Week of May 16th

UAI Staff News

Volume IX

Issue 31

May 9th, 2022

Final Two Full Weeks!  These are the final two full weeks of new instruction. This has been another super challenging year, and we are in the final stage of the year.  

We're all feeling the stress right now.  The kids's skills are behind where they would normally be in a school year with COVID, and they know that as much as we know that.   We, as adults, have had our own bucket of struggles as each of us navigated a sea of personal stress & challenge with the backdrop of COVID still looming large.

Dude... this has been a hard year...after year... after year...

BUT - The finish line is finally in site.  We have only 11 instructional days left in May, and when we get to June there's only 8 teaching days left for the high school (and 11 for the middle school).   June 1-14 will be our final Power Up "week" for the high school (with June 21st for the MS).  

These next two weeks are our opportunity to grasp for and root some level of normalcy for ourselves and our students.  

• Kids will continue to test us and push the boundaries - which is normal - because they're teenagers
• Teachers & Paras will continue to find new ways to cajole, encourage, challenge and motivate their students - which is normal - because you're awesome at what you do
• Counselors will continue to listen, guide, and push our students to reflect on their choices, learn from their mistakes, and make better paths for themselves as they grow and develop - both normal and essential!
• School Support Teams will continue to manage all of the endless pieces of operation that allow the school to run - so normal and soooo endless!
• School Leadership will continue to find ways encourage and push everyone to be their best in their roles at UAI - which is admittedly annoying at times - but also super normal and what is to be expected.

After a sea of uncertainty, I reach for these elements of normalcy like life rafts bringing stability and centeredness.  In these next few weeks, we will all be in our feels at some point or another, but I encourage you to step out and look at those reactions in the context our larger experience this year.  We have a lot to fix, but we also have to honor what we have achieved in light of what we have all experienced together.

UAI, we got these next few weeks because we've had this all year long!!  

In the words of my 14 year old boy ---- Let's gooooooo!

 

Important dates this month & next.  

• Monday, 16MAY:  Full Staff Meeting in the Library at 3PM
• Scheduling Committee Report Out
  
  
• Mock Regents: Please Review the Mock Regents Schedule
• Friday, 20MAY:  US History Mock Regents 12:10-2:50PM
• Monday, 23MAY:  Algebra I Mock Regents 12:10-2:50PM
• Tuesday, 24MAY:  Science (Earth/Living) Mock Regents 9:00-11:10AM
  
  
• Monday, 23MAY:  Full Staff Meeting in the Library at 3PM
• Hiring Committee Report Out
• Regents Exam Grading
  
  
• Monday 30MAY:  Memorial Day
• No School
  
  
• Wednesday, 01JUN:  USH Regents Exam Day - NO CLASSES
  
  
• Monday, 06JUN:  Final Circle PD
  
  
• Tuesday, 07JUN:  Correction to Calendar - we DO have school!
  
  
• Tuesday, 07JUN:  Final Day of Regular Classes for Seniors
• NOTE:  List of Seniors Failing Your Class Due on 03JUN so we can communicate programming for students mandated to small groups
  
  
• Thursday, 09JUN:  Brooklyn Queens Day - Remote PD Day
  
  
• Tuesday, 14JUN:  Last day of classes grades 9-11
  
  
• Thursday, 16JUN:  High School Graduation at 11AM @ City Tech
  
  
• Week of 15JUN-24JUN:  Regents Week - Regular Classes for Grades 6 & 7
  Here are the exams we are giving:
• Wed 15JUN:  
• 9AM:  ELA Regent Exam
• 1PM:  Living Environment Regent Exam
• Thu 16JUN:
• 9AM:  ALG 1 Regent Exam
• Fri 17JUN: 
• 1PM:  EARTH SCI Regent Exam
• Tue 21JUN: 
• 9AM: GEOMETRY Regent Exam
• 1PM: LOTE Regent Exam 
• Wed 22JUN:  
• 9AM:  ALG 2 Regent Exam
  
  
• Friday, 17JUN:  Last Day for Teachers Going on Vacation!
• Must Complete End of Year Exit Sheet Prior to End of Day
  
  
• Monday, 20JUN:  Juneteenth - NO SCHOOL
  
  
• Tuesday 21JUN:  Middle School Portfolio (ELA/MATH) week begins (Schedule TBD)
  
  
• Monday, 27JUN:  Last Day for Students 
  
  
• Tuesday, 28JUN:  Last Day for Staff

Committee Updates

Scheduling Committee. The scheduling committee is currently working on making sure students meet pre-requisites for required courses.  They will be presenting their work to staff next Monday 16MAY to provide folks with a progress report.  You can see the agenda and notes here.  

The Hiring Committee.  Our next fair is On May 24, 2022.  Please SHARE OUT THIS FLIER to anyone you know who may be looking for a job in teaching next year!   

• You can always view our notes and decisions on THIS DOC. 
  
  

Equity Team. Please complete the survey that Joey sent out. The com.  Agenda

Circles Committee.  No Updates this week

Consultation Committee.  Next meeting is on Thursday 19MAY -  at 3PM in room 403.  See consultation committee notes.   

Instructional Leadership Team. Mock Regents dates have been set (see below for details).  Also, all teachers with formal observations should be meeting with their ILT leader to prepare for their final observations with Kiri & Annie.

Announcements

Mock Regents.  The instructional leadership team finalized dates for Mock Regents for students who will be taking exams in June.  Teams should have already heard from their ILT leads.  (ELA - I am still waiting to hear back from your team on a date...).  We don't have the capacity to hold Mocks for all the regent exams, so we're holding them for the exams required for graduation:  ELA, USH, ALG 1, Earth/Living.  

The main goal of a mock regent is to provide students an experience with extended time testing.  Students have not tested for longer than a single class period for years, at this point.  By creating a schedule to imitate Regents testing conditions, teachers will have the opportunity to coach students to build stamina and persistence throughout the exam.  These are not actual exams, the point of these exams is to help students develop the testing resilience they need to accurately demonstrate what they know.

Framing the exams is important for students.  Teachers should definitely use the following information to help frame the exams in a positive frame for students so that we limit anxiety and maximize student ability to show us what they can do and what they really know.

