Week of 12FEB

Outreach & Intervention

UAI Staff News

Volume XI

Issue 23

February 12th, 2024

Supporting Achievement.   This week marks the third week of the 3rd marking period.  This spring will fly faster than you expect.  Spring terms alway speed by, but because of how few days off we had in the fall, this spring is packed with many interruptions to the flow of learning (aka breaks and holidays).

It's easy to fall into the pattern of ...I'll get to that later or after X, but the reality of this term is that there really isn't that much time.  After this week, we're on break, and then we're already into the last week of February.  March ends with a 4 day weekend, and then April really only has about 10 instructional days between testing and holidays.  Then we're in May and basically at the end of another school year.  So, yeah, if you blink to slowly, this term will be over before you know it!

So, it's doubly important to keep our eyes on the kids who need us most.  We can't let a single absence or missed assignment go unnoticed.  They, too, are on this super fast treadmill and will fall far behind if we don't make sure the safety nets and supports are in place.

The first (and easiest) safety net is just noticing.  Pay attention to each of your students and notice when they are absent or late or withdrawn.  Make it a point to leverage your care for each student to connect with them and find out what happened and help them catch up.

The second (and which is now a contractual responsibility) is communicating with home.  Make sure you are connecting with families of students who miss a day in your lass (or are late or missing work).  They, too, need to know why missing any part of your class sets their child at a disadvantage.  They are the ones who can also be our strongest partners in making sure kids can get to your class on time.  Help them connect their child's attendance to performance in your classes.  For example, a call might be something like 

Hi there! How are you tonight?  I wanted to call to let you know that Kiri wasn't in class today.  Is everything ok with her?  You know, this is the start of the 3rd MP.  She had a bit of a rough performance last marking period, but she's so smart. If she's in class on time each day, she will shine!  Today, we talked about how to multiply & divide fractions - which is a big part of the upcoming state Math test in May.  I'm worried that if she misses too much class, she won't understand some key ideas and won't do well in the long run.   What can we do to make sure that Kiri is on time to class everyday?

Listening to what our families have to share will help us support their children to the best of our abilities.  Where you can, validate and hear concerns and if appropriate, connect them to our schools' resources (counselors or partners).   We're all on the same side, aiming for the same goal - which is their child's success.  Working together is the best route to meet that goal!

The third and equally important are the academic interventions (1:1 conferencing, office hours, or extra remediation assignments to close learning gaps (e.g. IXL math or STARI assignments) teachers can provide to students to help find pathways to success in your class.

We need to log the work we do this spring.  This is the way that we can make sure families and students are aware of progress and your efforts to support student achievement.  This is the way that families understand where their children are and how they are performing.  This is the way that we avert surprises and upset folks - Clear, constantly communicated, and logged efforts of intervention and support.  Recording of your work also shows me where and how to better support your efforts in holding high standards for students and finding ways to support their achievement of those goals!

So, please make sure to upload your work and notes on outcomes with students weekly in this log.   

Staying on top of our kids and finding ways to help them and each other is the way to end this year strong!

Important Upcoming dates

• Monday, 12FEB24 - School Community Building PD
• Mon 19Feb-23Feb - Midwinter recess
• Mon 26Feb - PD - SEL #2
  
  
• Wed 06MAR - Elevate in Advisory& Learning Labs
• Thu 07MAR23 - Affinity Lever Group Visit to Social  Studies & ELA Classes
• Thu 21-Fri 22MAR - MS Mock Math & ELA Exams
• Thu 21MAR - Evening Family Conferences (Remote - 5-8PM)
• Fri 22MAR - Afternoon Family Conferences (Remote 12:50-2:50)
• Lunch for ALL will be 4th Period (MS will have Learning Lab 3rd Period)
• Early Dismissal at 12:08 for all
• Fri 29MAR - Good Friday - NO SCHOOL
• Mon 01APR - Easter Monday - NO SCHOOL
  
  
• Wed 03APR - 08APR - Mock Regents & Benchmark Exams (1st-3rd - testing; 4th-7th normal)
• Wednesday 03APR - ENGLISH testing (1st -3rd period testing)
• Into Lit - Mock ELA Regents (will be provided)
• AP classes - Mock AP Exams (Teacher Made)
• Thursday 04APR - SOCIAL STUDIES Testing(1st -3rd period testing)
• GLO 2 - Mock GLO Regents  (will be provided)
• USH - Mock USH Regents  (will be provided)
• All other SS - Final MP3 Assessment (Teacher Made)
• Friday 05APR - SCIENCE Testing(1st -3rd period testing)
• LIV - Mock Living Environment Regents  (will be provided)
• EARTH - Mock Earth Science Regents  (will be provided)
• All other SS - Final MP3 Assessment (Teacher Made)
  
