Week of March 6th

UAI Staff News

Volume X

Issue 22

March 6, 2023

Women's History Month.  Monday marks the first full week of Women's History Month.  UAI was founded in 2006 to explicitly work against social norms that left women, particularly women of color, excluded or extremely underrepresented in STEM careers.  17 years later, we are still on that road and we are still committed to that mission.  Today, the need is just as strong as it was almost two decades ago.  Today, there are still structures and social pressures that discourage young women from believing in themselves and their power to pursue & persist through STEM studies still exist today.

We may not have the influence to bring massive change to our country, but we do have the power and the responsibility to make change within our community and within our own zone of influence - UAI.   Mostly, it's the small moves we make that have the greatest impact.

• WE are ALL Math and Science People.  Imagine if I went around and said, "Hey you know.. I'm really not a literate person."  Being illiterate is an embarrassment in our culture.  Yet, saying "I'm not a math person" is just the opposite.  
  
  When students see and hear the adults they love and respect say things like "I'm not a math person" or "I can't do science", they receive a message that sanctions innumeracy.  
  
  We are all math and science people. Our brains are hardwired for language and logic.  We are naturally inquisitive beings with a well-evolved capacity to problem solve.  Anyone who has spent substantial time with babies can readily recognize this.  Throughout the first few years, babies do not have the mastery of language, but they are continually driven by curiosity to learn about their environment.  Before we even know language - we see patterns and figure out to use those patterns to solve problems.  
  
  So, the next time you feel intimidated by math or science - remember that is a product of how you were schooled - not how you were born.  The next time that thought arises, think about the time you appreciated the beat of a song, the beauty of a flower, or wondered about the vastness of space.  That was your innate scientist and mathematician peeking out.  You have been and always will be a math person and a science person.
  
  The small thing....NEVER again say to anyone that you are not a math/science person.  Not only is it not true, it's incredibly damaging to the self-concept of our young black and brown girls.  The world is set up to make them believe they do not belong and cannot thrive in the lucrative world of STEM.  We cannot be the ones that build the framework upon which those lies rely.  
  
  Celebrate Women's History Month by doing this one small thing, and we will begin to lay the groundwork for the BIG changes our mission drives to make.

Important dates. 

• Tuesday, 14MAR23.  Progress Report #2 Grade Entry
• Wednesday, 22MAR23.  
• P/SAT in school day for all 10th & 11th Graders
• Mock Regents for 8/9
• Regular Classes for 6/7
• 12th Grade TBD (trip or special schedule - TBD)
• Ramadan begins in the evening 
• Thursday, 23MAR23.  Evening Parent Conferences 5-8PM (Remote)
• Friday, 24MAR23.  Afternoon Parent Conferences 11:50AM-2:50PM (Remote)
• Friday, 31MAR23.  End of MP3
• Wednesday, 05APR23.  Rapid Dismissal
• Thursday 06APR23 - 16APR23 - Spring Recess
• Friday, 21APR23 - Eid al-Fitr - No School

Announcements & To Dos

CLASS Rubrics and Danielson.  The CLassroom Assessment and Scoring System (CLASS) is a system of rubrics that help teachers measure the impact of both the social and academic interactions that best foster student growth and development and develop teacher efficacy.  Danielson is a great tool, but it is too vague about the very important social interactions and teacher-student moves that are key to building the relationships and trust required for students to thrive and academically excel.  

When I first looked at the Positive Climate Rubric, one of my first thoughts was..."For reals?? We're looking for smiles?"....and then...we did several mock assessments with various training videos and I realized - wow - when you start paying attention to something, you really notice what happens and how things are feeling when kids aren't smiling.  What's that quote - things that are measured...things that are valued??

Essentially, what makes the CLASS Rubrics useful in developing teacher practice is their specificity around the behaviors (in teachers & kids) that lead to high quality instruction.  For example, Danielson 3C talks a lot about student intellectual engagement - but what does that look like?  The indicators from the CLASS Analysis and Inquiry can help you identify the behavioral markers that indicate evidence high quality intellectual engagement.