• Generous Grading Curves.  It is highly likely that given NYS wanted to suspend regents again this year (the Federal Government said no) that the state will create more generous curves on the Regents Rubrics.  So, it's very possible that students could end up scoring very well on the exams this June - despite having had huge disruptions in learning this year.
  
  
• Unknown Content & Strategic Thinking.  Disruptions in learning this year (remember our late start and almost non-existent instruction during Omicron in December & January) were unavoidable.  So, it's also unavoidable that kids will run into concepts that they may not have fully mastered (or even covered).  However, students have acquired the reasoning and thinking skills necessary to make educated guesses.  The mock regent is a time to engage students with building their test-taking strategies to eliminate answers and make educated guesses!
  
  
• Format & Stamina.  Students have not yet had a full experience of a multi-hour exam this year. This mock regent is designed to provide teachers the opportunity to teach into the format of the entire exam and to coach students during testing to build their stamina and resilience - e.g. finding the students who are putting their heads down and giving up and giving them feedback and ideas on how to regroup and keep trying.  Certainly things can't happen during the actual exam, but as this is their first extended testing experience - a lesson on learning how to manage the experience is required.

Another goal of mock regents, of course, is to provide teachers with the content data needed to tailor the final days of instruction for their classes.  Staff will have time to grade regents exams during PD time, and if necessary, per session hours.

Special Notes:  

• SCIENCE TEACHERS:  Many of the kids on your lists already have a science regent exam (except 8th graders - all 8th graders must sit for their science regent).  However, traditionally, students have had the greatest success with a 2nd science for their Plus One.  Students who need a science regent or a Plus One will automatically be registered to take their science exam.  Science Teachers will have the option to make final recommendations for lists, factoring in student needs and performance on the Mock Exams.

Calendar Changes.  In reviewing the calendar, and then double checking with the powers that be, June 7th is a REGULAR school day for us.  The clerical day is for schools with only grade 6-8 or K-12, not 6-12.  So, we have a regular school day that day!

STARS Updates.  Please check your class lists - Gen Ed and Special Ed.  There were some mistakes in students who were assigned to teachers.  To be honest with the staffing changes that happened (Teachers resigning, being hired) and the new programming model we used this year, it was super hard to track everything that was in motion.  However, I did finally get to this item that was constantly pushed off my plate - which was to check and double check STARS assignments.  There are a million tiny moving pieces in the program - just ask anyone on the scheduling committee!  So, please raise up any mistakes you see to me as soon as you seen them.  Jennifer & I tried to catch as many as we could, but we are mere humans.  We need multiple eyes to catch everything. So please help!

Monday Full Staff Meetings.  On Monday, we will once again meet in the library to continue our work to build up our general community connections.  This will continue each Monday for the remainder of the year.  For the upcoming Mondays, here are the topics of the meetings.

• 16MAY - Scheduling Committee Update
• 23MAY - Hiring Committee Update & Regents Grading
• 06JUN - Final Staff Circle
• 13JUN - Regents Schedule Review for HS Staff - No meeting for MS Staff

<<REPOST>>Small Group Instruction.  All small groups are launched MP4 Small Groups.  For students who are not responding to outreach or who are not attending small groups, please escalate those names to Kiri by Friday, 13MAY22.  If you missed that deadline, please email me before EOD today. Before escalating, please make sure that you have attempted to call home with the student first (e.g. pulled the student and called home with them from their cell phone).    As a reminder, students who are still failing by May31st will be assigned to attend school for extra help in small groups during Regents Exam testing days in June.

 

Staff Picnic. Our first ever Staff Family Picnic is this Saturday, May 21st at 11:30 in Prospect Park. Look out for a details in an upcoming email from the planning team!  Please bring your own food and drink & something to sit on! 

 

To Do This Week

PAY ATTENTION TO THE YELLOW HIGHLIGHTS
This is the stuff that requires your attention AND it's stuff you need to do!

Do Small Group Outreach.  All teachers with small groups must call families on Tuesday to let them know that small groups will launch on Tuesday.  Please update the form  HERE once outreach is complete.  If you have any issues or problems with outreach, please contact Kiri directly!  

Please Celebrate Our Students.   Our Student Awards Ceremony is in two weeks and we still need nominations...Please take a minute to nominate a student!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1HF3Ys2wgJOz0pl3yzUIMFvkcMqizRaDK-m30qv1vp6o/edit#gid=0

Per Session Postings

Please complete THIS PER SESSION INTEREST FORM and email Kiri to let her know that you are applying for a per session position.

School Organization.   We are now ready to begin organizing stuff! Dai will be supervising all efforts, but I've appointed chiefs of certain areas to work with her.  

Science Supplies Chief - Liza with Team:  Judy, Tom, Sarah R, Nina, Phillan

Student Schwag Supplies Chief - Kelly with Team:  Jen, Elena, Aisha

2022 UAI SUMMER Camp.  

Staffed: 

1. Jenetta (Summer School Coordinator, Social Justice Course) - Staffed - Social Justice Course
2. Kelly (Summer School Coordinator, Regents Prep Coordinator) - Staffed (Summer/Regents Coordinator)
3. Jelissa (SYEP, Student Recruitment) - Staffed - SYEP coordinator, Student Recruitment
4. Adelle (Student Recruitment) - Student Recruitment
5. Freida (Summer Arts Elective) = Staffed Summer Arts Elective
6. Nina (Regents Prep) - Staffed - Regents Prep
7. Nicole (SYEP, Student Recruitment)- Staffed - SYEP Support,Student Recruitment
8. Juelle (Student Recruitment) - Staff Student Recruitment
9. Brodie (Summer School Administrator) - Staffed - Summer School Admin
10. Shana (STEAM Summer Elective) - Staffed - STEAM Summer Elective
11. Rebecca (Pottery with a Wheel)- Staffed - Pottery
12. Olympia (Creative Writing) - Staffed - Creative Writing

Week of May 9th

UAI Staff News

Volume IX

Issue 31

May 9th, 2022

Happy Mother's Day!  Happy Mother's day to all of your mothers and all of you who are mothers!  

