Week of October 19th

UAI Staff News

Volume VIII

Issue 13

October 19th, 2020

Principal's Message

Working Smarter not Harder.  This week, I've heard from a variety of different folks about how much work they have - particularly with grading and feedback.  

In the digital learning milieu, you have lost access to quick assessments and informal, non-verbal feedback.  There is an efficiency in brick and mortar learning that is lost in Remote Learning.  Where you used to be able to quickly walk through the room to hear students or check on their work, or when you could readily exchange an encouraging or redirecting facial expression with many students, now you no longer have those quick go tos.  They are replaced with writing in the chat, jotting on shared slides, or putting notes into Pear Deck.   The upside to this is that you are getting significantly more and more accurate information from students.  The downside is that it takes a lot longer to sift through and respond to student responses.

To account for this, you need to be be relentlessly intentional.  The moves you made on these lessons last fall when you were in person were motivated by different reasons and adapted to different circumstances.  Remote lessons are completely different.  So as you plan, slow down and ask yourself and your co-teachers

• What is the goal of teaching this way (asking that question, using groups, using the chat)?   Is this the best move in a remote lesson?  Why?  Will another move get us to student thinking (and thus higher quality student engagement) faster?
  
  
• Why am I grading and when am I giving feedback?  When is assessment information for the teacher to see how the lesson is landing and when is it a vehicle for feedback for or evaluation of students? How am I communicating which is which to students?
  
  
• If my students aren't talking to each other (or at all), why is that?  Have I done enough to make the environment safe?  Have I planned to build peer relationships or did I assume that they would grow naturally (like they do in person...but wait...we're not in person...so bad assumption)?  How well do I know each of my students as individual people?  What are my plans for getting to know them as individual people?  

Remember...the goal is not to simply get work done, but to get the best work done with the most efficacy and least waste of time & effort.  In order to do that, you need to make time in your planning and thinking to invest in intentionality.  When you do, you will find yourself working hard, true, but working a lot smarter, too!

Staff Birthdays This Week

NO Staff Birthdays This Week

Office Hours & Intervention.  There are four more weeks until the end of the first quarter.  Now is the time to see evaluate which of your students are in need of your support and intervention.  Your grades should be updated in Skedula by now, and you should use that to quickly identify students in need of your support.  Prioritize students at risk of failing MP1 for your Office Hours this week and on Fridays.  Please document the students' response to your intervention in Skedula and cc their advisor so that they can help you.  Office Hours are also an excellent time to get to know your students as individuals.  When students feel that YOU care about them, they will want to engage (and perhaps even put those cameras on!).  Practice some perspective shifting and think about how your students think about you.  Read their feedback too.    If you still don't know, ask them.  

REPOST from Last Week:  

• Students who have NO documented evidence of intervention cannot receive a failing grade.
• If a student does not show up to intervention (or refuses intervention), teachers must call home.  Please record notes of conversation in Skedula (and cc Advisor).  
• If you cannot reach a student, please escalate immediately to advisor and direct supervisor (Annie/Kiri/Jen) for extra support

Small Groups.  Several teachers have dedicated periods to do Small Group work with students in greatest need of intervention and extra support.  These groups are NOT in place of Office Hours with classroom teachers.  Rather, these groups are additional supports for students.  Classroom staff should refer students to the following grade teachers for extra support if/when they find that their office hour and other classroom based intervention are not sufficient.  Please email the names directly to these teachers and they will coordinate small groups with you.  There are two types of small groups 

1. Small Groups for General Ed students in need of extra help in addition to Office Hours, and 
2. Small groups for ENL or SPED students in need of extra support in addition to Office Hours - note- these students are already mandated (see links below).  Please reach out to teachers for specific supports you feel your ENL or SPED students need for your course.

• General Ed Small Groups
• 6th Grade:  Alison, Marsha, Sarah R
• 7th Grade:  Alison, Marsha, Sarah R
• 8th Grade:  Marsha, Cassandra
• 9th Grade:  Marsha, Cassandra, Nina
• 10th Grade:  Rebecca C, Nina
• 11th Grade:  Rebecca C, Joey
• 12th Grade:  Joey - Joey also time to work in small groups and individually with seniors on their college statements.  Please refer students for support with these, too.

• ENL Small Groups:  CLICK here to see the Tracking Guide Laura made for our ENLs!  It's awesome! Thank you Laura!
• Laura (grades 6-8); 
• Rebecca F (Grades 9 & 10); 
• Suzannah (Grades 11 & 12)
  
  
• SETTS Small Groups:  Also CLICK HERE to see the SETTS schedule Nadine made for our kids who have SETTS on their IEPs.  It's also awesome!  Thank you Nadine!!
• MS & HS Group SETTS:  Tiffany & Christina
• HS Individual SETTS:  Danielle R & Nadine

Bringing Our Work Outside of the Circles.  Our collective work around Anti-Racism and Full Inclusivity does not exist in circles or meetings alone.  Already, there are many instances of how our work is expanding beyond our meetings.  Some examples:

• Applying ABAR (anti-bias/anti-racist) strategies - Individuation & Perspective Taking.  Structures like Small Groups, Office Hours, and Advisory have given staff the opportunity to use two key strategies to overcome implicit bias.  We learned about these last June with the Office of Equity and Paul Forbes.  Today, these structures allow us all time to get to know our students and families and better understand their stories and needs.  Similarly, Annie, Jen, and Kiri have established regular one-on-one meetings and lead small teams of staff to achieve the same goal of individuating those whom we lead and understanding the perspectives of those in our charge.
  
  
• Engaging in Belief & Awareness Work with Circles.  Our Circle committee is skillfully planning experiences to build relationships and allow us to connect with one another while at the same time, providing us with much needed experiences to build our awareness and shift beliefs.  In some instances, several teachers have already adjusted curricula to be more culturally responsive and inclusive. 
  
