Week of February 24th

UAI Staff News

Volume XII

Issue 21

February 24th, 2025

Welcome Back From Break!!  I hope your February break was filled with well-deserved rest, and that your energies have been renewed, readying you for the longest leg of the year. As we return to our daily routines, we have the chance to embrace six weeks of uninterrupted instruction - which gives us a wonderful opportunity to make some excellent progress with our kids.

Over the coming weeks, it's our last big chunk of time to dig deep—into our lesson plans, our creativity, and our resilience.  At the end of this run is our 3rd and final benchmark for the year, followed by Spring Break, followed by the sprint to the end of the year, and our end-of-year assessments.  

For for this leg, to manage the work, be sure to:

• Set Clear, Achievable Goals: Break your plans into manageable steps. Engineer small wins—both for yourself and your students—to fuel sustained forward progress.
  
  
• Collaborate and Communicate: This work is not designed to be solitary.  The weight of educating the future is more than any individual can bear alone. Our strength lies in our community; there’s always someone ready to lend a hand or offer a new perspective.  When the hurdles come, make yourself reach out.  While it is certainly true that any one of you can solve whatever comes your way, it is also true that together, those solutions are stronger and better.
  
  
• Remember to Celebrate Progress: Make time to celebrate and acknowledge the wins of your students each and every day.  Make time to celebrate the wins and achievements of your colleagues, but most importantly - even if it does feel a little weird - celebrate and embrace your own victories.  Remembering our successes is the secret sauce to persistence!

Teaching is a complex art form that is so much more than simply delivering content—it’s about igniting curiosity and building the future, one lesson at a time.  

Of course there will be problems.  What work with humans isn't littered with problems?  Remember, don't forget to channel your inner scientist and launch into your scientific thinking whenever a issue arises.  Just because you don't know the answer today doesn't mean that there are no answers. Keep at it, invite your colleagues in, and more likely than not, you will find your way through to solutions that inspire and supercharge your zeal to continue - ever onwards and upwards!

Let's go UAI! Let's wrap up this February and let the March Madness begin!

UPCOMING DATES

• MON 24FEB
• Hot Cocoa Paint & Sip, Cafeteria @ 3PM
  
  
• WED 25FEB
• Black Author's Free Book Giveaway, Cafeteria 4th Period (MS LL are invited!)
• First New Teacher Hiring Fair
• Hiring Committee Members:  Sue, Freida, Kelly, Judy, Liza, Phillan, Marsha
• Interested in Joining?  Complete this FORM today! (and email Kiri so she knows)

• THU 27FEB
• Black History Month Assembly (2PM - Kids will go up at 1:45)
• Black History Month Extravaganza - 6-8PM
  
  
• FRI 28FEB
• BHM Movie Series Part 3:  Remember the Titans, Room 509/507

• Upcoming Staff Appreciation Dates
• 01APR-04APR - Paraprofessional Appreciation Week
• 07APR-11APR - Assistant Principal Appreciation Week
• 21APR-25APR - Administrative Professionals Appreciation Week
• 05MAY-09MAY - Teacher Appreciation Week

TO DO THIS WEEK

• New School Leadership Opportunities.  
  
  
• SST - Student Support Team.  The student support team currently consists of our counselors and deans.  They currently meet during the day and review the academic and social-emotional needs of students.  If you are interested, please email Annie and complete THIS PER SESSION interest form.
• 
  
  
• NEW LEADERSHIP OPTION ->.
  Teacher Development Facilitator with AMNH.  As part of our partnership with the American Museum of Natural History, we are opening up five new teacher leadership positions. AMNH is joining the DOE in rolling our the new Empire Teacher Residency Grant and we are making tweaks to the program to meet Grant requirements.  One of these tweaks is creating a TDF role for each mentor.
  
  These are specific to our science team (that's the nature of the partnership), but each member of the team who applies and is accepted will receive $3000 in additional compensation.  I'm still hammering out the final details with AMNH, but the requirements for being selected in this role are
  
  
• MUST have completed 3 years of Effective or Highly Effective teaching by September 2025.
• Preference given to science teachers who have already hosted AMNH residents in the past (which is basically all of the science folks)
• Commitment to fulfill all AMNH mentor requirements
• Commitment to fulfill all of the expectations as a mentor of new science teachers.
  
  So basically - Liza, Sarah R, Tom W, Cam & Thomas - this one's for you!
  
  
  
• NEW LEADERSHIP OPTION ->. School Based Professional Learning Committee.  The first meeting of the SDC will be in the farm at 3PM.  If you are interested in working on the committee, please reach out to Laura ASAP.  

 

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Black History Month Week TWO.  Thank you to everyone who pitched in to make last week's activities a real success!  This week's events promise to be equally or maybe even MORE exciting and awesome.  Check out the flier here.  Here's what on the docket for this week:

• MON 24FEB:
  Hot Cocoa Paint & Sip, Cafeteria @ 3PM
  
  
• WED 26FEB:
  Black Author Book Giveaway - Cafeteria, 4th Pd
  
  
• THU 27FEB:
  Black History Month Assembly @2pm
  Black History Month Extravaganza @6PM

Monday PD.  We are moving our follow up PD with Lynn Juedy from the UA to the Monday, March 10thx  So, this Monday's PD we will give time for Huddles.  Stay tuned for Huddle Assignments in tomorrow's announcements.

School Visits.  

• Project Cafe Visits.  Folks are super interested in what we're doing the the AI-Powered Video Enabled teacher feedback system that leverages the CLASS rubrics to accelerate teacher growth.  
• Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) Visits on Friday 14MAR
  
  
• School Site Visits.  CUNY/UA Affinity (our District) is super interested in the work we are doing in teacher preparation & development, special education and co-teaching, and in math.  Here are those dates
• Principal Lever Visit - Tuesday, 18MAR (Teacher Prep & Development)
• IM Math Visit - Exact day and focus still TBD - but March is the target
• ICT Think Tank Visit - Exact day and focus still TBD - but Spring Term!

PER SESSION POSTINGS

FOR ALL PER SESSION JOBS:  You must apply by completing THIS FORM

NEW LEADERSHIP OPTION ->. I want to expand the work of the SST to take over Huddle Management.  I'm opening up positions for teachers and paraprofessionals to join this committee to engage in the work needed to track and follow up on student progress.  This means keeping a close eye on academic progress, attendance, and behavioral outcomes.  It also means taking on the work of working closely with students and families to pivot choices to stronger ones and keep kids moving on positive trajectories.  This will be a per session opportunity and if you are interested, please email Annie and complete THIS PER SESSION interest form.

REPOST:  Hiring Committee.  It's that time again!  We're looking for folks to join our Hiring Committee.  We're looking for a team of 6-10 folks to participate in Hiring Activities.  Hours will range.  There will be meetings as the committee to norm on expectations and review outcomes.  Committee members will be tapped to participate in demo lessons and debriefs.  Committee members must be available for zoom hiring events in the evenings and weekends.   If interested, please complete THIS FORM 

REPOST:  Summer School Planning is Starting.  Summer school planning is beginning.  We will not be hosting Girls Inc and DYCD summer camp this summer, and our students who need an all-day placement can register for DYCD programs at the Montauk School this summer.   

We are currently looking for folks who are interested in doing some enrichment work (6-12) this summer.  AND we will also have regents prep this summer.  If you are interested in working this summer, please complete THIS FORM no later than 14FEB.