Mother's are often our very first teachers.  Our first lessons focused on the necessary and fundamental such as eating and walking.  As we grow, mothers are often those who teach us about the power of emotions and connections (both the positive and negative!).  Mothers are our guides, inspirations, sounding boards, and #1 cheerleaders (and at times, our chief critics).

As folks who work with kids along their range of  academic and social emotional development, we share many of these same roles in different manners.  We often play the school parent with our students- pushing & guiding, cajoling & reprimanding, celebrating & disciplining.  

So as you pause today to celebrate mothers in your own life, take a moment to honor yourself and the role you play in the lives of our students as we all lift them up to become their best selves!

 

Important dates this month.  

• Monday, 09MAY:  Full Staff Meeting in the Library at 3PM
• Equity Team Presentation
• See Equity Team Email for Specific Updates
  
  
• Monday, 16MAY:  Full Staff Meeting in the Library at 3PM
• Scheduling Committee Report Out
  
  
• Monday, 23MAY:  Full Staff Meeting in the Library at 3PM
• Hiring Committee Report Out
  
  
• Monday 30MAY:  Memorial Day
• No School

Committee Updates

Scheduling Committee. The scheduling committee is currently working on making sure students meet pre-requisites for required courses.  They will be presenting their work to staff next Monday 16MAY to provide folks with a progress report.  You can see the agenda and notes here.  

The Hiring Committee.  Our next fair is On May 12, 2022.  Please SHARE OUT THIS FLIER to anyone you know who may be looking for a job in teaching next year!   

• You can always view our notes and decisions on THIS DOC. 
  
  

Equity Team.  The Equity Team read another passage from Pushout this week to start thinking about which specific policies are causing disproportionality in our discipline data and how we might revise these policies.  The team will reconvene to discuss the reading this week.  Agenda

Circles Committee.  No Updates this week

Consultation Committee.  Next meeting is on Thursday 19MAY -  at 3PM in room 403.  See consultation committee notes.   

Instructional Leadership Team. No Updates this week

Announcements

Monday Full Staff Meetings.  On Monday, we will once again meet in the library to continue our work to build up our general community connections.  This will continue each Monday for the remainder of the year.  For the upcoming Mondays, here are the topics of the meetings.

• 16MAY - Scheduling Committee Presents
• 23MAY - DESSA Final round & Hiring Committee Presents
• 30MAY - No Meeting (Memorial Day - No School)
• 06JUN - Final Staff Circle
• 13JUN - Regents Schedule Review for HS Staff

Small Group Instruction.  All small groups are launched MP4 Small Groups.  For students who are not responding to outreach or who are not attending small groups, please escalate those names to Kiri by Friday, 13MAY22.  Before escalating, please make sure that you have attempted to call home with the student first (e.g. pulled the student and called home with them from their cell phone).  

Staff Picnic. Our first ever Staff Family Picnic is this Saturday, May 14th at 11:30 in Prospect Park. Look out for a details in an upcoming email from the planning team!  Please bring your own food and drink & something to sit on! 

 

To Do This Week

PAY ATTENTION TO THE YELLOW HIGHLIGHTS
This is the stuff that requires your attention AND it's stuff you need to do!

Do Small Group Outreach.  All teachers with small groups must call families on Tuesday to let them know that small groups will launch on Tuesday.  Please update the form  HERE once outreach is complete.  If you have any issues or problems with outreach, please contact Kiri directly!  

Please Celebrate Our Students.   Our Student Awards Ceremony is in two weeks and we still need nominations...Please take a minute to nominate a student!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1HF3Ys2wgJOz0pl3yzUIMFvkcMqizRaDK-m30qv1vp6o/edit#gid=0

Per Session Postings

Please complete THIS PER SESSION INTEREST FORM and email Kiri to let her know that you are applying for a per session position.

School Organization.   We have received a TON of stuff from our various orders.  Also, we have a TON of closets in need of organization.  So, if you're interested in joining the UAI organization extravaganza please submit via the per session interest form (link above) and email Kiri.  We're looking for volunteers to organize the science closet, the basement closets and any other closet or storage area that we can locate in the building.  If you're available to work after school or Saturdays, please let me know.  Once we have the team of folks together, we'll put together the plan and get everyone targeted on specific projects!

2022 UAI SUMMER Camp.  <STILL OPEN> This summer will build on what we started last summer in our effort to create highly engaging and challenging summer programming for our students.  Mandatory make-up programs have been moved into June and we are replacing the punitive form of summer school with programming that is aimed at enriching, exciting, and getting kids thrilled to be in school again!

We are looking for summer school teachers to offer programming this summer.  We will offer elective credit to the courses.  The courses can be anything that interests you, and classes will be limited no more than 15 students per class.  

We are looking for teachers to teach elective classes in:

• Arts:  Creative Writing, Art (visual, performing, or movement), Poetry, Storytelling, Photography etc.
• Social Justice:  Community Organizing, Protest Art, Social Media Campaigns, Etc.
• STEM:  Finance, Engineering, Drones, Rockets, 
• EntrepreneurialMedia:  Podcasting, YouTubing, Social Media Management, Documentary Film Making
• Open Call:  Have an Idea?  Submit it!!
  
  
  

Days:  11JUL-29JUL , Mondays-Thursdays ONLY

Hours (Max) 5 hrs per day 

    (90 min classes with an hour prep for each class up to two classes a day)

    Total possible hours = 60 hours    Minimum possible hours = 30 hours

(Applied)/ Staffed: 

1. Jenetta (Summer School Coordinator, Social Justice Course) - Staffed - Social Justice Course
2. Kelly (Summer School Coordinator, Regents Prep Coordinator) - Staffed (Summer/Regents Coordinator)
3. Jelissa (SYEP, Student Recruitment) - Staffed - SYEP coordinator, Student Recruitment
4. Adelle (Student Recruitment) - Student Recruitment
5. Freida (Summer Arts Elective) = Staffed Summer Arts Elective
6. Nina (Regents Prep) - Staffed - Regents Prep
7. Nicole (SYEP, Student Recruitment)- Staffed - SYEP Support,Student Recruitment
8. Juelle (Student Recruitment) - Staff Student Recruitment
9. Brodie (Summer School Administrator) - Staffed - Summer School Admin
10. Shana (STEAM Summer Elective) - Staffed - STEAM Summer Elective
11. Rebecca (Pottery with a Wheel)- Staffed - Pottery
12. Olympia (Creative Writing) - Staffed - Creative Writing

Week of May 3rd

UAI Staff News

Volume IX

Issue 30

May 3rd, 2022

Eid Mubarak!  Happy Eid to all who observe, and many happy warm celebrations to all in general!  