Analysis & Inquiry

DO OVER Progress Reports & PID Letters.   The Progress Reports will be ready for you in the main office by 8:15AM tomorrow again.  The PID letters were accurate.  Only the Progress Reports had the snafu.   Students are considered to be promotion in doubt if

• They have <90% average daily attendance for the year.  They need to get closer to a 90% attendance rate for the remainder of the year.
• They failed 2 or more core classes OR
• They are a senior or 8th grader and failed any class.

Summer School Staffing.   Hard to believe but we are gearing up for summer school.  Summer Programming at UAI is an opportunity for student to extend their learning through enriching activities as well as catching up on some learning they may have missed during the year.  We're looking to staff the programs listed below this summer.   You are welcome to apply to as many as you wish:

• MS Summer FUN [05JUL-27JUL]- Elective MS programming.  Teachers are invited to create their own highly engaging fun courses for students this summer.  It could be anything as long as both you and the kids are having fun and learning about new things!
  
  
• HS Summer FUN [05JUL-27JUL]- Elective HS Programming.  Again, teacher's choice!
  
  
• MS Summer Portfolio Work [31JUL-10AU]- Mandatory Math & ELA summer prep for promotional portfolios for all students scoring <3 in NYS Math or ELA classes.  MS Summer FUN programming will also be mandated for those students.  At the end of these two weeks students will complete their final updates the MS Math and/or ELA portfolios.
  
  
• HS Regents Prep [31JUL-15AUG]- Mandatory Test Prep for students retaking regent exams in August. All students planning to test or retest in August MUST attend Summer Regents Prep
  
  
• Girls Inc Paraprofessional Support [05JUL-27JUL]- We're looking to support our Girls Inc Summer programs with paraprofessional support for those students who need extra support in summer.

If you are interested in working summer school, please complete THIS FORM.

Lighthouse Collaborative Visits.   The Lighthouse Collaborative is a DOE central program designed to have schools share and spread innovative ideas and methods.  In the next few months, there will be many, many visits!  We are a Lighthouse Collaborative School and will be hosting our citywide visit on the best day ever (May the 4th - May the 4th be with you!!!!!).    There's a lot of really interesting schools out there.  School visits are some of the best PD experiences there are.  If you are interested in attending a Lighthouse visit, please check out the ones below.  The ones that are "already booked" means that we're already sending someone to those workshops.  The ones that are recommended are ones open and I recommend folks to attend.  You are also welcome to keep looking.  More dates are being posted for April and May, so please keep looking.  Because I need to coordinate coverages, please do NOT register for the workshop before getting confirmation from me.  Priority will go to folks who haven't been able to have an out-of-the building PD this year yet and to folks who have the fewest amount of days out of their classes.   

• 
  
• Already Booked
• 02MAR23 Competency Based Education - Hunter's Point (Annie & Amanda)
• 07MAR23 Community Building - UA Gateway (Jen, JJR, Tracey, Freida)
• 22MAR23 Math - Naples Street Elementary (Liza & Judy)
• 14MAR23 Literacy - MS839 (Mary & Fatima)

• Recommended Visits
• 16MAR23 Student Voice - Harvey Collegiate (JRob)
• 29MAR23 Competency Based Education - Brooklyn Collaborative
• 30MAR23 Student Leadership - Brooklyn Prep HS
  
  
• More visits - also keep checking for April and May dates and reach out to me if you see something you want to go to!

Per Session Postings

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

Grade Program Research Committee.  Well it's time to start looking for a permanent Skedula replacement for next year.  I'm looking for a committee of 3-5 folks to work collaboratively together to research grading programs (which do more than just grading btw) and do a cost-benefit analysis to figure out which one would be the best fit for UAI.  The objective of this committee is to get enough information to understand what the platform provides and how it might interface with our school culture, digest it into a presentable format (e.g. a PD) where staff can explore, and then we will make a community decision about what we want to do for next year.  If you are interested, please email me ASAP.  This committee will be 3-5 people for about 10-15 hours per person (including research and PD prep)

• Richer Picture
  
• Jupiter
• GAMA
• Something Else?

Per Session Postings Now Closed