UAI Staff News
Building Leaders. We had our first round of IR led beautifully by Judy & Phillan. Many thanks for all the teachers who hosted visits (Denyda, Sarah R, Mike, Marsha, Crystal, and Tom M). Many thanks to all the folks who took time away from their usual work to prioritize their own learning and growth - Roger, Noelle, Bryanna, Aurora, Brett, Camryn, Fatima, Yasmeen, Thomas C.
Our visit focused on how we are all working hard to support our students with special needs. One of the trends we pulled out of the visits and subsequent discussions was the question of how students are able to develop independence and agency if they don't know they why or where of the lesson.
Think back to the times you have sat in PD when you were unsure of the point or value of what was being discussed and what you were being asked to do. How plugged in were you to the content? How much of that PD stuck with you to today?
Think back to another time when you were in a PD when you were super inspired by the leaders. Maybe you didn't know what the purpose of the PD was, but you trusted the facilitators and followed them. Did you learn more? Probably. Can you say you own that information - like are you able to run with that new learning as if it is your own? If so, congrats! If no, that tracks....
Now think to a time where you were super clear about how each activity, lecture, presentation, and discussion clearly connected to a larger aim in a professional learning experience. Have you had that while in PD? If no, when has that happened for you? How did it feel, and most importantly, what did you learn?
Taking you back into your own experiences is aimed at promoting your ability to empathize with your students and take on their perspectives much more capably within your classroom. With all of the details and moving pieces of an individual lesson, it is unsurprising that folks get focused on the the trees. Making sure things move smoothly and that all the pieces you juggle - content, pedagogy, SEL, assessment, student behavior, lesson expectations - don't fall is A LOT! So it makes sense that the hows and whys of the lesson sometimes gets lost in the sauce.
BUT - if we are to support student agency and build the inquiry, autonomy, and independence students need, we need to share with them the hows and whys. Students who do not know the goals of the activities or how the lessons fit into the units are trapped in roll of perpetual follower. Their learning is passive, and they develop an over-dependence on the classroom staff to always be the ones to tell them where to go, what to do, and how to think.
When kids are able to ask and answer their own questions or pursue avenues of learning that pique their own interest, that's when the level of rigor is exactly where we want it. When kids are able to pop in and out of classwork despite any disruption (bathroom break, absence, etc), that is evidence that they understand where the learning is going and can pick up the threads to keep up with their peers. When we are able to successfully see actions like these in our classes, then we know rigor is at work.
SO HOW does this happen. Small moves often have the biggest impact. Elevating your practice results more often from a series of consistent and small moves in the right direction rather than a complete overhaul in what you do. As we wrap up MP1, try out these moves to bring your students into the hows and whys of your lessons and elevate the rigor in your rooms!
- Open and End Each Lesson with your learning target AND examples. Learning Targets tell students what they will be able to do and what skills/content knowledge they will need to learn in order to be able to do that learning target. During IR, Roger & Noelle talked about how their lessons run. Students are clear as to what skill (e.g. doing a lay up in Basketball or an improv move in Theater) and what content (specific vocab like layup or using "Yes, and" in improv). These are introduced and shown to kids so they have a clear idea of what is happening for the day. Similarly, other classes can strive for the same clarity. Share the learning target and provide an example to help students know what they are expected to learn for the day. For example, give an example of the types of problems they have to know how to solve in math, or the type of evidence that qualifies as high quality evidence in English class. Showing AND telling the learning can really help students "lock in!" - to quote Ms. D!
- Narrate Moves. Share with your kids why you're doing what you're doing. For example, if you're having them work in groups - tell them why. If you're circulating to look at their work, tell them what you're looking for and why. The more kids know what you're looking for and why, the more effective they will be in their work in class.
- Highlight Future Learning. Throughout the lesson (not just at the beginning and the end) highlight why today's learning - mistakes and triumphs all- connect to tomorrow's objectives.
For example, in Earth Science, kids could understand that learning about the phases of the moon today will help them better understand how the Earth & Moon & Sun move in relationship to one another, and once they understand that, they'll better understand tides. Or in social studies, students need to understand how to critically analyze primary sources to be more informed consumers of information. - Involve the Kids. Your students are the best resources to see how well this work is going. Make time to ask them who remembers why you're working on the activities? See how many folks remember and can explain that. As you do this with more frequency, you can even try to get the kids to generate and predict the why at the start of lessons. At the very least, at the end of the lesson, ask how many kids are able to say they successfully mastered the learning target and/or how many can articulate the areas where they still have questions/confusions.
Important Upcoming Dates
- MON 28OCT-MON 04OCT - 1st Benchmark (in Subject Classes - no special schedule)
- MON - 28OCT - ELA Benchmarks in ELA Classes
- TUE - 29OCT - SOC Benchmarks in SOC Classes
- THU - 31OCT - Halloween (regular classes, no tests)
- FRI - 01NOV - Diwali - NO SCHOOL
- MON - 04NOV - MAT Benchmarks in MAT Classes & SCI Benchmarks in SCI Classes
- FRI 01NOV - Diwali - NO SCHOOL
- MON 04NOV - End of Marking Period 1
- TUE 05NOV - Remote PD Day (Election Day) - No Classes
- WED 06NOV - Marking Period 2 Begins
- THU 07NOV - Grades due at 3PM
- FRI 08NOV - MP1 Report Cards Distributed in 7th Period
- MON 11NOV - Veteran's Day - NO SCHOOL
- THU 21NOV - Evening Parent Conferences 5-8PM (remote)
- FRI 22NOV - Remote PD Morning (8:30-11:00AM) - NEWLY APPROVED!!