We have officially made it to May and are in our final 20 instructional days before reaching our final power up days in June.  I'll speak more to the end of the year calendar below, but first, I want to make this time to celebrate UAI, celebrate our staff, out students, and our community!

Prior to the break, Deputy Superintendent Debbie Afanadour came to do her final evaluative visit for the year.  Our instructional leadership team came together to show off our amazing teachers and programs!  In the middle of this visit, we had to shelter in for the morning to protect our community from external threats.  Despite the unexpected curveball, our teacher leaders rose to the occasion with calm, skill, and ease - making a deep impression with Debbie and leading her to write one of the best evaluations I've ever had as a school leader!  One of my biggest learnings over the last few years is that I don't have to do it all....our team is our truest strength, and having our superintendency recognize that strength in our school is amazing!  Thank you to:

• All the teachers whose classrooms we visited (Alison & Nica, Joey & Olympia, Shana & Claire) 
• Those who shared their curriculum (Marsha, Jenetta, and Kelly for African History)
• To those who shared our committee work (Nakita & Rebecca)
• To everyone who made the school run smoothly in the background of this visit with the backdrop of some crazy stuff on an insane day (Jen, Annie (from her sickbed!), Courtney, Jelissa, Nicole, Aisha, Dai, Jennifer, Marni, Danielle, Doris)

Like many schools, we have had a rough year.  Like a lot of schools, we have not been able to fill positions, teachers have resigned in the middle of the year, staff morale and health has been up and down, student health and morale has been up and down... It's been a roller coaster

BUT - our strength is in each other.  So many of you came together to showcase the amazing work we do in spite of the immense challenges we faced this year.  YET - this visit is only ONE part of the amazing work each of you do everyday

• Student Roundtables launched!  Months ago, Claire had the idea to launch this, and at the time, the weight of the year was a bit too much for folks.  Last Tuesday, all the staff who work with a particular student came together after school on Tuesday to discuss and share strategies that work, things tried but ineffective, and to collaboratively build a coherent approach to support this student to end the year with success.  It was a great and productive meeting for this student in particular!  Thank you to all who joined that meeting to set the bar and blueprint for how to work together to build effective intervention & support with our students with the highest needs (Nina, Jenetta, Freida, Joey, Nakita, Marsha, Kelly, Nadine, and Jean).  Nadine will be coordinating meetings on Tuesdays to continue this work.  We won't get to everyone, but we will begin creating a practice and structure to carry in to next year!!
  
  
• Lunchtime Connections and Main Office Shenanigans.  Over the last month, I've had the joy of spending many hours in the main office (while doing the very joyless job of MS test coordinating).  Dai, Denyea, Damaris, and Aisha have created a fabulous (and FUN) operations hub in our main office.  Their connections and support of one another is seamless and so inspiring to watch.  Similarly, the lunch crews that come in and out of the teachers lounge each day frequently erupt with laughter and joy.  I never heard what was said, but laughter is a balm that eases so many ills.  It is a true joy to hear it gurgling through the lounge and main office space at UAI.  It definitely shows the strength and trust that can build in unofficial, unmonitored settings - and often it is this informal community building that is the backbone of a much stronger and cohesive community.  I know COVID kept many out of the lounge, and we will endeavor to find other ways for folks to connect - maybe outside now that the weather is better - but the informal connections are in fact critical to our work.  It is important that we first recognize and see the humans we are and with whom we work!

It's time to make time to celebrate our community.  These stories are only the few (but amazing) that I've had the chance to see over the last couple of weeks.  This pandemic has been hard for so many.  It has become more common to commiserate than celebrate.

So, in the spirit of Eid al-Fitr, I invite us all to celebrate our community and ourselves this month.  Starting with

• Tuesday 03MAY - Friday 06MAY - It's Staff Appreciation Week!
  
  
• TUE 03MAY - Breakfast at UAI - Celebrate your Colleagues
• Grab some breakfast and leave a note of appreciation for a colleague!
• WED 04MAY - Lunch at UAI - Come Grab a Bite in the Backyard! 
• Join us in the backyard for a good old chat and chew
• THU 05MAY - Enjoy a Gift of Appreciation - Tiny Gifts of Thank Await You!
• Drop into the main office & teacher's lounge for a gift and a treat
• FRI 06MAY - Enjoy a Massage Break 
• Annie will be sending the sign up soon!  Sign up for some relaxation!
  
  
• Tuesday 03MAY @1PM:  Senior College Match Parade!
  
  
• At about 1:05 we are going to hold our Senior Commitment Day Parade - this is an opportunity for our amazing Seniors to show-off - loud & proud- their post secondary choices and celebrate their hard work and the quickly coming to an end 4 years of high school!
  
  The plan is that the Seniors will start on the 5th floor - showcasing some homemade banners (and some other fun surprises)  and loop down  and around to the 4th and 3rd floors before heading outside. Teachers on floors 5, 4 and 3 - we're asking that you begin lining students up outside of your classrooms in the hallways (along the walls) at 12:50  so that when Seniors come around they can be seen and cheered on by their classmates  - we will make an announcement to remind everyone.
  
  
• Teacher in the basement and 2nd floor - We are asking that you take your class outside the building and have them line-up outside - on Adams Street - starting at the corner of Adams and Johnson and have the line-UP move towards the Marriott - kids can be on both sides of the sidewalk, as long as the sidewalk is clear for people to walk .
  
  
• The whole process won't take more than 20 minutes - students will report to their last period class at the end of the parade.
  
  Any questions, please let Jen know..bring your cheer and excitement!
  
  
• Thursday, 26MAY @5:30PM:  Student Awards Night!
  
