Week of February 23rd

UAI High School Staff News

Volume II

Issue 26

Week of February 23rd, 2015

Announcements

Black History Month Competition
Black History Month submissions are being selected this week.   Encourage our young girls to step up and participate!   This assembly is on Friday.  Please meet students in 8th period classrooms and make sure they have all their belongings.  We will be rapidly dismissing from the assembly.  Bring your class directly to the gym at the start of 8th period.  Here's the seating:
12th Grade: Bleachers closest to the gym doors
11th Grade: Bleachers closest to the divider
10th Grade: Seats in front of the wall
9th Grade:  Seats in front the divider

Prose Application.  In the new UFT contract, the union and city negotiated a new status of schools, call Progressive Redesign Opportunity Schools for Excellence or PROSE.  The network of 21 Urban Assembly schools are all submitting applications that retain the essential, innovative practices common to all Urban Assembly schools.  These practices are (1) Commitment to college readiness and college completion, (2) Focus on Literacy, and (3) Using Instructional Rounds as a platform for sharing best practices and engaging in meaningful PD.  As a Prose application, we, as a UA school, are asking for variance in

(1) hiring restrictions to be able to hire college counselors,
(2) using the DRP as a MOSL option, and
(3) having flexibility in calendar dates to be able to extend the practice of Instructional Rounds

Just before break, Marianna, Damon, Wendy, Kelly & myself met with the Urban Assembly to put together our application to be a Prose school.  We are largely complete with the application which you can read in its entirety HERE.

The true benefit of being a Prose school is the ability for us to work together to decide what works best for our school, and applying as a cohort of schools also brings us together as a cohesive network.  The final application will be submitted on Friday.  Damon, Marianna or me can help you guys with any questions you may have.

Observations and Midyear Reviews.  This week I will be doing my next round of observations.   You can check my calendar below to see when I'm slated to drop by.   After I finish this round of observations, I will be scheduling midyear check-ins.  So be on the lookout for the calendar invite in your mailbox.  Please visit last week's post to review the expectations for midyear check-ins.







Teacher Preferences.  In case you missed the email, please make sure you take a minute right now to complete this super short survey on your teacher preferences for next year.

Important Dates

• Monday, 23FEB15 - First day back from MidWinter Recess
• Monday, 23FEB15 - Full Staff PD & Grade Team Meetings
• Friday, 27FEB15 - Black History Month Assembly, 8th Period

• Monday, 02MAR15 - Full Staff PD, 1st Monday of the Month
• Friday, 13MAR15 - End of 4th Marking Period
• Monday, 16MAR15 - Beginning of 5th Marking Period
• Wednesday, 18MAR15- 4th Marking Period Grades Due by 3PM
• Friday, 20MAR15 - UAI High School Semi-Formal - A Night in Paris 
• Thursday, 26MAR15 - Evening Student Led Conferences 5-8PM
• Friday, 27MAR15 - Afternoon Student Led Conferences   12-2:40PM

• Wednesday 01APR and Thursday 02APR15 - Benchmark IV Exams
• Friday 03APR through Friday 10APR15 - Spring Break

Per Session

No new postings...

Week of February 9th

UAI High School Staff News

Volume II

Issue 25

Week of February 9th, 2015

Announcements

Black History Month Competition
Black History Month submissions are due this week.  Promote our competition in your classes and advisory.  Provide students with the guidance and support they need to bring their idea to completion.   Please review the competition guidelines in the competition flier HERE, and encourage at least one student you know to do something!  Assemblies like this, particularly celebrating Black History, really bring our school together and make the kids proud to be part of our school.  We need your help in getting them to take risks and put their work out there! When they do, it's pretty amazing, and I can't wait to see what they will do.

Data Drop.  The files that I sent out last week are now available to you here in this Data Drop Folder.   I will be continuing my updates on the Progress Towards Graduation and the Benchmark Data Analysis.  You should use this data to work with your teams to identify students who are in need of intervention (from Tier 1 (e.g. workout plans), to Tier 2 (e.g. lunch or after school tutoring) to Tier 3 (academic interventions).  Your team may opt to use this Looking At Data protocol to collaboratively analyze the information in this folder.  We'll be using this protocol at Monday's PD when we review the qualitative feedback we received from your teams last week.