  
• Investigating and Analyzing Systems of Inequity with our Equity Team.  Our Equity Team has launched their work in studying our Grading Policy in order to identify & confront inequity & construct a new the policy that includes the perspectives of all stake-holders (parents, students, staff) and ensures equity and success for our students.  This is work that is slow and intentional, but it is important work to make sure we do right!
  
  
• Process Change Work of the School Restructuring Committee.  Once launched, the SRC will begin the work of analyzing schools systems and structures (like hiring, scheduling and professional development) and root out racists and exclusionary structures so that we can build new systems and policies that protect the rights of and include all.

This work is a collective responsibility of all of us.  These are the big examples of what folks in our community are doing, but daily there are small positive steps that each of us can do to move our school further along the continuum to becoming a fully antiracist, fully inclusive school community.  

Per Session Postings

To Apply for any of the following per session opportunities, please COMPLETE THIS FORM and email the appropriate point person listed in this posting.  

Student Newspaper Advisors.  Jen is looking to recruit teachers to be advisors and supports for a student run newspaper.  Hours will be 1-2 per week.  Posting will close on November 2nd.  To apply,  email Jen directly AND COMPLETE THIS FORM

Testing Coordinator.  Joanna has moved on from UAI, and we are in need of someone to coordinate all testing and compliance activities.   The testing coordinator manages all components of schoolwide testing.  Historically, tests include DRP, SAT, AP Exams, Regents, Middle School Exams, NYSESLAT, Regents etc.  This year, we do not yet have a clear picture of what exams are being offered, but the testing coordinator will be charged with tracking and organizing around that information as it arises. The testing coordinator reports to Kiri.  Teachers with prior testing coordination experiences preferred (please write about that when completing the form).  Hours will vary as testing periods come and specific requirements of exams.   Please apply by completing the form above and emailing Kiri by 19OCT20.

Anti-Racist Committee Work (aka School Restructuring Committee).  Posting closed:

Applied:  Nadine, Sarah M, Courtney, Laura, Marsha

Staffed:  Nadine, Sarah M, Courtney, Laura, Marsha

Per Session Positions Staffed To Date.  The SRC will be looking at UAI systems and structures to confront and dismantle any biased practices.  Staffing & Hiring were one of the main priorities raised by staff last spring.  It is important that we keep an eye on our movements and attend to making sure opportunities are offered and staffed equitably.  Here is our YTD data from September (it doesn't not include the PD hours offered to all staff in August).  Please review and share your feedback (anonymously) so that the SRC can make any adjustments as needed. 

Diversity & Equity in Staffing Analysis YTD:  

• 17 people (of 44 total or 39% of staff) staffed 24 positions
• 2 counselor/dean (of 5 total) - 40%
• 2 paraprofessionals (of 4 total) - 50%
• 13 teachers (of 35 total) - 37%
  
  
• Of the 24 positions filled
• 41% - 10 positions are filled by black staff (6 people)
• 13% -   3 positions are filled by non-white staff (2 people)
• 46% - 11 positions are filled by white staff (9 people)

UAI teams working on co-constructing UAI into an Anti-Racist & Fully Inclusive School

• Circles Committee:  Jennifer, Juelle, Marsha, and Nakita  (not staffed Kristina, Laura)
• Equity Team: Damon, Elana, Kelly, Nakita, Phillan, and Rebecca C  (all applicants staffed)
• School Restructuring Committee: Courtney, Laura, Marsha, Nadine, and Sarah M (all applicants staffed)
  
  

UAI teams working on school culture and student recruitment

• School Culture & Student Activities:  Elana, Kelly, Phillan, Rachel, & Rebecca F  (not staffed Jelissa, Nadine, Rebecca C)
• Student Recruitment Committee:  Christina, Jelissa, Phillan, and Rebecca F (all applicants staffed)

As an FYI- Here are the UAI Staff Race & Staff Position Demographics:

	Asian	Latinx	Black	White
Total	4	2	14	27	47
Counselor/Dean	0	0	1	4	5
Paraprofessional	0	0	3	1	4
Teacher	3	2	10	20	35
Leadership	1	0	0	2	3
	Asian	Latinx	Black	White
Total	9%	4%	30%	57%
Counselor/Dean	0%	0%	20%	80%
Paraprofessional	0%	0%	75%	25%
Teacher	9%	6%	29%	57%
Leadership	33%	0%	0%	67%

Week of October 13th

UAI Staff News

Volume VIII

Issue 12

October 13th, 2020

Principal's Message

Finding the Joy!  Thank you to all of you who shared their moments of JOY during Thursday's meeting.  I think we all need reminders of the work we do daily and the value our efforts bring for our students and families each and every day!  Even in this tiny little picture, there at the back is a happy hand waving in excitement as her classmates focus on their screens, pursuing their first college credit through their senior LINCT QR course.  

Here are some quotes from your colleagues.  Please enjoy their JOY:

• I'm having a lot of success working with one of my advisees who is usually really hard to contact, but she feels comfortable enough now to text me/ask any questions about her progress, which feels like a huge win!
  
  
• A student emailed me and told me because of how comfortable I was being myself they felt empowered to come out to their mom. I cried.
  
  
• Not really a story but just a shout out to the 6th graders who have changed advisors so much. They have been rolling with the changes and are really shining in class discussions and support of each other. They have even organized Zoom lunches and study help sessions for themselves.
  
  
• Every Monday and Tuesday in Earth Science we play music that relates to the lesson we are going to teach while students log on. I usually dance to the music and some of the girls laugh or join in! Pretty cute and makes them feel comfortable.
  
  
• [One of my students who has had a rough start to this year] is showing that she really wants to do and be better this year. She's been turning in all her work ON TIME and participating in the chats during live lessons. I'm so proud of her!

As I have come to know, teaching and learning in the time of COVID will always have endless challenges and obstacles. I've also learned that each of these challenges can be all-consuming and overwhelming.  However, the eternal optimist in me is incredibly stubborn, and as a result, I've also realized that alongside (and sometimes buried within) each of these hurdles, there is always a nugget of something beautiful and amazing.  All we have to do is to choose to see.