  
• We are finally able to hold an in-person ceremony to celebrate our amazing students!  BUT we need some help.  There are still quite a few  folks that have not nominated any students for our student awards ceremony. Please take a minute to complete This form so that we can formally invite students and families to the ceremony!

There are 20 school days in May.  Challenge yourself, your students, and your colleagues to find 20 different things to celebrate - at least one thing per day for the month of MAY!

 

Important dates this month.  

• May is UAI's Celebration of Islamic Heritage - Stay Tuned to Specific Updates from Jen!
• Wednesday, 04MAY:  8/9/10 Dance Field Trip to Moulin Rouge
• Monday, 09MAY:  Full Staff Meeting in the Library at 3PM
• Equity Team Presentation
• Monday, 16MAY:  Full Staff Meeting in the Library at 3PM
• Scheduling Committee Report Out
• Monday, 23MAY:  Full Staff Meeting in the Library at 3PM
• Hiring Committee Report Out
• Monday 30MAY:  Memorial Day
• No School

Committee Updates

Scheduling Committee. The scheduling committee met Wednesday to review the new schedule for the fall.  You can see the agenda and notes here.  

The Hiring Committee.  Our next fair is On May 12, 2022.  Please SHARE OUT THIS FLIER to anyone you know who may be looking for a job in teaching next year!   

• You can always view our notes and decisions on THIS DOC. 
  
  

Equity Team.  The Equity Team read another passage from Pushout this week to start thinking about which specific policies are causing disproportionality in our discipline data and how we might revise these policies.  The team will reconvene to discuss the reading this week.  Agenda

Circles Committee.  No Updates this week

Consultation Committee.  Next meeting is on Thursday 19MAY -  at 3PM in room 403.  See consultation committee notes.   

Instructional Leadership Team. No Updates this week

Announcements

Monday Full Staff Meetings.  On Monday, we will once again meet in the library to continue our work to build up our general community connections.  This will continue each Monday for the remainder of the year.  For the upcoming Mondays, here are the topics of the meetings.

• 09MAY - Equity Team Workshop
• 16MAY - Scheduling Committee Presents
• 23MAY - DESSA Final round & Hiring Committee Presents
• 30MAY - No Meeting (Memorial Day - No School)
• 06JUN - Final Staff Circle
• 13JUN - Regents Schedule Review for HS Staff

Small Group Instruction.  All small groups are launched MP4 Small Groups.  Please reach out to families to discuss student progress during Tuesday outreach.  Please make these PHONE CALLS or TEXT MESSAGES.  It's important that we document family responses - not just our outreach. 

Promotional conversations are often complex, and families and students will sometimes begin with "But the teacher never contacted me". To avoid this, I need you to document the outreach you made and the parent/family member response so that we can have more productive end-of-year conversations with families.

   

Teachers are expected to make weekly outreach to each student in their small group and update the document each week.  If students are absent from small groups, there must be phone calls home to let families know.  Families are very much our partners in this work, and our neediest students require strong and open communication between school and home if they are to fight their footholds for success!

 

To Do This Week

PAY ATTENTION TO THE YELLOW HIGHLIGHTS
This is the stuff that requires your attention AND it's stuff you need to do!

Do Small Group Outreach.  All teachers with small groups must call families on Tuesday to let them know that small groups will launch on Tuesday.  Please update the form  HERE once outreach is complete.  If you have any issues or problems with outreach, please contact Kiri directly!  

Please Celebrate Our Students.  Jen and her team are working to create a student awards night to celebrate our students' hard work this year.  Nothing truly compares to the praise of their teachers.  So please take a few moments to COMPLETE THIS DOCUMENT by the end of this week.  It will mean so much to each student and their family AND it will make you feel great too! 

Per Session Postings

Please complete THIS PER SESSION INTEREST FORM and email Kiri to let her know that you are applying for a per session position.

School Organization.   We have received a TON of stuff from our various orders.  Also, we have a TON of closets in need of organization.  So, if you're interested in joining the UAI organization extravaganza please submit via the per session interest form (link above) and email Kiri.  We're looking for volunteers to organize the science closet, the basement closets and any other closet or storage area that we can locate in the building.  If you're available to work after school or Saturdays, please let me know.  Once we have the team of folks together, we'll put together the plan and get everyone targeted on specific projects!

2022 UAI SUMMER Camp.  <STILL OPEN> This summer will build on what we started last summer in our effort to create highly engaging and challenging summer programming for our students.  Mandatory make-up programs have been moved into June and we are replacing the punitive form of summer school with programming that is aimed at enriching, exciting, and getting kids thrilled to be in school again!

We are looking for summer school teachers to offer programming this summer.  We will offer elective credit to the courses.  The courses can be anything that interests you, and classes will be limited no more than 15 students per class.  

We are looking for teachers to teach elective classes in:

• Arts:  Creative Writing, Art (visual, performing, or movement), Poetry, Storytelling, Photography etc.
• Social Justice:  Community Organizing, Protest Art, Social Media Campaigns, Etc.
• STEM:  Finance, Engineering, Drones, Rockets, 
• EntrepreneurialMedia:  Podcasting, YouTubing, Social Media Management, Documentary Film Making
• Open Call:  Have an Idea?  Submit it!!
  
  
  

Days:  11JUL-29JUL , Mondays-Thursdays ONLY

Hours (Max) 5 hrs per day 

    (90 min classes with an hour prep for each class up to two classes a day)

    Total possible hours = 60 hours    Minimum possible hours = 30 hours

(Applied)/ Staffed: 

1. Jenetta (Summer School Coordinator, Social Justice Course) - Staffed - Social Justice Course
2. Kelly (Summer School Coordinator, Regents Prep Coordinator) - Staffed (Summer/Regents Coordinator)
3. Jelissa (SYEP, Student Recruitment) - Staffed - SYEP coordinator, Student Recruitment
4. Adelle (Student Recruitment) - Student Recruitment
5. Freida (Summer Arts Elective) = Staffed Summer Arts Elective
6. Nina (Regents Prep) - Staffed - Regents Prep
7. Nicole (SYEP, Student Recruitment)- Staffed - SYEP Support,Student Recruitment
8. Juelle (Student Recruitment) - Staff Student Recruitment
9. Brodie (Summer School Administrator) - Staffed - Summer School Admin
10. Shana (STEAM Summer Elective) - Staffed - STEAM Summer Elective
11. Rebecca (Pottery with a Wheel)- Staffed - Pottery
12. Olympia (Creative Writing) - Staffed - Creative Writing

Week of April 25th

UAI Staff News

Volume IX

Issue 29

April 25th, 2022

Final Weeks.  Welcome back from what I hope was a restful and restorative Spring Break.  We are now officially in the final weeks of another challenging pandemic year, and hopefully, this year, we will actually wrap up the craziness and have a more solid fresh start in the fall!