Mid Year Reviews.  Half of the school year is officially complete!  So, now it is time for a mid-year check in.  The week we return from MidWinter Recess, I will be doing another round of short observations.  You will be receiving an invite from me for your midyear review meeting.  These meetings will be no longer than 40 minutes, and I will be having them in 401.  All the meetings will start the week of March 2nd, so you have three weeks to prepare.  At this meeting, you should come prepared (i.e. bring your data analysis, student work, or other examples of your work) to answer the bullet points below.

• Accomplishments Thus Far.  What goals and objectives have you already accomplished this year and how do you evaluate the success of these achievements (what's your evidence?)

• Learning Cultures Growth.  Using your observation data (either official from me or unofficial from PODs or other observations), describe how you have grown in your practice this year.  In reflecting, I would like you to select a format (or formats) in which you are most proud of growth - both in implementation and theoretical understanding.

• Your Most Challenging Students.  Looking at your student performance data (course passing rates, benchmark analysis, attendance, unison/conference records, and/or any other data you wish to include), identify a cohort of students with whom you find the biggest challenge in moving.  Describe what you have already tried to do, what you've learned from your efforts, and what you plan on trying next in order to find a way to move this identified group.

• Current Goals & Objectives.  What are your current goals and objectives with respect to your development as a UAI high school Learning Cultures teacher. How are you planning to measure your progress in reaching these goals (e.g. which student outcomes are you using to gauge progress?)  What do you foresee as obstacles or challenges in your pursuit of these goals? What supports do you need and how can I help?

• FOR TENURING PEOPLE ONLY.  
• Teachers who are coming up for tenure this year.  Please write me a brief narrative (1-3 paragraphs) explaining how your practice is highly effective and why you should be granted tenure.  Please reference this Framework for Tenure Decision-Making and speak to the criteria listed here.  Also, be sure to include the pieces of evidence you wish submitted with your tenure application request.
• Teachers who were extended last year.  Please write a brief narrative (1-3 paragraphs) explaining how you have addressed your Areas of Focus from your extension letters I gave to you at the end of last year.  If you need them, email me and I will get them to you.  In addition to this narrative, please also include the narrative described in the bullet above.

Team Midyear Check Ins.  In addition to individual midyear check-ins, this is a good time to revisit the mechanics of our team functions.  Last year, I introduced the Five Dysfunctions of the Team, a business fable (which is a genre new to me!).  At the same time, we reviewed Paul Grice's Cooperative Principle.  You'll need to have a base understanding of each of these ideas for Monday's meeting.  So, please take a few minutes to watch these two YouTube summaries of both - The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and Paul Grice's Cooperative Principle. Both will be instrumental in reviewing the results from last week's survey and in moving forward to establish the rules for team meetings.  As you watch these two videos, think about how the concepts connect back to your grade team.  What observations can you make about your team dynamics and what are your ideas for norms or rules that would improve team function?

Important Dates

• Monday, 09FEB15 & Tuesday 10FEB15 - Auditions for Black History Month Performances
• Tuesday, 10FEB15 - PTA Meeting at 6PM, SLT Meeting at 5PM
• Wednesday, 11FEB15 - Written Pieces for Black History Month due to Ms. Jen in 401
• Thursday, 12FEB15 - Soft Lockdown Drill, Time 10AM
• Friday, 13FEB15 - Rapid Dismissal at 2:30PM
• Monday, 16FEB through 20FEB15 - MidWinter Recess, NO SCHOOL
• Monday, 23FEB15 - First day back from MidWinter Recess
• Friday, 27FEB15 - Black History Month Assembly, 8th Period

Per Session

No new postings...

Week of February 2nd

UAI High School Staff News

Volume II

Issue 24

Week of February 2nd, 2015

Announcements

Monday, 02FEB15 is LC PD at Green Careers.  Please review the PD resource page by CLICKING HERE.  Please make sure to arrive on time.  Breakfast will be available at 8AM with the PD day starting promptly at 8:30AM in room 101B.  Here are direction to UA Green Careers.

PID list and Academic Interventions.  I'm still waiting for final Regents scores to come in.  Once those are in, I will release the PID list.  This list will include data from benchmarks, DRP, grades, attendance, and Regent exams.  Exams grades should be available Tuesday afternoon, so look for this data document on Wednesday AM.  Grade teams should work from this list to schedule Academic interventions.