So this week, challenging yourself.  Find the joy, and when you do, share it (with your students, your colleagues, your friends & family, or, if you're feeling super share-y- shoot me an email to post it in next week's blog!

Staff Birthdays This Week

NO Staff Birthdays This Week

Grading, Analysis and Feedback.  This is our 4th week of instruction this year!  We have five more weeks until the end of the first marking period.   While the launch of this year was smoother than our sudden shift to remote learning in March, there were still quite a few shifts, changes and hiccups!  Use your time this week to analyze student work, and provide the support and feedback necessary to overcome barriers to learning and growth!

• Look at Student Work in Co-Planning.  Assess student work with your co-planning team.  Understand why students are succeeding, missing the mark, or not turning work in at all.  Ask:
• How well are our lessons landing with students and how do we know?
• How many students did well on this assignment and why is that the case?
• Which assignments had the biggest success rate (students turned in and did well) and why?

• Plan Intervention and Feedback.  After global analysis, work together to create and execute plans for feedback and to identify students in need of intervention.  
• Which students are missing assignments and why have they not turned them in?
• Which students turned in work, but completely missed the mark? What help do they need?
• Which students turned in work, but need a little help to improve their work quality?
• Which students performed excellently, and why was it so good? How do we celebrate that?
• Which students showed the biggest growth; how did they do that? How do we celebrate that?

• Skedula Updates.  Please make sure to update Skedula with all grades by Friday 16OCT20.  You do not need to transfer attendance, only grades. If you are wondering "How do I transfer Google Classroom Grades Into Skedula" and try these directions.  (Please note, never be shy about just googling your question!  There are many, many imperfect things about Google - but they are super useful for finding answers to technical questions like this!!)

SRC Scheduling Committee Updates.  The SRC Scheduling subcommittee met on Friday to address feedback from staff on programming needs.  We will be hosting a Q&A Session on Tuesday at 3PM to answer your questions and address concerns.  For now, here are the updates that are going in place starting tomorrow:

• Friday Flexibility.  
• CHANGE:  Instead of assigned small groups, Fridays will now be a day-long block of Office Hours.  Staff can use the time flexibly for office hours or extra grading/feedback.  
• RATIONALE:  Many staff are calling for more time for grading, planning, and feedback.  The original plan for Fridays was to create small groups for intervention and support.  By changing Fridays into a block of Office Hours, teachers can flexibly use the day to do both as needed.  Kiri will leave the Teacher & Programs the same - that way students and teachers will be able to see which times work best for each teacher's Office Hours.
• Friday Attendance
• CHANGE: Advisors will be responsible for taking attendance for all advisees each Friday.  This week, advisors need to teach into the process for attendance on Fridays:
• At 8:30, advisors will send out a mass email/send Remind/text to have students submit attendance via a Google Form.  Forms need to be submitted by 9AM.
• At 9AM, advisors email/call/text/send Remind to advisees who did not submit form.
• At 9:30AM, advisors call parents/guardians of advisees who did not submit form to find out what is happening with the student for the day.
• SAME:  Zoom teachers (PE, Theater, Spanish) still continue to take attendance in Skedula on Fridays.  All teachers post Asynchronous work for students to complete on Fridays.
• RATIONALE:  We still need to take attendance on Fridays.  Advisors are the only ones who have consistent contact with everyone on Fridays (PE/Theater/Spanish only see some students)

Tracking Intervention.  As we are midway through the marking period, it is important that we rapidly identify students in need of support so that we can intervene and prevent failure.  Intervention and support are always important, but in Remote Learning, intervention and support are critical components to students success. 

As we move towards the end of the marking period, Annie & Kiri will be reviewing your intervention lists in their one-on-ones with you to see what support you need to help students achieve.  This year, all student attendance and interaction in Office Hours and Small Groups (not - ENL/SETTS they will have their own attendance tracking soon) should be entered into Skedula as a comment.  Please copy their advisor so that they advisor can track/support intervention.

• PLEASE NOTE: 
• Students who have NO documented evidence of intervention cannot receive a failing grade.
• If a student does not show up to intervention (or refuses intervention), teachers must call home.  Please record notes of conversation in Skedula (and cc Advisor).  
• If you cannot reach a student, please escalate immediately to advisor and direct supervisor (Annie/Kiri)

Co-Facilitating Duties.   The SRC Subcommittee met to clarify responsibilities of Co-Facilitators.  Here are the duties.  Co-Facilitators are charged with the supporting the online classroom management of synchronous lessons.  Please remember to add your Co-Facilitators to your Skedula classes so that they can perform their duties.  Those duties include:

• Zoom Attendance Management.
• Manage the Waiting Room (let students in, send wait room messages, etc.)
• Take Attendance & Upload into Skedula
• Send Link to lost students
• Block potential bombers
  
  
• Zoom General Management
• Mute students when needed 
• Turn off student video when needed
• Turn off annotations (if enabled)
• Change Screen Sharing Permissions

• Zoom Breakout Room Management
• Set up breakout rooms (given direction by lead teacher)
• Visit breakout rooms to prompt conversations/keep students on target
• This is just to get the conversations going or keeping them on track
• This is not instructional assessment of prompting - this is class management
• Send messages to support time management
• Support technical troubleshooting in breakout rooms

• Zoom Chat Management
• Ensure students are chatting appropriately
• Raise up questions/comments to lead teacher
• Share necessary links/prompts in chat for students
• Save chat if needed

Co-Teaching Duties.  You can review and update Co-Teaching Duties as needed.  In Co-Planning Meetings This Week, please 

• Invite Annie/Kiri to Co-Planning.  We'll begin our visits to meetings this week.
• Review Agreements.  CLICK HERE to review & update Co-Working Agreements as needed.

Zoom Class Visits Begin this Week.  Jen, Kiri and Annie will be visiting zooms and Google Classrooms to provide feedback and support this week during one-on-ones and in writing.  Please make sure to share your links and Google Classrooms so that we all have access!