• Monday 08APR - MATH Testing(1st -3rd period testing)
• Alg 1 - Mock Algebra 1Regents  (will be provided)
• Geo - Mock Geo Regents  (will be provided)
• Alg 2 - Mock Algebra 2 Regents (will be provided)
• BMCC & AP Math - Final MP3 Assessment (Teacher Made)
  
  
• NOTES:
• The Benchmark AM schedule will be the same, starting 1st period instead of 2nd
• The PM schedule will be regular programming (and NO MAP testing)
  
• All breadth classes (Spanish, PE, Theater) should do MP3 final in PM or before these testing days)
  
  
• Tue 09APR - P/SAT Day - No Classes for grades 8-12 (8/9/12trips and 10/11 testing only)
• Wed 10APR - Eid al Fitr - NO SCHOOL
• Thu 11APR-Fri 12APR - MS ELA Exams (Grades 6-8)
• 6th/7th - Paper administration
• 8th - online administration - students pulled from classes in AM
• FRI 12APR - MP3 Ends
• MON 15APR - MP4 Begins and School Wide Teach In
• Mon 22APR -Tue 30APR - Spring Recess - NO School

Announcements & To Dos

Progress Reports.  You should all have at least one graded assignment to upload into SyncGrades.  I'll be running the progress report grade at the beginning of the day on Tuesday to share automatically with students.  You need to make sure all grades are updated in SyncGrades by 3:30PM on Monday.  We are trying to push kids and families to checking grades on SyncGrades.  So please turn off your Google Classroom grade notification, and direct students to log into SyncGrades.  

• March 11th will be the next Progress Report, with MP3 ending on April 12th
• May 6th will be the 1st Progress Report for MP4, and June 3rd will be the last one for the year 

Monday PD.  We are going to have a staff meeting and community building exercise at 3:30 for PD tomorrow.  Please use your OPW time to complete the update into SyncGrades for the first Progress Report if you have not done so already!

RPET Work.  The RPET is planning three major experiences for our community this spring.  They will be (1) A schoolwide teach in, (2) A series of PDs for staff around SEL, and (3) A series of staff equity circles.  The RPET is planning a more detailed workshop for our January 29th PD to review each of these in detail and to get staff feedback on each.  Here's the draft PD calendar for the rest of the year.

• February
• 5th:  SEL PD for All Staff (#1 of 4) - with UA!
• 12th:  Community Building
• 19th:  Vacation WOOHOO
• 26th:  SEL PD for All Staff (#2 of 4) - with UA!
  
  
• March
• 4th:  SEL PD for All Staff (#3 of 4) - with UA!
• 11th:  Staff Equity Circles - Building Trust
• 18th:  TBD by ILT
• 25th:  SEL PD for All staff (#4 of 4) - with UA!
  
  
• April
• 1st:  Easter Monday - NO SCHOOL
• 8th:  All Staff Prep for School Wide Teach In
• 15th:  All Staff Prep for School Wide Teach In. (TEACH IN on April 16th)
• 22nd:  Spring Break - WOOHOO
• 29th:  STILL Spring Break - DOUBLE WOOHOO
  
  
• May
• 5th:  Staff Equity Circles
• 13th:  Staff Equity Circles
• 20th:  TBD by ILT
• 27th:  Memorial Day - NO SCHOOL
  
  
• June
• 3rd:  Staff Equity Circles
• 10th:  Staff Equity Circles
• 17th:  Regents Week Proctor Prep

Gearing Up for Summer School.  It's that time again!  We are starting to launch our plans for Summer School.  If you are interested in working summer school, please email Kiri and be specific about what you're interested in doing and how long you are interested in working (and yes, you can work in multiple roles and in both Summer Splash and Summer Regents prep!  