Last Regular Season Home Game for the Lady Eagles.  If you haven't had a chance to see the super stars, come to their last home game of the regular season on Wednesday, 04FEB15.  The Lady Eagles sit atop of the Brooklyn B North division with 13 wins and 2 losses. Yet again, they are barreling their way into the playoffs! So, show your UAI spirit, come out to see the young ladies at their best.

Black History Month Competition
Black History Month officially starts tomorrow.  Promote our competition in your classes and advisory.  Provide students with the guidance and support they need to bring their idea to completion.   Please review the competition guidelines in the competition flier HERE, and encourage at least one student you know to do something!  Assemblies like this, particularly celebrating Black History, really bring our school together and make the kids proud to be part of our school.  We need your help in getting them to take risks and put their work out there! When they do, it's pretty amazing, and I can't wait to see what they will do.

Important Dates

• Monday, 02FEB15 - Full staff PD at Green Careers
• Tuesday, 03FEB15 - First Day of the Spring Term
• Wednesday, 04FEB15 - Last Regular Season home game for the Lady Eagles
• Friday, 06FEB15 - Subject Team NYSTL orders are due.
• Monday, 09FEB15 & Tuesday 10FEB15 - Auditions for Black History Month Performances
• Tuesday, 10FEB15 - PTA Meeting at 6PM, SLT Meeting at 5PM
• Wednesday, 11FEB15 - Written Pieces for Black History Month due to Ms. Jen in 401
• Thursday, 12FEB15 - Soft Lockdown Drill, Time TBD.
• Friday, 13FEB15 - Rapid Dismissal at 2:30PM
• Monday, 16FEB through 20FEB15 - MidWinter Recess, NO SCHOOL
• Monday, 23FEB15 - First day back from MidWinter Recess
• Friday, 27FEB15 - Black History Month Assembly, 8th Period

Per Session

No new postings...

Resources for Monday 02FEB15 PD

February 2nd PD Resources

Agenda & Schedule.  Click on the picture to see the agenda and workshop assignments for Monday.  If your name is in bold, that means you completed the PD survey on time and got your first choice.

Monday's PD is designed to develop both your theoretical understanding of the LC formats and subsequently raise the quality of your practice and implementation.

I'm super proud to say that our very own Jamie, Danielle, Ilyana, Elena and Rebecca are joining the Green Careers team to facilitate these workshops.  Let's show our LC pride by supporting our colleagues both at Green & UAI for putting themselves out there to better all of us!  Be the participant you would want to have if you were the one running the workshops! Come prepared & choose to be actively engaged.

Grade Teams will have time in the afternoon to meet and norm for a Social Norm planning meeting.  The start of the term is the perfect time to revisit and reestablish norms for the rest of the year.


Resources for Monday's PD - and their relevant workshops.  If you're anything like I was when I was a teacher, reading theory was the last thing I wanted to do.  Now, from the vantage point of 18 years of experience in the system, I can easily see how much I let myself miss out.  Hopefully, you aren't like I was and you won't make the same mistakes I did!  Having a strong theoretical understanding will help you analyze your practice and more readily work (independently and with others) to develop strategies that elevate your instruction.  After all, if you're not really sure what you're supposed to be doing, it's hard to know when you're doing it right or when you're doing it wrong! At the very least, peruse through the resources pertaining to your selected workshops.

• Growth Mindset (Dweck) - Conferences, Assessment, Responsibility Teams
• Socio-Cultural Theory (Erneling) - Responsibility Teams
• Genre Theory  (Frow & Bahktin) - Genre Practice
• Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan) - Conferences, Responsibility Teams
• Rethinking Discipline & Management (McCallister) - Social Norms
• Classroom Social Norms (McCallister)- Social Norms
• Classroom Environments (McCallister)- Social Norms
• Speech Acts/Status Functions (Searle)- Resp.Teams, Social Norms, Conferences & Unison 
• Responsibility Theory (Olson) - Conferences, Social Norms
• Self-ascription of Intention (Olson) - Conferences, Social Norms
• Shared Intention (Tomasello & Carpenter) - Responsibility Teams, Unison
• The Science of Attention (Diamond) - Conferences, Unison
• Readiness Potential (Kandel) - Conferences, Unison
• What is a Speech Act? (Searle)- Conferences, Unison, Social Norms
• Language and Social Ontology (Searle) - Conferences, Unison, Social Norms
• Intentionality and Learning (Tomasello)- Conferences, Social Norms, and Unison
• What makes Human Cognition Unique? (Tomasello) - Conferences, Social Norms, and Unison