Per Session Postings.   As a reminder, there are NO per session opportunities without a posting.  This is one of the changes we made to increase transparency and equity for UAI.  Several folks have asked about submitting hours for things that have NOT been posted this year.  Those hours cannot be approved without proper process (two weeks posted) and thus will be automatically rejected (or if they slip by on accident because Del/Kiri/Nancy missed them, they will be adjusted accordingly).   If you want to propose a per session activity, please reach out to Annie/Kiri/Jen and the soon to be composed SRC committee.  If approved, your idea will be posted below publicly below in the Per Session Postings section.  

Per Session Postings

To Apply for any of the following per session opportunities, please COMPLETE THIS FORM and email the appropriate point person listed in this posting.  

Testing Coordinator.  Joanna has moved on from UAI, and we are in need of someone to coordinate all testing and compliance activities.   The testing coordinator manages all components of schoolwide testing.  Historically, tests include DRP, SAT, AP Exams, Regents, Middle School Exams, NYSESLAT, Regents etc.  This year, we do not yet have a clear picture of what exams are being offered, but the testing coordinator will be charged with tracking and organizing around that information as it arises. The testing coordinator reports to Kiri.  Teachers with prior testing coordination experiences preferred (please write about that when completing the form).  Hours will vary as testing periods come and specific requirements of exams.   Please apply by completing the form above and emailing Kir by 19OCT20.

Anti-Racist Committee Work. The Summer Restructuring Committee met to discuss next steps and set plans for the remainder of the year incorporating the feedback that some of you shared in last week's survey (thank you for that!).  Moving forward, the SRC will now be known as the SCHOOL restructuring committee, and we will begin recruiting and selecting members for the committee.  This committee will work in conjunction with the Equity Team to evaluate systems and policies at UAI and take the steps necessary to ensure that they are equitable.  Please COMPLETE THIS FORM by 13OCT20 if you are interested in joining!

UAI Staff News

Volume VIII

Issue 11

October 5th, 2020

Principal's Message

Fall is definitely upon us now!  The leaves are changing colors, there's a cool brisk wind in the air, daylight hours are waning, and we have officially launched in-person learning!!  

We have certainly weathered our share of bumps and curves this year, but we have all done so fairly well.  That is a true testament to the hard work and dedication you each have to your work with our students and their families.  The work is never ending, and it seems like the hours of work never stop, but each & every one of your efforts is so wonderfully appreciated by me, Annie, and Jen, but most significantly by our students and their families.  Thank you all!

As we move on from our launching phase to the next phase, the work and efforts will continue be demanding.  I do not know precisely what this next phase will be, but we have found a way to create our own rhythm in this sea of change.  As we move ahead, there will be more bumps and curves, and I know, as we move forward in the year, we will weather them all with skill and grace.  

Happy October UAI! Keep up the excellent work!

Staff Birthdays This Week

My calendar says there are no birthdays this month?

Is that true? Email me if it's wrong!!

STARS Program Updates.  Tomorrow students should be following the 01OCT Program.  I have run into a bit of a wall in uploading this program into STARS.  They've changed some things on the backend to align with their new program "models" - none of which we are following.  As a result, STARS isn't taking our program upload.  I know this will have to change now that they are allowing schools to SBO program variants.  So, I am working with our program support folks to do a work around.  I know that this is super annoying, but I appreciate your patience as I try to find a work-around, yet again.  I'm aiming to solve this issue this week, but in the interim, please use (or continue to use) Google Classroom to track grades and assignments.  In addition, please continue to take attendance in our usual attendance sheet (see next)

Attendance & Advisor Outreach.  Please use the Attendance sheet to track student attendance this week.  It has been updated with the new groups.  Please note, that students with individualized programs may not appear in the group list.  To take their attendance, please search for their names and mark their attendance for your course.  Some key things

• Attendance Sheet Mistakes.  If you see a mistake on the attendance sheet, please put that in Annie's Parking Lot so that we can fix it!

• Advisor Contact Log.  I created a tab for you to log your advisee outreach.  This week, we need to be particularly vigilant with our advisees to ensure they are settling into a positive routine and not getting lost.  Please review the attendance sheet daily and use your Advisory Tutoring and Friday Outreach time to connect with advisees who missed any zooms or is falling behind in work this week.  It's particularly important that we be proactive and get ahead of any issues our students may be having before they develop into course failure.  Advisor interactions and outreach are the first tier of intervention.  Please use these three extra periods per week to stay on top of your advisees & help them where needed!  Log your outreach & support in the tab called "Advisor Contact Log" 

• Advisory Contact Information.  Please feel free to update the "Advisory Contact Info" tab with any more reliable information that you have.

• Attendance Outreach.  If you are having problems connecting with your advisees, please reach out to Annie for support.  You can track that support in the "Attendance Outreach Log"

Grading, Feedback & MP 1 End.  The first marking period ends on November 13th.  We did start late, so this marking period will be shorter than the others, but please remember to follow the grading and feedback expectations set to you at the start of this year in our UAI Staff Handbook.  Here are the highlights:

Minimum Number of Grades.  For MP1, you should have a minimum of (adjusted for our now 8 week quarter)

• 20% Participation - 8 participation grades
• 30% Progress - 8 progress grades
• 50% Performance - 4 performance grades

Feedback.  In addition, through your Office Hours, Class Time, or Small Groups on Fridays (starting 16OCT), you should have small group or individual feedback sessions for all students, but in particular for students who are not yet mastering course content and skills (and thus in need of some feedback and guidance).  In addition to in-person feedback, all students should be receiving written feedback on formative tasks to understand how better to improve their performance and be ready to demonstrate mastery on the performance tasks you assign.

Google Classroom Turn In.  All assignments should be turned in via Google Classroom.  Google Classroom allows you to readily provide written feedback and can track your grades and which of your students have yet to turn in work.  Also, once parents (and advisors) are associated to your GCs, a report will be issued to let them know which assignments are missing.  Please use this tool.

