21/36 (58%)- > 90% YTD ADA...
• 4 more students need to get to 90% to meet goal
• Grade 7
• 89% - Current YTD ADA
• 21/38 (55%)- >90% YTD ADA
• 6 more students need to get to >90% to meet goal
• Grade 8
• 89% - Current YTD ADA
• 31/58 (53%)- >90% YTD ADA
• 10 more students need to get to >90% to meet goal
• Grade 9
• 85% - Current YTD ADA
• 43/80 (54%)- >90% YTD ADA
• 13 more students need to get to >90% to meet goal
• Grade 10
• 78% - Current YTD ADA
• 28/66 (42%)- >90% YTD ADA
• 18 more students need to get to >90% to meet goal
• Grade 11
• 87% - Current YTD ADA
• 45/93 (48%)- >90% YTD ADA
• 20 more students need to get to >90% to meet goal
• Grade 12
• 78% - Current YTD ADA
• 28/73 (55%)- >90% YTD ADA
• 13 more students need to get to >90% to meet goal

• Equity: Trust - TBD
• At the end of this month in Advisory, we will be issuing a survey to check in with folks on our progress towards moving the needle on Trust. 

This week is the 6th week of school with 3 weeks left of the first MP.  Of course we have work to do for our year long goals.  There would be something wrong with our goals if we had already accomplished them all!  But now, it's time to get to work checking in with our individual goals and work, and continually pushing towards our shared mission of realizing power, equity, joy, and rigor in our work with our students and families each day!

Important dates. 

• Tuesday, 11OCT22.  Adams Street Campus Eagles Home Volleyball Game

• Week of 17OCT22.  UAI Spirit Week
• Monday, 17OCT22.  Pajama Day
• Tuesday, 18OCT22. Color War Between Grades
• Wednesday, 19OCT22.  90s Day
• Thursday, 20OCT22. Rep Your Flag Day
• Friday, 21OCT22.  Twin Day

• Monday, 24OCT22. Diwali Celebration After School

• Monday, 31OCT22.  Halloween - Costume Parade

Announcements & To Dos

UAI After School.  UAI Afterschool offerings are slated to start next week.  Please share this flyer with your advisory this week and encourage them to sign up!  If you are still interested in running a club, it's not too late.  Just email Kiri!  I'm still missing blurbs and times/days of club meetings from

• MS After School Club - Sarah R & Phillan
• Digital Design (CAD) - Judy
• MS Gaming Club - Fatima

We're still looking for someone to lead the following clubs - please email Kiri if you're interested

• Black Student Union
• Muslim Student Alliance
• Student Council
• Stoked

Academic Outreach & Google Classrooms. Continue entering at least one grade per week for all students in your classes.  Remember - For any student who is currenlty failing your class, please contact home to inform families as to what is happening and why - even if that why is an attendance related issue.  

Please use this Anecdotal Form to record your interactions.  From now until the end of the marking period (10NOV), you should make sure that you are contacting these families weekly to provide them an update on the student's progress in order to give them an opportunity to support from home.  Please make sure to update the anecdotal form weekly.  The goal is to intervene now and fix the issues prevent failure before the marking period ends.   

Attendance App and Bubble Sheets.  So... I think we're going to have to hold onto the Bubble Sheets for a bit.  Last week, folks had problems accessing TeacherHub and couldn't take attendance at ALL.  Grr..

Attendance Check Ins Outreach.  You should be checking the Anecdotal Form to see if any of your advisees are in danger of failing a course during MP1.  Additionally, you should look at the New Visions Data Portal at least once a week to review your students' attendance rates.  Your goal is to make sure everyone in your advisory has >90% YTD ADA.   We're working on creating Advisory based groups (so that will come by next week).  But for now, you can look at students by grade to look for your students. When you log into the portal, click "Attendance" on the left, and then select "Grade" from the middle drop down menu to find your kids.  You should be talking with your advisees either during advisory or during learning lab (whenever you can) to share their academic and attendance progress with them.  Remind them this is where they are today, and they have 3 weeks to fix or do even better by the end of MP1!

<<Repost>> Student Password Reset.  Any UAI staff member can reset a student's email and look up their DOE email account.  With your DOE credentials, you should have access to reset a student's DOE password (you don't need the email - just a student's OSIS - which you can find on their schedule)

1. Go to https://idmapps.nycenet.edu/passwordreset/(Open external link) and sign in with your DOE credentials. If you don’t have access, scroll down to the bottom of the page for instructions.
2. Enter the student’s OSIS ID number.
3. Enter a password for the student.
4. Provide the password to the student. 
5. When you give the password to the student, tell them to sign into the Student Password and Account Management tool(Open external link) and reset their password to something unique (if you gave them a generic password).
6. Once they reset their own password and set up their account, they are all set and can begin accessing DOE digital learning platforms.

