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