Per Session Postings

To Apply for any of the following per session opportunities, please COMPLETE THIS FORM and email the appropriate point person listed in this posting.  

Testing Coordinator.  Joanna has moved on from UAI, and we are in need of someone to coordinate all testing and compliance activities.   The testing coordinator manages all components of schoolwide testing.  Historically, tests include DRP, SAT, AP Exams, Regents, Middle School Exams, NYSESLAT, Regents etc.  This year, we do not yet have a clear picture of what exams are being offered, but the testing coordinator will be charged with tracking and organizing around that information as it arises. The testing coordinator reports to Kiri.  Teachers with prior testing coordination experiences preferred (please write about that when completing the form).  Hours will vary as testing periods come and specific requirements of exams.   Please apply by completing the form above and emailing Kir by 19OCT20.

Anti-Racist Committee Work. The Summer Restructuring Committee met to discuss next steps and set plans for the remainder of the year incorporating the feedback that some of you shared in last week's survey (thank you for that!).  Moving forward, the SRC will now be known as the SCHOOL restructuring committee, and we will begin recruiting and selecting members for the committee.  This committee will work in conjunction with the Equity Team to evaluate systems and policies at UAI and take the steps necessary to ensure that they are equitable.  Please COMPLETE THIS FORM by 13OCT20 if you are interested in joining!

Google Classroom Turn In Function and Gradebook

Week of September 29th

UAI Staff News

Volume VIII

Issue 10

September 29th, 2020

Principal's Message

Late Friday, the DOE and UFT came to an agreement that essentially sanctioned our existing program.  I received the agreement on Saturday morning, and our Superintendent and Executive Superintendent are pulling us together into a meeting this week to review and better understand the guidance.  Once I have a clear understanding of what the agreement signifies, I will be sure to share fully. 

The roller coaster keeps on rolling, but to the extent possible, I'm hoping to insulate you, and our students and families from too many thrills and chills.   As we make sense of this new agreement, we will continue to move forward as we have done since getting on this crazy ride, we will continue to do what we have been doing within the safety of our bubble - best serve our families and students!

To Do This Week

Program Updates. This week (presumably) secondary schools are slated to open on Thursday, October 1st.  For UAI, classroom staff will remain working remotely on Tuesday and Wednesday.  In-Person staff slated to work in school on Wednesdays and Thursdays will report to school on Thursday.   

As predicted, students have continued to select Remote Learning as their learning preference.  This will continue this week and as the weather changes and students experience the reality of what in-school learning will be like.  As of today, 68% of UAI students are Remote Learning for MP1.  Here's what our current numbers look like by grade:

• 6th Grade:  16 In-Person out of 68 Students --->> 76% of students are Remote Learning
• 7th Grade:  12 In-Person out of 44 Students --->> 73% of students are Remote Learning
• 8th Grade:  25 In-Person out of 65 Students --->> 62% of students are Remote Learning
• 9th Grade:  45 In-Person out of 104 Students -->> 67% of students are Remote Learning
• 10th Grade: 23 In-Person out of 88 Students --->> 73% of students are Remote Learning
• 11th Grade: 17 In-Person out of 64 Students --->> 73% of students are Remote Learning
• 12th Grade: 20 In-Person out of 61 Students --->> 67% of students are Remote Learning

I am continuing to work on the program this weekend to ensure that advisories and groups are balanced.  I'm aiming to share the updates with you tomorrow!  If you have any questions, please put them in Annie's Parking Lot.

Friday Small Groups. So, all new ideas inevitably need to tweaking! Our attendance was way lower on Friday than on any other days last week. That was most definitely a function of our own internal communication bumps, plus students being confused about what this new genre of learning actually is.

Last spring, one of the major calls for the program was to create support and intervention mechanisms for our students who need it. So, Friday Small Groups and Grade Based Intervention Groups (more on those below) were born!

For these first two Fridays (25SEP and 02OCT), Advisors are using Small Groups to get to know their students and families and help students successfully connect to online learning. On October 9th, we are holding an in-day Curriculum Lunch for parents and families (more on that below).

On Friday, 16OCT20, Regular Friday Small Groups will begin. Friday Small Groups are dedicated times where teachers can pull students for small group intervention (or enrichment) and live feedback sessions to better support student learning. The groups are intended to be tools you leverage to intervene and prevent student failure. Students who do not require this intervention should be assigned asynchronous work for the day.

Teacher Driven. Each teacher individually determines who is assigned to their Friday Small Groups and is responsible for making sure the students are there (so, reason for attendance is explained, zoom links shared, parent contact, etc.).

Grade Team Coordinated. Grade teams should coordinate with each other so that you're not all pulling the kids at the same time. Grade teams should decide (1) Who is seeing which teacher, (2) when they are seeing that teacher (what period), and (3) for how many weeks they'll be working with that teacher. Regular Times will be given to grade teams during Thursday staff meetings to coordinate Friday Groups.

In order for Small Groups to work, we need the support of Advisors. Each advisor should be working with their advisories each week to make sure they understand their plans for Fridays (whether they are in small groups or working asynchronously). In addition, Advisors need to remind students that zoom classes like Theater and PE are required zooms. It is NOT the case that students have the "day off" on Fridays.

On Fridays, Attendance needs to be tracked by:

Live Zoom Classes. As with any other day, if you have a live zoom class (Advisory, PE, Theater), please take attendance.

Small Group Zooms. All teachers should put a "P" for students who show for their Small Group, an "A" for those that were assigned but didn't show. Small Group teachers need to also contact home and email advisors if students do not show. 

Advisors.   All advisors have a check-in period for advisory (or a live zoom) on Fridays.  Advisors should connect with all of their advisees on Fridays (phone call, text, quick zoom check in).  The goal of the (1) check in is to make sure they know their assignments for Friday Small Groups (or asynchronous work if no groups); (2) simply check in to see how their week went; and (3) record these check ins as "P" for attendance purposes on Fridays.