UAI Teacher After School to Start 17OCT.  Girls Inc has already started, and now that the After School Posting has been up for two weeks, I can formally announce the after school 

• Theater Club - Noelle
• Community Service/Philanthropy Club - Lia
• MS After School Club - Sarah R & Phillan
• Digital Design (CAD) - Judy
• MS Gaming Club - Fatima
• GSA - Freida
• Art Club - Freida
• Guitar Club - Alison

We're still looking for someone to lead the following clubs - please email Kiri if you're interested

• Black Student Union
• Muslim Student Alliance
• Student Council
• Cheerleading
• Stoked

All selected teachers should email me a brief blurb on their club and the dates/times you plan to meet (and room) by EOD Tuesday 04OCT.  I'll put out a flier for advisors to review with kids to help get sign ups.  Club Teachers should also actively recruit students for their clubs.  A minimum of 10 students are required for the club to exist.

Per Session Postings

For ALL per session activities (view all 2022-23 postings here),
please complete Per Session Application For

11OCT22 Posting

UAI After School Supervisor.  This position would be the person supervising UAI after school courses on Wednesday & Thursdays from 3-5PM.  The role would be to manage any communications with home around pick up making sure parents kids who need pick up are picked up, and managing any issues that may arise during after school (mediating any conflicts, assisting teachers with needed resources, monitoring student movement throughout the after school spaces).  This position would operate out of the deans office and would be in charge of managing all UAI after school activities on these two days.  Two positions available for the year.

Per Session Postings Now Closed

Week of October 3rd

UAI Staff News

Volume X

Issue 6

October 3rd, 2022

A Cold Dark Night on the Side of Everest.  Last week, the Chancellor released updates to the middle and high school admissions processes, returning a screening process that have historically contributed to the intense racial segregation of NYC Schools.  On top of that, Principals received their most recent budget sheets which show how their schools actual enrollment will impact their funding.  Almost every school across the city is facing a register loss, including us, which translates to hundreds of thousands of dollars being taken back by the DOE from schools.  For UAI, we are looking at ~200-250K give back.  Ours is a combination of student transfers and student attendance.  We are currently at an average daily attendance rate of about 85%, far away from our goal of 90%, and still many of our students have much lower rates of attendance, and attendance to school on time.

It's quite the cold, dark night on the side of Everest.

I'm actually not being the Debbie Downer or Painful Realist.  I'm fully embracing our current state of affairs, and not succumbing to the stress that it pours on, but rather the opportunity it provides.

Many of you who know me have heard of my obsession with Hidden Brain, a podcast on NPR.  This week on my commute to work, I listed to an 2-part episode Reframing Your Reality.   I highly recommend listening if you have the time!  

The lesson I picked up from it was essentially this...

Every year, every day, every minute in fact - there is and will always be something that his challenging and hard (and even unfair) about our jobs.  I could throw my hands up and kvetch at all of it - changing nothing - OR I can shift my own mindset & perspective - two things I can actually control.

If I start to think about these hurdles as part of the process that I chose (I chose this job, I chose this school, I chose to work with my peers, staff, students, and families), and I chose it for the challenge and the reward.  Do I wish it was easier?  Of course I do!  BUT, I also know that I would never appreciate or value the easy as much as I do the hard work and positive outcomes that come from it.

Similarly, folks who choose to climb Mt. Everest do so for a specific outcome and achievement.  Spending the night on the side of the mountain is part of the process, and spending the night on the side of Everest is going to be cold and hard. But, eventually, the climbers get to the top. And therein lies the worth.

For us, our summit will be many different tops.  

It may be something like having a breakthrough with a student who has pushed your buttons all of September, and that breakthrough leads to a deep an trusting relationship that you only could come about because she pushed & pushed, and you stayed, didn't give up, and earned her trust.

It may be trying to find better ways to spark excitement and engagement in your class.  You continue to work and push on the ideas with your colleagues, challenging each other (sometimes heavily disagreeing), but never giving up on refining and pushing the envelop until you all have see that lesson come alive with your kids in that lesson, with that sequence of activities and questions that blew their young minds!

It may be telling that one student 1000 times to put away her phone and take out her earpods, if only to see her do it on her own, without prompting on the 1001st time.

We are in the flow now.  It is October.  The stresses are real, and they are part of the process.  Push your own mindsets and perspectives to remember that these processes will lead to outcomes that we value, need, and appreciate.  In the moment of stress, reframe your reality.  In the moment of outcome, savor the success and remind yourself of why it is always worth it.

Important dates. 