- FRI 22NOV - Afternoon Parent Conferences 12:00-2:50PM (remote)
Announcements & To Dos
Benchmarks and End of MP1. Our first round of benchmarks begin on Monday, October 28th. For PD on Monday the 28th and on November 4th, time will be given to grade benchmarks (OR if you don't have benchmarks yet, then you need to grade everything else). MP1 ends on November 4th, and grades are due at 3PM on Thursday November 7th. MP2 begins on Wednesday, 06NOV. Benchmarks will be the same exam for each course and will be 1 period in length. Students with extra time will have shortened tests (to accommodate) and students requiring separate locations or read aloud should be pulled into an empty room by the ICT or ENL co-teacher. Paras should assist the ICT/ENL teachers as needed. If you scroll to the bottom of the UAI schedule, you can see the rooms that are open.
[REPOST] Save the Dates to Celebrate. Celebrating our students and our staff is core to the health of our school! Our central mission at UAI is the success and achievement of our students. One pathway to that goal is through building the efficacy, sense of belonging, and pride that our staff has in your work at UAI. That sense of worth and value is built both through achieving targeted student outcomes and in recognition of those achievements and efforts!
I was chitchatting with Paula the other day, and she was sharing some ideas she & Judy had had about raising up our colleagues. At the same time, I had already been thinking about creating our UAI calendar of the days to celebrate our people!! And since there really are no original ideas anymore - I googled and found this handy calendar! I've plucked the days celebrating people out of this calendar to create our own for the 24-25 school year.
- September 2024
- 17SEP24 - National IT Professional's Day (we missed this - so moved to October 17th!). This is the day to celebrate JASON's Amazing work with our school!!
- October 2024
- 02OCT24 - National Custodian Day (we missed this too - so moved to October 22nd for this year). Let's celebrate Carlos, Harry, Junior, & Mr. O!
- November 2024
- 21NOV24 - National Substitute Teacher Day. Let's celebrate Jermaine, Mahjabeen, and Sean!
- February 2025
- 03FEB-07FEB - National School Counselor's Week. WOOHOO to JJR, Tiffany, Jen, AND our Deans (who do a lot of our counseling) Jean, Alaisha and Nicole... AND to our interns, Lara, Carlene, and Emily
- 14FEB - National School Safety Office Day
- April 2025
- 03APR - Paraprofessional Appreciation Day - Time to appreciate Juelle, Bryanna, Aurora, Adelle, Nora, Ebony, Janiya, and Brenda!
- 07APR-11APR - National Assistant Principal's Week - Give it up to ANNIE!!!
- 20APR-26APR - Administrative Professionals Week - Many Thanks to Paula, Damaris, and Tracey!
- 21APR-25APR - Aterschool Professionals Week - Whooping it up for GIRLS INC!!
- May 2025
- 02MAY - School Lunch Hero Day - Give thanks for our amazing cafeteria staff
- 05MAY-09MAY - Teacher Appreciation Week - Big Ups to ALL of our amazing teachers!
- 07MAR - School Nurse Day - YAY for Nurse Cole
Per Session Postings
For ALL per session activities, please complete Per Session Application Form
Restorative Justice Coordinator
POSITION:
TITLE SOUGHT: TEACHERS, SOCIAL WORKERS, SCHOOl COUNSELORS, PARA PROFESSIONALS
JOB POSITION: SCHOOL BASED Restorative Justice Action Team Member
NYCDOE OFFICE REQUESTING THIS POSITION: OFFICE OF SAFETY AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT (OSYD)LOCATION: In Person at UAI
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:
Licensed and appointed NYCDOE TEACHERS, SOCIAL WORKERS, SCHOOl COUNSELORS, PARA PROFESSIONALS. Actively working as a Restorative Practitioner in NYC DOE
SELECTION CRITERIA:
Demonstrated knowledge of or willingness to learn pedagogical best practices in Restorative Practices (RP) and RP Implementation
Demonstrated prior training/professional development in Restorative Practices, or willingness to attend this school year.
Demonstrated ability or willingness to successfully support authentic youth-adult partnership
Excellent communication skills
Preferred Successful completion of Restorative Practices Tier 1 Training
Recommended by your school’s administration to be a member of the team
DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES: (All of the below duties are to be performed with the support of your OSYD hired SB-RJC)
Approximately 4 staff member(s) per identified school will be hired under this posting to:
Participate as a member of the school’s Restorative Justice Action Team (RJAT) OR Restorative Practices and Equity Team (RPET)
Developing short term and long term SMART goals for the team to support the growth of the school’s restorative culture
Attend all RJAT meetings and work collaboratively with the Team to develop extensive tools, systems, structures and practices to support school wide implementation of restorative practices
Work with the team to completes the OSYD-provided RJAT/RPET Action Plan
WORK SCHEDULE:
November 2024- June 2025 | Monday- Friday and weekends as needed, 7:00-21:00. Schedules will vary, up to approximately 80 hours. Schedules and total hours are dependent on assignment, but may not exceed 25 hours per month. WORK CANNOT START BEFORE THE APPLICATION DEADLINE. THE DEADLINE MUST BE A MINIMUM OF TWENTY (20) SCHOOL DAYS AFTER THE POST DATE. Hours up to, but not limited to the approximate number of hours listed. Additional hours may be granted upon the approval of the hiring manager.