Whew!!  That was a LOT of information about Friday Small Groups.  Well, with anything new, that is expected to be the case for a while.  Please read and re-read as many times as necessary, and then if you have any questions/concerns/ideas, please put them in Annie's Parking Lot. 

Grade-Based Intervention Groups. In addition to Friday Small Groups, several teachers on staff have periods assigned to work with individual students requiring extra help and support. Teachers should communicate with the teacher leading these groups and refer students on an as-needed basis. In addition, teachers with these periods should populate these groups with students in their grade bands who have IEPs and/or are ENL learners. In these intervention groups, the teachers will do one-on-one and small group support to provide the feedback and help needed for students to successfully complete assigned work from their classroom teachers. Here are the teachers who currently have grade-based intervention group. If more groups are needed, we may have the capacity to add more. For now, we'll being with these:

6th & 7th Grade: Alison, Marsha

8th & 9th Grade:  Cassandra, Marsha

10th & 11th Grade:  Rebecca C, Joey

12th Grade:  Joey 

In addition, Tiffany, Christina, and Nadine are working with students with IEPs who have SETTS and Rebecca F, Laura, and Suzannah each have groups to work with our ENL students.  

Please reach out to these teachers with questions you have about individual students with whom they are working and/or to refer students for extra intervention.  As with all things now on the blog, please, if you have any questions, please put them in Annie's Parking Lot.

Anti-Racist Committee Work. The Summer Restructuring Committee met to discuss next steps and set plans for the remainder of the year incorporating the feedback that some of you shared in last week's survey (thank you for that!).  Moving forward, the SRC will now be known as the SCHOOL restructuring committee, and we will begin recruiting and selecting members for the committee.  If you are interested in being a member of the committee, please 

Per Session Activities

To Apply for any of the following per session opportunities, please COMPLETE THIS FORM and email the appropriate point person listed in this posting.  

Anti-Racist Committee Work. The Summer Restructuring Committee met to discuss next steps and set plans for the remainder of the year incorporating the feedback that some of you shared in last week's survey (thank you for that!).  Moving forward, the SRC will now be known as the SCHOOL restructuring committee, and we will begin recruiting and selecting members for the committee.  This committee will work in conjunction with the Equity Team to evaluate systems and policies at UAI and take the steps necessary to ensure that they are equitable.  Please COMPLETE THIS FORM by 13OCT20 if you are interested in joining!

Circles Committee.  Posting Closed.  Selections made by Marsha.  Deadline to Apply was Friday 25SEP20. Thank you to all who applied!

        APPLIED: Kristina, Jennifer, Laura, Nakita, and Juelle

    SELECTED: Jennifer, Nakita, and Juelle

Student Recruitment Committee.  Posting Closed.  Selections made by Jen.  Deadline to Apply was Friday 25SEP20. Thank you to all who applied!

       APPLIED: Jelissa, Christina, Rebecca F, Phillan and Kelly

    SELECTED: Jelissa, Christina, Rebecca F, Phillan and Kelly

Equity Team. Posting Closed. Selections will be announced by Summer Restructuring Committee. Deadline to apply was 20SEP20.  Selections still TBD

Week of September 21st

 UAI Staff News

Volume VIII

Issue 9

September 21st, 2020

Principal's Message

Tomorrow will be the first day of classes for the 2020-2021 school year.  We will begin this year just as we ended last year, fully remote.  However, when we stepped into this new remote instruction world in March, it was sudden, unknown, and as a result, incredibly petrifying.

Since then, both as a community at UAI and a member of the United States as a whole, we have experienced wave upon wave of social and political change.  Together we experienced a national racial reckoning which ripped open our own interrogation of inequity built into UAI systems and policies. Simultaneously, we are surfing the hills and valleys of the DOE's whiplash guidance to school opening and protecting the health and safety of ourselves, our students, and our families.

Through all of it, we have hung together and today, we find ourselves as prepped as possible to welcome our students and their families back to the new school year.  We are not in a perfect positions - that's just an impossibility.  We are in the best possible place we can be.  You have all worked relentlessly to prepare your students and your classes for tomorrow's launch.  For tomorrow, honor yourself and your work.  Inevitably you will encounter issues either tomorrow or in the days to come.  A tech glitch here or a lost student there - expect these things to happen.  Ready yourself for the bumps, and when you do, be confident that you WILL navigate them all and do exactly what our students need you to do!  You have been asked to deliver the impossible, and as a result, you produced and will continue to do pretty darn great work!

I thank you, Annie & Jen thank you, and most of all, our families and your students will truly appreciate you.

Good Luck to you all this week!  You are gonna make some amazing lemonade out of this mountain of lemons, and I cannot wait to see  you do it!

To Do This Week

Schedules and Messaging. You were cc'ed on the message students received and the Student Facing Schedule 21SEP-30SEP20. You also still have access to the UAI Schedule 21SEP20 which has the staff programs and student lists with student names. Changes to advisories are still happening. To the extent possible, I am trying to keep the groups the same, but those will have to shift in some cases as well. From here on out, when I make changes to the lists or schedules, I'll send a message out to those teachers impacted. At this point, the rate of change has decreased to a level that I can keep up with. Students are still opting into remote, so the changes are still happening, unfortunately, so please adapt as needed. Help us communicate to families by explaining that changes are a result of students opting into remote and maintaining advisory/group sizes. If they have specific issues, please DO NOT tell them to email me directly. I can't keep up with that volume. Instead, please gather their requests/questions and enter them into Annie's Parking Lot.

Professional Expectations for Remote Working 21-SEP thru 30SEP20. As discussed in our Friday meeting, please uphold the professional work expectations while working remotely this week and next (and any time you are working remotely).

• Ensure Working Tech. Please make sure your internet and device are adequate for effectively delivering instruction with your students. If you do not have reliable internet or reliable technology, then you will need to work at school. If you are working under accommodations and you cannot create an effective work environment at home, please reach out to me, Annie, or Jen as soon as possible. If we cannot find a way to resolve a way for you to effectively deliver your responsibilities from home, we will have to explore other leave options.