• Monday 03OCT -15OCT.  UAI Door Decorating Contest

• Monday, 03OCT22.  Per Session Due 15SEP-30SEP Pay Period

• Tuesday, 04OCT22.  UAI Field Trip Day
• Grades 8-12 History Classes - Trips to the Met & to the movie Woman King
• Grades 6-7 All Classes - Trip to see Woman King

• Wednesday, 05OCT22.  Yom Kippur, NO SCHOOL

• Monday, 10OCT22. Indigenous People's Day.  NO SCHOOL

• Tuesday, 11OCT22.  Adams Street Campus Eagles Home Volleyball Game

• Week of 17OCT22.  UAI Spirit Week
• Monday, 17OCT22.  Pajama Day
• Tuesday, 18OCT22. Color War Between Grades
• Wednesday, 19OCT22.  90s Day
• Thursday, 20OCT22. Rep Your Flag Day
• Friday, 21OCT22.  Twin Day

• Monday, 24OCT22. Diwali Celebration After School

• Monday, 31OCT22.  Halloween - Costume Parade

Announcements & To Dos

Monday PD.  For Monday's PD, we'll be returning to our staff circles, and afterwards, I'm going to walk you through a few online tools to help fill in the gaps that losing PupilPath and Skedula.  In addition, I want to show folks how to reset student DOE passwords, and introduce a portal where you can view student attendance, and historical academic data.  So, at 3PM, please meet up with your team for staff circles, and then bring your computers to the farm at 3:30!

Academic Outreach & Google Classrooms. As stated in Friday's announcements, please make sure that you are entering at least one grade per week for all students in your classes.  As an FYI, I was visiting some learning labs last week and asked kids to show me their google classrooms and their grades.  For the most part, I saw that most teachers & classes are meeting this expectation around posting grades (YAY you!).  However, there are a few folks who have yet to enterany graded work.  Also, there are a few who have entered work, but it is not averaging into an overall grade for students.  Double check your settings and reach out to your ILT person for support to make sure your Google Classroom Gradebooks are set up appropriately.  To double check, ask one of your students to show you their view of your grades.  

For any student who is failing your class as of Monday, 03OCT22, you MUST contact home to inform families as to what is happening and why - even if that why is an attendance related issue.  Please use this Anecdotal Form to record your interactions.  From now until the end of the marking period (10NOV), you should make sure that you are contacting these families weekly to provide them an update on the student's progress in order to give them an opportunity to support from home.  Please make sure to update the anecdotal form weekly.

Attendance App and Tracking.  This week *should be* the week that we iron out the kinks.  Provided that this week goes without a hitch, we will be moving to the Attendance App completely (and releasing the bubble sheets) by next Monday.  Please email me if you are still having issues with your codes this week. 

Some folks have asked for a way to track attendance for their courses.  That is coming (says the DOE), but not until November at the earliest (and then if this history holds, it probably won't be reliable until December).  In the mean time, I've created an old school attendance template for you HERE. Feel free to make your own copy to track your course attendance.  If you scroll to the far right of the document, I've set it up to calculate attendance totals and overall rate for you.

Student Password Reset.  Any UAI staff member can reset a student's email and look up their DOE email account.  With your DOE credentials, you should have access to reset a student's DOE password (you don't need the email - just a student's OSIS - which you can find on their schedule)

1. Go to https://idmapps.nycenet.edu/passwordreset/(Open external link) and sign in with your DOE credentials. If you don’t have access, scroll down to the bottom of the page for instructions.
2. Enter the student’s OSIS ID number.
3. Enter a password for the student.
4. Provide the password to the student. 
5. When you give the password to the student, tell them to sign into the Student Password and Account Management tool(Open external link) and reset their password to something unique (if you gave them a generic password).
6. Once they reset their own password and set up their account, they are all set and can begin accessing DOE digital learning platforms.

UAI Teacher After School to Start 17OCT.  Girls Inc has already started, and now that the After School Posting has been up for two weeks, I can formally announce the after school 

• Theater Club - Noelle
• Community Service/Philanthropy Club - Lia
• MS After School Club - Sarah R & Phillan
• Digital Design (CAD) - Judy
• MS Gaming Club - Fatima
• GSA - Freida
• Art Club - Freida
• Guitar Club - Alison

We're still looking for someone to lead the following clubs - please email Kiri if you're interested

• Black Student Union
• Muslim Student Alliance
• Student Council
• Cheerleading
• Stoked

All selected teachers should email me a brief blurb on their club and the dates/times you plan to meet (and room) by EOD Tuesday 04OCT.  I'll put out a flier for advisors to review with kids to help get sign ups.  Club Teachers should also actively recruit students for their clubs.  A minimum of 10 students are required for the club to exist.

UAI Teams & Committees.  Here are the teams and committees (I may be missing some folks - please let me know if I am!)

• Admin Leader - Annie
• Equity Team.   Rebecca (Teacher Lead), Mike, Amanda, Jelissa, Shan
• Attendance Team.  Freida (Teacher Lead), Elena, Pauline
• Instructional Leadership Team. Kelly (Teacher Lead), Marsha, Phillan, Judy, Liza

• Admin Leader - Jen
• Parent & Family Engagement.  Martine, Elena
• Advisory Planning Team.  Rebecca, Danielle I, Phillan
• Culture committee. TBD
• Website Maintenance & Social Media.  TBD
• New Student Recruitment.  TBD

Per Session Postings

For ALL per session activities (view all 2022-23 postings here),
please complete Per Session Application Form

   

No New Postings this week

Per Session Postings Now Closed