UAI Staff News
Taking Stock. Now that Marking Period 2 is fully launched and grades are in (mostly - there are a couple of holdouts (please finish those today ... uploaded to GAMA and then Transferred to STARS), it's time to take stock of who is meeting our goal (>80), who is almost there, and who needs some wrap around support.
From an initial look through MP1 grades - 64% of all grades are >80, which means the majority of our kids are literally making the grade in most of their classes, already! For the first 40 days of the year with a brand new goal of reaching >80, that is a strong start! Almost 2/3rd of our kids are on track! Given that the vast majority of our students arrive with many gaps in their learning and as a result some have even developed many behavioral hurdles to mask the gaps, the work that each of you have done to lift up our kids to this point has been amazing AND inspiring! I always say that UAI is a gem of a school, and that is because our dedicated and talented staff really know how to bring out each student's sparkle!
That work is not easy, but it is so important. Take a moment to take pride in the successes and triumphs of the first marking period. Your students, in large part, showed up and showed out for mp1, and your planning & pedagogy, love, connection and care made that happen. That achievement is so important for so many of them, and so necessary for their ongoing success this year.
AND...because we are working in a public school and our work is never done (nor ever easy), we also need to rally behind those who fell short this MP, and figure out what works and what they need in order to shift gears and succeed.
The best way to lift up the ones who are falling behind is to come together. Many hands make lighter work, and we work best at UAI when we work effectively together. With student choice, we lost the structure of grade teams in the high school. The middle school still has them, but high school can't have a team meeting structure while accommodating for student choice. However, there is a way to have both.
Last year we used OPW time for office hours to support students. We can still have this structure AND flexibly use that time to hold meetings with staff of students who are struggling in multiple classes. Staff will be able to submit names for weekly "Learning Team Huddles" (thank you ChatGPT for the Name). During these huddles, teachers of the same student(s) will meet to discuss students strengths and needs and to align practice and goal-setting to provide wrap around support for the student. Counselors, Deans and Admin will join the meeting to support & facilitate. The goal is to have all adults working collectively to create coherent and sustained messaging and support for the student so that they can turn their performance around and end MP2 strong!
We have only 7 Monday OPWs until the end of MP2. So, there will be multiple student names listed each Monday. Staff will have the option to select which one(s) they attend. If they do not wish to join any, then it's Office Hour or self-directed OPW time.
If you have a student(s) that you need help thinking about how to support, please complete this Learning Team Huddle Nomination Form no later than Sunday @3PM (preceding each week).
Important Upcoming Dates
- 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)
- MON 25NOV - Native American Heritage Month Celebration
- THU 28NOV and FRI 29NOV - Thanksgiving Recess
- 02DEC-18DEC - Homecoming Court Selection
- 16DEC - 20DEC- Homecoming Spirit Week
Details to Come - 17DEC - Alumni Day (Events TBD)
- 18DEC - Homecoming Assembly (7th pd) HC Court Announced
Homecoming Game (4:30 PM) HC Court Announced - 19DEC - Homecoming Parade (thru UAI Halls)
- 20DEC - Homecoming Dance (7:30-10PM)
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