• Your Camera MUST be on. Whenever you are conducting live zooms with students, your cameras are required to be on. When you are in meetings with co-teachers or in staff meetings, camera use can be negotiated by members of that meeting, but whenever you are working with students (in small groups, in live zooms, or one-on-ones) you need to have your cameras on so that they can see you. Building relationships with a screen is challenging. Just as you find challenges with working with students with their screens off, they are exponentially more challenged when your screen is off. It will take time to build the trust and relationships with your students so that they feel comfortable with you & their peers. When you develop those trusting relationships, your students will turn their cameras on. The first step to doing that will be make sure your camera is on with them at all times.
• Safeguard your Zooms. Please remember to use your zoom safety protocols (e.g. Waiting Room, Controlled Chat, Whiteboard Annotation turned off, etc) to make sure that you have guarded as much as possible from any zoom bombers.
• Build In Your Break Times. You have 55 minutes to hold your zooms. Please start your zooms on time (at the start of the period). However, you can definitely build in break time between zooms. So, for example, if your zoom is scheduled for 1st period (8:30-9:25), you should start your zoom at 8:30 and then have the option to end as early as 9:10 (40 minute zoom) but no later than 9:20 (50 minute zoom).
• Be on Time to All Meetings. We will have regularly scheduled Co-Planning and Staff meetings this week. Please plan to be on time for the start of those meetings. All of these meetings begin promptly at 2:50PM.

Prioritize Connections. In Person teaching has countless opportunities to build relationships with your students. An informal hello, a little look or even a high five (remember those days!) are all the tiny things that build up into more formal interactions like a one-on-one or extended conversation. This year, we don't have that with the majority of our students. So, we need to find ways to create them. Work together to brainstorm and think of strategies to do these small acts of connections (e.g. private chats to students, dropping into a breakout room chat and connecting with individuals & their ideas, individualized notes on student work, phone calls home, etc). You need to make explicit space in your planning and lesson execution for building relationships with your students this year. You no longer have the informal, unplanned space to leverage. It will feel a little planned and stilted, but the more you try, the more you will succeed, and ultimately, the stronger your relationships will be. Find ways to connect with your students BOTH academically and personally every day. For example, this week, you may want to have shorter full class zooms (e.g. 30 minute full class), and save the last 10-20 minutes of the live zooms for small groups to just get to know and connect with & simple get to know your students. Show genuine curiosity about who they are and what dreams they have, and that little bit of time will lay incredibly strong foundations for the rest of the year.

Being Anti-Racist is A Daily Effort. Many, many thanks to Marsha & Annie for their work in launching our work around rebuilding UAI into an Anti-Racist organization. Please do reach out to Marsha to join the planning team in planning future circles. Also, a number of folks mentioned being out of the loop on the work that folks did this summer - so please do refer to the Summer Restructuring Committee goals and Outcomes.

In launching this school year, please remember that working to control unconscious biases and work towards becoming an Anti-Racist organization is not binary (a yes or no). It is a continuum, as Marsha shared with us on Friday. Each of us as individuals can being the work individually. The strategies of perspective taking and individuation are two that all of us need to slow down and adopt in our work with our students and each other.

Prioritizing relationships allows us to get to know the individuals (both child and adult) with whom we work. Pausing to consider multiple perspectives on a position will be key to supporting your development of teaching and learning environments that dismantle systemic racism and move UAI along the continuum towards becoming an anti-racist institution. In June, we participated in Modules 1 (The Stories we Tell), and Module 2 (Mirrors and Windows) which discussed these strategies. CLICK HERE to revisit those modules.

My Mistakes. It is without a doubt that there are mistakes some place in the programming. The amount of variables, whiplash redos, and non-stop changes, has made it impossible for me to catch everything. All I ask is that when you see something, please ask! I ask that you use Annie's Parking Lot because I will definitely lose track of anything you email to me. There's just too much volume - not just from UAI staff, but from the DOE, UAI students, families and partners (not to mention all the annoying ads from vendors that totally annoy me). So, please, expect that I will make mistake, AND know that when you tell me about them, I will fix them! Thank you!

Per Session Activities

To Apply for any of the following per session opportunities, please COMPLETE THIS FORM and email the appropriate point person listed in this posting.  

Circles Committee.  Marsha & Annie have done an amazing job launching our staff circles this year.  This is a big lift and we are looking to involve more staff to support the planning as we move forward in the year.  We are looking for 2 teachers to work collaboratively 1 hour per week to plan our monthly circles.  Please complete the per session interest form and email Marsha with your interest.  

Student Recruitment Committee. Even before school starts, we are planning ahead to next year! This year in particular is going to be challenging. So, we are looking to recruit 4 teachers for our student recruitment committee. We will certainly need to shift our historical practices, and as a member of the team, you would be part of developing a new physically distant strategy for getting our school's name out there and to recruit new students for the Fall 2021 semester. This committee runs all year long and hours will vary with a minimum of 4 hours per month. Please complete per session interest form by 28SEP20 and email Jen. Jen will be making final selections for the committee.

School Culture and Student Activities Committee. Posting Closed.  Selections will be announced by Jen.  Deadline to Apply was Friday 20SEP20. Thank you to all who applied!

        APPLIED: Elana, Jelissa, Kelly, Nadine, Phillan, Rebecca C, Rebecca F & Rachel

    SELECTED: Elana, Kelly, Phillan, Rebecca F & Rachel

Equity Team. Posting Closed. Selections will be announced by Summer Restructuring Committee. Deadline to apply was 20SEP20.

Week of September 14th

 UAI Staff Summer News

Volume VIII

Issue 8

September 14th, 2020

Principal's Message

Tomorrow will be the first time many of you have stepped foot into UAI since we shut our doors in March.  In an ideal situation, we would have all the answers to your many, many legitimate concerns and questions.  But this is anything but an ideal situation.