Week of January 26th

UAI High School Staff News

Volume II

Issue 23

Week of January 26th, 2015

Announcements

Benchmarks and Grades.  Now that the 3rd marking period is officially over, we are officially halfway through the year.  3rd Marking period grades and Benchmark Scores are both due by 3PM on Wednesday 28JAN15.  Because we use this data to determine promotional status (and thus generate promotion in doubt letters), we really need you to be on time with your grading.   Grades are due via Skedula (contact Colleen for questions and support) and Benchmarks are to be entered HERE.

Black History Month Competition - Jen has been working hard to organize our Black History month celebration.  Last year, Wendy led the charge with Advisories decorating doors to honor black history month.  This year, Jen is hosting a competition that will culminate in an assembly at the end of February.  Help us keep the competition alive for the kids.  Sheppard a student(s) into the limelight!   Promote the competition in your classes and advisory.  Provide students with the guidance and support they need to bring their idea to completion.   Please review the competition guidelines in the competition flier HERE, and encourage at least one student you know to do something!  Assemblies like this, particularly celebrating Black History, really bring our school together and make the kids proud to be part of our school.  We need your help in getting them to take risks and put their work out there! When they do, it's pretty amazing, and I can't wait to see what they will do.

UAIHS at the Nets.  Jen is also putting together another activity to build school unity.  We have reserved 50 tickets for the Nets vs. New Orlean Pelicans game on Tuesday, March 10th.  Tickets are $25 per person (down from a $40 face value), and they are first-come, first served.  So, please see Jen as soon as possible to reserve your ticket.  The girls will even be able to get on court for the National Anthem!  Last year UAI did this and the middle school went last week.  It's a great community-building event and I do hope you make an effort to join us!

Sign Up for PD.  Please CLICK HERE to sign up for your PD workshops for Monday, 02FEB. Here's the agenda:

8:00-8:30 - Breakfast Snacks (Coffee & LIGHT snacks) [Optional]
8:30-10:00 - Wkshp I - Unison, Conferences, or Genre Practice
10:00-11:30 - Wkshp II- Unison, Social Norms, or Assessment
11:30-12:30 - Lunch
12:30-2:00 - Wkshp III- Resp.Teams, Conferences, or Assessment
2:00-3:20 - School/Department Meeting Time

Subject Teams Orders.  Subject Team Orders are due next Friday (06FEB15).  CLICK HERE to see original post on this.  Remember Check it's NYSTL approved otherwise it will get rejected.  On the ShopDOE website, look for this symbol next to the item you want to order:  "NYSTL Approved"

Important Dates

• Monday, 26JAN15 -  Thursday, 29JAN15.  Regents Week
• Wednesday 28JAN15 - 3rd MP Grades are DUE by 3PM
• Friday, 30JAN15 - End of Fall Term, Regents Rating Day - NO CLASSES 
• For teachers not grading or presenting on 02FEB, there will be an agenda for the day - Check your email Monday Afternoon for details.
• Monday, 02FEB15 - Chancellor's PD Day at Green Careers
• Wednesday 04FEB15 - Last Regular Season Home Game for the Lady Eagles 4:30-6PM

Per Session Postings

Summer School.  Plans for summer school are still in development.  This is an initial posting that will be defined as we near summer, and we have a better idea of how many students need summer school.  However, the structure will be a blended learning model:

• Wed 01JUL and Thu 02JUL15 - The first 2 days of summer school will be onsite at UAI.  Teachers will make sure students are registered onto Plato and review course expectations, due dates, and email contact information.
• Weekly Check-In.  Teachers will be responsible for conducting a weekly learning conference (either in person, on the phone or online) for each student.  Students will not be in daily attendance for 03JUL through.
• Mon 27JUL through Tue 11AUG. Students attend regular Learning Cultures classes, targeting Regents exam prep in Responsibility Teams.  Classes are 90min and run Mon-Fri.  The periods will be 8:30-10; 10-11:30, and 12:00-1:30 with 2 hours of planning per week.  
• Wed 12AUG thru 14AUG. August Regents Week

Hours and subjects are still TBD.  Check-ins can be done remotely with students, so in-person teacher commitments are only for the days listed above.  Priority goes to teachers who taught summer school last summer and then to teachers who have taught summer school before, then to new summer teachers.  If you are interested, please email me ASAP.