Each summer, we have two separate programs:  Summer Splash and Summer Regents Prep.  In Summer Splash, we recruit teachers to teach their passion!  We look for folks who are excited about something - anything really - that will engage students and get them to learn in non-traditional ways.  Alongside completing required work for credit recovery, we offer explorations in art, music, history, and activism have peppered the program over the last few years.  Here are some examples that we've had in the past:

• Partner Run Programs:  Girls Inc Summer Camp, Occupy Summer School  & The Octavia Project
• UAI Teacher Courses:  USH and Comic Books, Digital Design, The Science of Beauty, Job Club, Ceramics, Visual Art, STEM in Dance, and many more

At the end of the summer, we pivot back to traditional studying for the August Regents exams.  

We are looking for

• Summer School Coordinator (2 Positions):  These two people would work collaboratively to recruit teachers and create, plan, and monitor summer programming for Summer Splash and Regents Prep (and Regents).  These two roles would be responsible for the day-to-day operations of summer school and would liaise with other summer programs to make sure all programs being hosted at UAI receive what they need and all programs run smoothly. Summer School Coordinators report to AP Annie or Principal Kiri (or building Admin if they are on vacation).
  
  
• 20 flex hours per person (now) for program planning and staff/student recruitment
• 10 hours 02JUL & 03JUL for summer school orientation and prep for summer launch
• 96 School Hours 8AM-1PM Mon-Thu 08JUL-15AUG (24 days *4 hrs/day)
• 8:30-900 -Breakfast Coord. (Dean will supervise - you'll be point person)
• 9:00-12:00 - Classrm Coord. (support teachers where needed)
• 12:00-12:30 - Lunch Coord. (Dean will supervise - you'll be point person)
• 27 Regents Day Hours 8AM-5PM (3 Regents Testing/Grading Days)

• Summer Splash Teachers (5 Positions) - 16 days * 4hrs/day = 64 hrs
  
  
• Mon 08JUL - Thu 01AUG
• 8:30AM - on site Prep time
• 9AM-12PM - 3 1hr sections of class
• 12:00-12:30 - remote prep time
  
  
• Summer Regents Prep Teacher (5 Positions) - Up to 59 hrs (depending on Regent Exam needs)
  8 days * 4hrs per day = 64 hours PLUS 3 Regents days (8AM-5PM  - estimated)
• Mon 05AUG-Thu 15AUG
• 8:30AM - on site Prep time
• 9AM-12PM - 2 1.5hr sections of class
• 12:00-12:30 - remote prep time

*(note - hours may be less if fewer sections needed due to low enrollment - min 15-25 per section)

Per Session Postings

For ALL per session activities, please complete Per Session Application Form"

Summer School Posting (closes 30MAR or until all positions filled).  It's that time again!  We are starting to launch our plans for Summer School.  If you are interested in working summer school, please email Kiri and be specific about what you're interested in doing and how long you are interested in working (and yes, you can work in multiple roles and in both Summer Splash and Summer Regents prep!  

Each summer, we have two separate programs:  Summer Splash and Summer Regents Prep.  In Summer Splash, we recruit teachers to teach their passion!  We look for folks who are excited about something - anything really - that will engage students and get them to learn in non-traditional ways.  Alongside completing required work for credit recovery, we offer explorations in art, music, history, and activism have peppered the program over the last few years.  Here are some examples that we've had in the past:

• Partner Run Programs:  Girls Inc Summer Camp, Occupy Summer School  & The Octavia Project
• UAI Teacher Courses:  USH and Comic Books, Digital Design, The Science of Beauty, Job Club, Ceramics, Visual Art, STEM in Dance, and many more

At the end of the summer, we pivot back to traditional studying for the August Regents exams.  

We are looking for

• Summer School Coordinator (2 Positions):  These two people would work collaboratively to recruit teachers and create, plan, and monitor summer programming for Summer Splash and Regents Prep (and Regents).  These two roles would be responsible for the day-to-day operations of summer school and would liaise with other summer programs to make sure all programs being hosted at UAI receive what they need and all programs run smoothly. Summer School Coordinators report to AP Annie or Principal Kiri (or building Admin if they are on vacation).
  