We have a solid 5 weeks of instruction over the next month to pull our year to a close.  With so few instructional days in June for the high school and our middle school grades moving to working on ELA and Math portfolios in June, May is really our final active learning month of the year.

To capitalize on the change in the weather and in the manageability of COVID right now (she types as she knocks wood), we are planning to make a huge push to rev up our attendance for the remainder of the school year.   Jen and the attendance team are working on launching an attendance incentive for the month of May to encourage our young ones to either maintain or improve their school attendance for the remainder of the year!

The first step is to build new habits.  

It will not be magic overnight, but we will persist in supporting our students so that they overcome the challenges they face, and reach their academic and social emotional goals.

So.. how do we do that?

• Incentivize Good Attendance - By providing students with things they want (or want to do), we hope to encourage students to make the active choice to come to school on time everyday in the Monday of May.  We've seen them do it for the school field trips - we know they can.  So, we're pulling this lever in an effort to get more kids in on time.
• Targeted Attendance Outreach - For those students at most risk of course failure will be prioritized for outreach with our Attendance outreach team.  The team will work with those students first to begin to rebuild their school attendance habits - which will lead to their path towards academic success.
• Targeted Small Groups - Students who have checked out often do not know how to get back into the groove of learning.  They need help.  This week, we will launch targeted small groups to provide opportunities for building stronger relationships with their teachers which, in turn, will lay the foundation of trust needed to rebuild and reorient them to academic achievement and success.

 

Important dates this month.  

• Monday 25APR:  Full Staff Meeting in the Library at 3PM
• Preparing for Launch of Small Group Intervention
• Friday, 29APR:  College Commitment Day!
• Monday, 02MAY:  Eid Al-Fitr 
• No School
• Wednesday, 04MAY:  8/9/10 Field Trip Day
• Monday, 09MAY:  Full Staff Meeting in the Library at 3PM
• Equity Team Presentation
• Monday, 16MAY:  Full Staff Meeting in the Library at 3PM
• Scheduling Committee Report Out
• Monday, 23MAY:  Full Staff Meeting in the Library at 3PM
• Hiring Committee Report Out
• Monday 30MAY:  Memorial Day
• No School

Committee Updates

Scheduling Committee. The scheduling committee will meet Wednesday to review course selections and establish a process of student course selections for the fall.  You can see the agenda and notes here.  

The Hiring Committee.  Our next fair is On March 12, 2022.  Please SHARE OUT THIS FLIER to anyone you know who may be looking for a job in teaching next year!   

• You can always view our notes and decisions on THIS DOC. 
  
  

Equity Team.  The Equity Team read another passage from Pushout this week to start thinking about which specific policies are causing disproportionality in our discipline data and how we might revise these policies.  The team will reconvene to discuss the reading this week.  Agenda

Circles Committee.  No Updates this week

Consultation Committee.  Next meeting is TBD -  at 3PM in room 403.  See consultation committee notes.   Goals for this committee are still TBD

Instructional Leadership Team. No Updates this week

Announcements

Monday Full Staff Meetings.  On Monday, we will once again meet in the library to continue our work to build up our general community connections.  This will continue each Monday for the remainder of the year.  For the upcoming Mondays, here are the topics of the meetings.

• 25APR - Small Group Launch Logistics
• Review the Small Group Assignments
• Review Small Group Logistics and Expectations
• Q&A on Small Groups
• 02MAY - No Meeting (Eid-al Fitr- No School)
• 09MAY - Equity Team Workshop
• 16MAY - Scheduling Committee Presents
• 23MAY - Hiring Committee Presents
• 30MAY - No Meeting (Memorial Day - No School)
• 06JUN - Final Staff Circle
• 13JUN - Regents Schedule Review for HS Staff

Small Group Instruction.  Small groups are relaunching on Tuesday.  Students who failed 1 or 2 core classes have been placed in small groups with their teachers.  Students failing more than 2 core classes have been placed with School Leadership for intervention.   If you have not done so already, you need to contact each student assigned to your small group by the end of outreach time on Tuesdays.  As an FYI - Small groups take precedence.  So if they need to be pulled from a class to be in the small group (e.g. pulled from gym or ENL class), then they will be pulled so that they can receive the support they need to correct course failure.  Please call home to discuss:

• Why their child has failed your class
• When their child is slated to meet with you and what they can expect will happen during that time.
• Explain to families what the student needs to do to successfully earn credit for the course
• Explain that if the student is not yet satisfactorily performing in your course by May 30, the student will be assigned to come into school during all student non-attendance days in June.
• Once outreach has been made, please update in the MP4 Small Groups document.   

Teachers will be expected to make weekly outreach to each student in their small group and update the document each week.  If students are absent from small groups, there must be phone calls home to let families know.  Families are very much our partners in this work, and our neediest students require strong and open communication between school and home if they are to fight their footholds for success!

Final Round of Observations.  Starting next week, we will be doing our final round of observations.  For those of you with formal observations, please look for the calendar invite!  There may be a few folks who are in need of another informal observation because we have not had the chance to rate all of the Danielson indicators on our prior visits.  Those visits will be drop by visits.  

 

To Do This Week

PAY ATTENTION TO THE YELLOW HIGHLIGHTS
This is the stuff that requires your attention AND it's stuff you need to do!

Do Small Group Outreach.  All teachers with small groups must call families on Tuesday to let them know that small groups will launch on Tuesday.  Please update the form  HERE once outreach is complete.  If you have any issues or problems with outreach, please contact Kiri directly!  