Week of January 20th

UAI High School Staff News

Volume II

Issue 22

Week of January 20th, 2015

Announcements

Chancellor's Visit. The Chancellor's visit was an amazing success!!  We got to share our history as a school and explain how we have leveraged Learning Cultures to transform our community into a Well-Developed school.  Special shout outs to Marianna, Jamie, Kerry, & Danielle.  They opened up their classrooms to our visits and the girls and their work with them thoroughly impressed Chancellor Farina.  The very next day she spoke of our school at a meeting for Superintendents and the next day at meeting for Assistant Principals.  We are definitely on her radar as a positive to be modelled!  It is well-deserved praise for the work you do!!

Benchmark Exams.  We have our 3rd Benchmark Exams on Thursday and Friday of this week.  Please make sure to post the schedule up for your students to review.  Also, Benchmark exam grades will be due next Friday.  Please make sure to have your grades ready to enter into the Benchmark document.  These 3rd benchmark results in conjunction with DRP and 3rd Marking Period grades will be used to identify students in need of intervention.  Please enter your graded exam data on time.

Marking Period Three Ends on Friday.  The last marking period of the fall ends on Friday.  MP3 grades will be due no later than 3PM on Wednesday.   Marking Period 4 will begin on the first day of the spring term (February 3rd).  We will be using these grades to identify students who will receive promotion-in-doubt letters.  So, please be on time with these grades so we can generate the letters out to the kids on time.  As a reminder, please call home and document in Skedula all students who are failing your class for the fall semester.  Families should not be hearing about school failure for the first time with a letter.


Cabinet Meeting Moves to After School on Tuesdays.  We are meeting in room 403 on Tuesdays after school.  All are welcome to join anytime.  At tomorrow's meeting we will setting agendas and goals for spring meetings.

Regents Week Starts on Monday.  Please make sure that you have reached out to each of your advisees to let them know which exam(s) they are taking and when the exam(s) happen.  In your classes, please emphasize the importance of studying for exams at home and use our resources (through Work Out plans, Study Island, Regents Prep.org, etc.) to help them study.  Additionally, students should reach out to our Carrera partners for academic support everyday after school.

Important Dates

• Monday, 19JAN15 - MLK Jr. Day and Kelly D's Birthday
• Wednesday, 21JAN15 - Eagles Home Basketball Game vs. Westinghouse 4:30-6PM
• Thursday 22JAN15 - Friday, 23JAN15 - Benchmark III Exams (Fall Finals)
• Thursday 22JAN15 - Visiting Harvard Researchers visit UAI (Middle School Classes)
• Friday, 23JAN15 - Marking Period Three Ends
• Friday 23JAN15 - Eagles Home Basketball Game vs. John Jay Campus 4:30-6PM
• Monday, 26JAN15 -  Thursday, 29JAN15.  Regents Week
• Wednesday 28JAN15 - 3rd MP Grades are DUE by 3PM
• Friday, 30JAN15 - End of Fall Term, Regents Rating Day - NO CLASSES 
• For teachers not grading or presenting on 02FEB, there will be an agenda for the day 
• Monday, 02FEB15 - Chancellor's PD Day at Green Careers
• Wednesday 04FEB15 - Last Regular Season Home Game for the Lady Eagles 4:30-6PM

Per Session Postings

No postings this week...