  
• 20 flex hours per person (now) for program planning and staff/student recruitment
• 10 hours 02JUL & 03JUL for summer school orientation and prep for summer launch
• 96 School Hours 8AM-1PM Mon-Thu 08JUL-15AUG (24 days *4 hrs/day)
• 8:30-900 -Breakfast Coord. (Dean will supervise - you'll be point person)
• 9:00-12:00 - Classrm Coord. (support teachers where needed)
• 12:00-12:30 - Lunch Coord. (Dean will supervise - you'll be point person)
• 27 Regents Day Hours 8AM-5PM (3 Regents Testing/Grading Days)

• Summer Splash Teachers (5 Positions) - 16 days * 4hrs/day = 64 hrs
  
  
• Mon 08JUL - Thu 01AUG
• 8:30AM - on site Prep time
• 9AM-12PM - 3 1hr sections of class
• 12:00-12:30 - remote prep time
  
  
• Summer Regents Prep Teacher (5 Positions) - Up to 59 hrs (depending on Regent Exam needs)
  8 days * 4hrs per day = 64 hours PLUS 3 Regents days (8AM-5PM  - estimated)
• Mon 05AUG-Thu 15AUG
• 8:30AM - on site Prep time
• 9AM-12PM - 2 1.5hr sections of class
• 12:00-12:30 - remote prep time

*(note - hours may be less if fewer sections needed due to low enrollment - min 15-25 per section)

After School Clubs.   If you are interested in running an after school club, please complete THIS form by EOD TUESDAY 26SEP23  AND submit the Per Session Application Form.  Clubs are slated to start next week.  Clubs must have a steady roster of at least 8-10 students per week in order to NOT be cancelled.  Rosters & Attendance lists MUST be submitted with per session time cards.  If your club goes three consecutive weeks with less than 8 students, your club will need to be cancelled (so that we can optimize funds for other uses - so sorry...wish we could fund everything all the time, but unfortunately, we don't have endless sums of funds).  After school sessions can be 3-4PM or 3-4:30PM or 3-5:30PM (teacher's choice)up to three days per week.  So per session hours can range from 1-7.5hrs per week).  Posting Expires 10OCT23.

Please continue to help promote your after school clubs.  Please make sure you are getting a reliable group of at least 10 students.  Help our after school classes get off the ground! - I will be collecting final rosters on 30NOV - you have additional time to recruit!!

• Black Student Union - Joanna & Pauline (Rm 411) - Tuesdays & Thursdays 3-4:30
• Arts & Crafts Club - Tiffany & Jennifer (Rm 311) - Mon/Tue/Weds - 3-4:15PM
• Theater Production Club - Noelle (Rm 315) - Tues/Thurs/Fri - 3-5:30PM
• Student Government - Sue, Marsha, Phillan, and Girls' Inc's Kassi (Rm 309) - Tuesdays - 3-4PM
• Youth Leadership Council - Kelly  (Rm 307) - Tuesdays 3-4PM
• Photo Club - Tom(Rm 205F) - Wednesdays 3-4:30
• Cheer - Mary & Lia - Various days depending on Game Days
• Anime & Art Club - Adelle & Francis (Rm 409) - Tuesdays & Thursdays 3-5PM
• Running Club with Camryn (starts after the marathon is over)
• Dance Club - Girls Inc - Room 503
• Students Against Racism & Bias Club - Jelissa (Rm 305) Tuesdays & Thursday 3-4PM
• Muslim Student Association - Laura (Rm 404) TBD
• GSA Club - Amanda - Rm 407

PSAL Supervision.   Posting Expires 10OCT23. PSAL Games are starting up soon. Please submit the Per Session Application Form if you are interested in supervising student spectators.  Hours vary depending on games.  Each game (basketball or volleyball) is usually 4-6pm (is) so each supervision session is about 2hours.  Staff are welcome to sign up for as many games as they'd like.  Please see UAI calendar or PSAL website for game dates. Duties include making sure

• students remain safe and orderly during games
• only eligible students are admitted to games
• all students fully dismiss from the building at the conclusion of the games

CSI Planning & Supervision.   Posting Expires 10OCT23. This posting if for supervision per session to plan, supervise, monitor and coordinate extra improvement efforts to address UAI achievement gaps and improve student performance in target metrics.  Activities include analyzing and reviewing data, planning and executing professional development experiences to improve staff performance, analyzing and editing video footage to improve teacher lesson execution and lesson implementation, and supervising out of school activities - including recruitment, staff planning, and after school activities.  Hours vary per week depending on task and work completed.  Hours range 1-7.5 hours per week.

Classroom SetUp.  All classroom staff are invited to come in to set up and plan for up to 10 hours all together any day this week Monday-Friday 9AM-2PM.  Staff must clock in AND out each day, and cannot be in the building after 2PM.  Please adhere to guidelines set out in the blog post above.  All Staff MUST also apply to this position by completing the "Per Session Application From" - see link above.  [Posted 27AUG23] - Posting CLOSED and JOB is over.