Please Celebrate Our Students.  Jen and her team are working to create a student awards night to celebrate our students' hard work this year.  Nothing truly compares to the praise of their teachers.  So please take a few moments to COMPLETE THIS DOCUMENT by the end of this week.  It will mean so much to each student and their family AND it will make you feel great too! 

Per Session Postings

Please complete THIS PER SESSION INTEREST FORM and email Kiri to let her know that you are applying for a per session position.

School Organization.   We have received a TON of stuff from our various orders.  Also, we have a TON of closets in need of organization.  So, if you're interested in joining the UAI organization extravaganza please submit via the per session interest form (link above) and email Kiri.  We're looking for volunteers to organize the science closet, the basement closets and any other closet or storage area that we can locate in the building.  If you're available to work after school or Saturdays, please let me know.  Once we have the team of folks together, we'll put together the plan and get everyone targeted on specific projects!

2022 UAI SUMMER Camp.  <STILL OPEN> This summer will build on what we started last summer in our effort to create highly engaging and challenging summer programming for our students.  Mandatory make-up programs have been moved into June and we are replacing the punitive form of summer school with programming that is aimed at enriching, exciting, and getting kids thrilled to be in school again!

We are looking for summer school teachers to offer programming this summer.  We will offer elective credit to the courses.  The courses can be anything that interests you, and classes will be limited no more than 15 students per class.  

We are looking for teachers to teach elective classes in:

• Arts:  Creative Writing, Art (visual, performing, or movement), Poetry, Storytelling, Photography etc.
• Social Justice:  Community Organizing, Protest Art, Social Media Campaigns, Etc.
• STEM:  Finance, Engineering, Drones, Rockets, 
• EntrepreneurialMedia:  Podcasting, YouTubing, Social Media Management, Documentary Film Making
• Open Call:  Have an Idea?  Submit it!!
  
  
  

Days:  11JUL-29JUL , Mondays-Thursdays ONLY

Hours (Max) 5 hrs per day 

    (90 min classes with an hour prep for each class up to two classes a day)

    Total possible hours = 60 hours    Minimum possible hours = 30 hours

(Applied)/ Staffed: 

1. Jenetta (Summer School Coordinator, Social Justice Course) - Staffed - Social Justice Course
2. Kelly (Summer School Coordinator, Regents Prep Coordinator) - Staffed (Summer/Regents Coordinator)
3. Jelissa (SYEP, Student Recruitment) - Staffed - SYEP coordinator, Student Recruitment
4. Adelle (Student Recruitment) - Student Recruitment
5. Freida (Summer Arts Elective) = Staffed Summer Arts Elective
6. Nina (Regents Prep) - Staffed - Regents Prep
7. Nicole (SYEP, Student Recruitment)- Staffed - SYEP Support,Student Recruitment
8. Juelle (Student Recruitment) - Staff Student Recruitment
9. Brodie (Summer School Administrator) - Staffed - Summer School Admin
10. Shana (STEAM Summer Elective) - Staffed - STEAM Summer Elective
11. Rebecca (Pottery with a Wheel)- Staffed - Pottery
12. Olympia (Creative Writing) - Staffed - Creative Writing

Week of April 11th

UAI Staff News

Volume IX

Issue 28

April 11th, 2022

Ramadan.  This month many of our Muslim students are observing ritual and cultural practices associated with Ramadan. 

Fasting during the month of Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam.  Similar to fasting periods in Christianity and Judaism, this period for our muslim students and families is a time for self-restraint that leads to reflection, piety, and generosity - in many different ways.

During the month of Ramadan, observant muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, eating and drinking nothing for that entire time.  Additionally, the five daily prayers of Islam are also performed during Ramadan.  

To be fully inclusive and supportive of our muslim students' needs during Ramadan, we have provided students with a space for their midday prayer and access to elevators for the month of Ramadan.  It has been a few years since we supported students in observing Ramadan in person.  So, we do need to work out a few kinks in the prayer spaces and elevators.   Your patience on this is truly appreciated!

Despite the bumps, our students and families have been extremely appreciative of the efforts we have put forth during this month, and I am super appreciative to all staff who make UAI a welcome and supportive environment for all, but also especially for our muslim students this month.

Please continue to support our students in their observances this month!  Additionally, show them you value their cultural and religious practices by showing curiosity and desire to learn more about customs that may be outside of your own immediate experience or world view.

NOTE:  Last week, a few students told me that their teachers were marking them late or absent to class while they went to pray.  For these students, they perceived these as punitive measures.  Please do not mark students late or absent, and please show them all that we embrace and support all of our students with love, understanding, and honor.

 

Important dates this month.  

• Monday, 11APR:  Full staff meeting in the Library at 3PM
• Monday 11-14APR:  UAI Spirit Week
• Tuesday, 12APR @ 4PM-6PM:  UAI Hiring Fair
• Thursday, 14APR @ 2:50PM:  Rapid Dismissal - all students and staff must leave building
• Friday 15APR:  Spring Break Begins - NO SCHOOL
• Monday 25APR:  Full Staff Meeting - Equity Team
• Monday, 02MAY:  Eid Al-Fitr - No School
• Monday, 09MAY:  Full Staff Meeting in the Library at 3PM
• Monday, 16MAY:  Full Staff Meeting in the Library at 3PM
• Monday, 25MAY:  Full Staff Meeting in the Library at 3PM

Committee Updates

Scheduling Committee. The scheduling committee will meet Wednesday to review course selections and establish a process of student course selections for the fall.  You can see the agenda and notes here.  

The Hiring Committee.  Our next fair is On March 12, 2022.  Please SHARE OUT THIS FLIER to anyone you know who may be looking for a job in teaching next year!   

• You can always view our notes and decisions on THIS DOC. 
  
  

Equity Team.  The Equity Team read another passage from Pushout this week to start thinking about which specific policies are causing disproportionality in our discipline data and how we might revise these policies.  The team will reconvene to discuss the reading this week.  Agenda

Circles Committee.  No Updates this week

Consultation Committee.  Next meeting is on Thursday 07APR22 at 3PM in room 403.  See consultation committee notes.   Goals for this committee are still TBD

Instructional Leadership Team. All teams completed course catalog components.