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Week of January 12th

UAI High School Staff News

Volume II

Issue 21

Week of January 12th, 2015

Announcements

Preparing for the End of the Fall term.  There are only 7 instructional days remaining in the fall term.  If you have not already done so, you need to reach out to the homes of those kids who are currently failing your class.  Because so many of our parents have yet to be registered to Skedula, it's super important that you make phone calls home and document in Skedula when contact is made.   Too often, parents state that they had no idea or were unaware of their daughter's failing grades. Let's minimize this sentiment for the end of this fall term by making sure that our parents are in the know!  Failure can be shifted, particularly at this point in the year.  However, it requires that students and families are aware and have clear, specific, and reasonable next steps to turn the tide.  In addition to calling homes, if you have not already done so, please have emergency conferences with individual students to explain their grade and to establish achievable, measurable goals that will help students turn their failure into success!

Regents Exams.  By now, you should have contacted all advisees to inform them of their Regents week schedule.  For your advisees (and also in classes), please remind students that they need to be studying and preparing for the Regents exams at home.  In class, please provide students with workout plans and teach into good study habits so that they can have methods to study independently.  Additionally, if you have not already done so, please introduce students to Study Island (see Jamie for tips) our online test-prep software.  Encourage girls to form study groups!  Those of you who are already doing Responsibility Teams have a blueprint for the girls to engage in study groups.  Responsibility Teams and study groups are the same concept!  Watch Cynthia's video (login:  kiris@uainstitute.org   pswd:  uailc283)  to see what I mean and think about how launching study groups (aka Responsibility Teams) can not only help students prepare for Regents but also be successful in your class for the Spring Term!

Subject Team Orders.  In years past, we have been able to recoup our enrollment numbers with students transferring in from closing schools.  However, in this new administration, there were unexpectedly no school closings, so our projected numbers far outpaced what our real numbers are.  With our enrollment numbers so low, our school is facing a shortfall of $175K this year.  That's about three (2 high and 1 middle school) teaching positions.  We've managed to negotiate with central offices and delay the bulk of that loss until next year (and hopefully cover the shortfall through attrition), but that has left us with very little unrestricted funds for this year.   Happily, we have a lot of technology this year.  That said, you guys still need stuff.  I know.  I'm releasing funds in 2 rounds.

Here's the deal.  All subject team orders must be submitted to me by the end of the day on Friday, February 6th.  For those subject teams that do not spend all of their allotment, I will reallocate the remaining funds (on Monday February 9th) to the teams that get their orders in on time.  Those teams will have until Friday, February 13th to submit the 2nd round orders.

All orders MUST be submitted to my email address (ksoares@schools.nyc.gov) via the ShopDOE website (here's a tutorial if you need help). Because the funds we have available are NYSTL funds, there are restrictions on what can be purchased.  So, please make sure that when you add something to your order it is NYSTL approved.  If it is not NYSTL approved, we will not be able to purchase it.  Here's the budgets:

• English, Social Studies, Math, and Science - $2500
• Foreign Language - $1500
• SPED - $1500
• PE - $500

Important Dates

• Tuesday, 13JAN15 - Chancellor Farina Visits UAI!
• Monday, 19JAN15 - MLK Jr. Day and Kelly D's Birthday
• Wednesday, 21JAN15 - Eagles Home Basketball Game vs. Westinghouse 4:30-6PM
• Thursday 22JAN15 - Friday, 23JAN15 - Benchmark III Exams (Fall Finals)
• Friday, 23JAN15 - Marking Period Three Ends
• Friday 23JAN15 - Eagles Home Basketball Game vs. John Jay Campus 4:30-6PM
• Monday, 26JAN15 -  Thursday, 29JAN15.  Regents Week
• Wednesday 28JAN15 - 3rd MP Grades are DUE by 3PM
• Friday, 30JAN15 - End of Fall Term, Regents Rating Day - NO CLASSES 
• For teachers not grading or presenting on 02FEB, there will be an agenda for the day 
• Monday, 02FEB15 - Chancellor's PD Day at Green Careers
• Wednesday 04FEB15 - Last Regular Season Home Game for the Lady Eagles 4:30-6PM

Per Session

Homecoming Dance Chaperones.  The seniors are didn't get it together to organize their dance.  So, I took it over and now it's a February Semi-Formal on 06FEB.   Per Session is from 6-10PM.  Positions were filled on a first come first serve basis.  Chaperones are:  Damon, Kristin, Jamie, Doris, Michael are confirmed for per session chaperoning.  Anyone else who wants to volunteer is welcome to join.  Ms. Tyasia will also be joining us that evening.