However, we do have some answers, and you are all in the midst of creating solutions to those questions yourselves.  Both the UFT and principals worked hard to petition the DOE for more time to prepare for a safe and successful re-opening of our schools.  For some schools, time is still not enough.  For us, we are in a privileged and fortunate position relative to many of our DOE colleagues and friends.   We may not be 100%, but we are at like 97% prepared for the year.  Over the upcoming week, we will continue to push toward 100!

I hear concerns about bathrooms.  The bathroom in the locker room (502) is on a separate ventilation system than the other bathrooms in the core.  Therefore, if you do not feel comfortable using the bathrooms until the exhaust can be repaired, then please use that one in 502.  Carlos and the team are working around the clock to repair the bathrooms.  He was working on it on Friday.  I will have updates tomorrow (Monday), but I fully expect that the bathrooms to be fully ventilated and functioning very soon.

The MERV 13 filters are an additional layer of protection as I described in the staff meeting on Friday.  Those filters are still on back-order, but as protection, you will be provided with KN95 masks and Face Shields to use.  Also, on Monday, I'm expecting an update from Carlos on the status of these.

Regardless, even if everything were 100% in place, there would no doubt be a lot of anxiety and concern.  Before my own official report date on 31AUG, I had been in the building several times since March, but STILL there was a rock and pit in my stomach - and I'm not an anxious person!!  In general the unknown is scary, but this year, it is horrifying.

I'm sure that was anything but calming.

However, the truth is that platitudes and cheerleading are not what you need.  You need transparency, truth, and reality.  You deserve that.

In place of cheerleading, I will give you my faith.  I believe in your tenacity, strength, and ingenuity.  I have seen each of you persevere and deliver on a daily basis for our students - year after year.  I have no doubt that you will fight even harder this year to do so again.  I can't take away your fear or anxiety, but I can believe in you, support you, and if needed be there to remind you (not tell you) but remind you that you can do this! AND together, we will make this one year to remember and the best experience possible for our girls and their families.

To Do This Week

Get Tested. Frequent testing is key to mitigating COVID transmission. All DOE Employees MUST be tested prior to entering DOE buildings. COVID Testing is available throughout the city and it is free. You can also choose one of the DOE Prioritized locations for expedited testing and results. All staff must also complete this HEALTH SCREENING each day you are scheduled to be in the building prior to entering school. If you have a positive result, please contact me immediately. When we all get tested, we work to protect one another. As of today, 14SEP20 at 8AM, I have received no reports of any positive COVID cases at the Adams Street Campus.

2nd Week of Prep for School Opening. This week, all in-person staff are required to report to school from 8:30. Damon reached out with staff concerns. I completely hear your concerns, and am doing what I can to make accommodations. However, there are limitations. Where possible, in-person staff will be able to work from home to complete assigned tasks. Please continue to check out the UAI Staff PD & School Opening Calendar. However, given that tasks like supply distribution or classroom/workspace set up are only in-person tasks, all staff without accommodations will be on site Mon-Thu next week. As a reminder, for all staff, if you are assigned to work remotely, you are expected to be at home working. If you have appointments, you must request and take personal time for those appointments. All non-emergency requests (e.g. personal time or anything EXCEPT calling our sick) should go through your direct supervisor.

Advisory Connections. As a reminder, the time you are given for advisory outreach is given to have successful connections (not just sending emails and making calls - but actually successful communications and information exchange). We not only need you to reach out, but we need our families to respond back. In order to do this, you should using a variety of methods - email, text, phone calls (all numbers and emails of BOTH students and families). There are still a number of kids for whom we do not have information. By Friday 18SEP20, we need concrete data (not that you emailed or called - but rather - actual answers and data in the columns). We're tracking student information - not your activities. So, we need to know the students information - not the teacher actions. Without accurate information from our students and families, we cannot hope to have a smooth opening. We need your help to get that information! Please use your independent work time throughout this week to follow up with your advisees and enter in the appropriate information. If for some reason, your advisees are not listed, please enter their names and their information. Thank you!! Your efforts help us all and is greatly, greatly appreciated! CLICK HERE to access the Advisory Information Sheet.

Per Session Activities

To Apply for any of the following per session opportunities, please COMPLETE THIS FORM and email the appropriate point person listed in this posting.  

Circles Committee.  Marsha & Annie have done an amazing job launching our staff circles this year.  This is a big lift and we are looking to involve more staff to support the planning as we move forward in the year.  We are looking for 2 teachers to work collaboratively 1 hour per week to plan our monthly circles.  Please complete the per session interest form and email Marsha with your interest.  

Student Recruitment Committee. Even before school starts, we are planning ahead to next year! This year in particular is going to be challenging. So, we are looking to recruit 4 teachers for our student recruitment committee. We will certainly need to shift our historical practices, and as a member of the team, you would be part of developing a new physically distant strategy for getting our school's name out there and to recruit new students for the Fall 2021 semester. This committee runs all year long and hours will vary with a minimum of 4 hours per month. Please complete this per session interest form by 28SEP20 and email Jen. Jen will be making final selections for the committee.

School Culture and Student Activities Committee. We are recruiting staff to join our new Student Activities Committee. We are looking for 4-5 staff members to join Jen, parents, and students in planning and executing all senior activities for 8th and 12th grade, assemblies for all grades, parent events, and other student activities as determined by the committee throughout the year. Please note, this is a new committee and will replace senior activities coordinator and assembly coordinator positions. Members on this committee will report directly to Jen. Jen will select the committee members to equitably represent grades, skills and interests. Please complete this Per Session Interest Form and send an email to Jen in order to apply for this committee. Hours will range depending on activities and needs. Deadline to Apply is Friday 20SEP20.

Equity Team. Rebecca C has introduced the idea of the equity team and will re-introduce it on Tuesday to staff. Equity team members will have at least 3 hours per month of per session to meet. If you are interested in joining the team, you must complete the Per Session Interest Form.  NOTE:  completing the form does not mean you are on the team.  Team members will be selected by a specific process that Rebecca will review on Tuesday.  Deadline to apply is 20SEP20.