Announcements

Monday Full Staff Meetings for Spring.  We will have a full staff meeting each week for the remainder of the Mondays this spring.  These meetings will always begin and end with community building activities to build up our interpersonal relationships among staff at UAI. One critical component undermining our collective work is that we do not know one another well enough outside of the folks with whom we work each day.  To bolster this relationship building, we will be adding in community connections at the start and end of each PD meeting on Monday.  Please do not be late to the meetings. They will all being in the library and then move to different spaces as needed.  The upcoming topics for the remaining meetings in April will be: 

• 11APR - Scheduling Committee Launches Student Course Selection Process
• 25APR - Equity Team presents work on Student Discipline

Small Group Instruction Outreach.  Small groups are relaunching after the Spring Break.  Any student who failed a core class (Math, Science, English, or Social Studies) have been assigned to a small group to receive academic intervention and support from the core class teacher.  Please review  the small group assignments HERE.  These small group teachers should reach out to families during Tuesday outreach time and inform families that:

• Their child has failed your class
• Small group instruction will begin when we return from April break (schedules will be finalized by Thursday - grades finalized on Friday - so still working on scheduling the groups now).
• Explain to families what the student needs to do to successfully earn credit for the course
• Explain that if the student is not yet satisfactorily performing in your course by May 30, the student will be assigned to come into school during all student non-attendance days in June to work with you.  These are the HS Regents days and non-instructional days (e.g. June PD day and June Clerical day) to receive intervention and support instruction.  UAI summer school will solely be enrichment activities.  These small groups and June instruction are remediation and credit recovery time that used to be in the summer.
• Once outreach has been made, please update the document with Y/N to indicate whether outreach is complete.

REPOST:  Start Summer Vacation Early.  If you have not already used up your allotted vacation days, I am giving the blanket approval to any and all staff who wish to use any or all of their vacation days for the last 7 days of June.  This means that if you haven't used any of your days yet, your last day of school this year could be June 17th (instead of June 28th).    Please email Kiri by the end of next week (April 8th) if you are interested!

Pulling Small Groups from PE/Dance.  Not all teacher programs allow for small groups to occur during Learning Lab.  So, some small groups will need to be pulled from PE/Dance last period.  Students will only be pulled from the class once per week and should be excused.

 

To Do This Week

PAY ATTENTION TO THE YELLOW HIGHLIGHTS
This is the stuff that requires your attention AND it's stuff you need to do!

FINAL SURVEY PUSH.  In Learning Labs this week, please encourage students to complete their Learning Environment Survey.  If you have not already completed your survey, please do so, too.  Aisha is working on outreach to families to encourage family completion of the surveys.

Do Small Group Outreach on Tuesday.  All teachers with small groups must call families on Tuesday to let them know that small groups will launch after break.  Please update the form  HERE once outreach is complete.  If you have any issues or problems with outreach, please contact Kiri directly!  This form needs to be completed by the end of outreach time on Tuesday 12APR21.

Per Session Postings

Please complete THIS PER SESSION INTEREST FORM and email Kiri to let her know that you are applying for a per session position.

After School Small Groups.   If you do not have enough space in your in-day small groups (they are limited to 10 students per group) and/or  you wish to hold additional small groups after school, please complete the above per session interested form and email Kiri with the days and hours you would like to work.

Applied:  Shana

Staffed:  Shana

Curriculum Organization.  All teachers are eligible to earn up to 50 hours of per session to organize and submit their current curricula by the end of June 2022.  Curricula will be submitting using UAI pacing templates with sharable links to lesson plans, assessments, and associated materials.  Please complete the per session interest form above and email Kiri if you are interested!

Applied:  Nakita, Jamie, Nina, Kelly

Staffed:  Nakita (Earth Science), Jamie (Algebra I), Nina (Geometry), Kelly (African History

Position is still open if you are interested!

2022 UAI SUMMER Camp.  <STILL OPEN> This summer will build on what we started last summer in our effort to create highly engaging and challenging summer programming for our students.  Mandatory make-up programs have been moved into June and we are replacing the punitive form of summer school with programming that is aimed at enriching, exciting, and getting kids thrilled to be in school again!

We are looking for summer school teachers to offer programming this summer.  We will offer elective credit to the courses.  The courses can be anything that interests you, and classes will be limited no more than 15 students per class.  

We are looking for teachers to teach elective classes in:

• Arts:  Creative Writing, Art (visual, performing, or movement), Poetry, Storytelling, Photography etc.
• Social Justice:  Community Organizing, Protest Art, Social Media Campaigns, Etc.
• STEM:  Finance, Engineering, Drones, Rockets, 
• EntrepreneurialMedia:  Podcasting, YouTubing, Social Media Management, Documentary Film Making
• Open Call:  Have an Idea?  Submit it!!
  
  
  

Days:  11JUL-29JUL , Mondays-Thursdays ONLY

Hours (Max) 5 hrs per day 

    (90 min classes with an hour prep for each class up to two classes a day)

    Total possible hours = 60 hours    Minimum possible hours = 30 hours

(Applied)/ Staffed: 

1. Jenetta (Summer School Coordinator, Social Justice Course) - Staffed - Social Justice Course
2. Kelly (Summer School Coordinator, Regents Prep Coordinator) - Staffed (Summer/Regents Coordinator)
3. Jelissa (SYEP, Student Recruitment) - Staffed - SYEP coordinator, Student Recruitment
4. Adelle (Student Recruitment) - Student Recruitment
5. Freida (Summer Arts Elective) = Staffed Summer Arts Elective
6. Nina (Regents Prep) - Staffed - Regents Prep
7. Nicole (SYEP, Student Recruitment)- Staffed - SYEP Support,Student Recruitment
8. Juelle (Student Recruitment) - Staff Student Recruitment
9. Brodie (Summer School Administrator) - Staffed - Summer School Admin
10. Shana (STEAM Summer Elective) - Staffed - STEAM Summer Elective
11. Rebecca (Pottery with a Wheel)- Staffed - Pottery