Urban Advantage Principals’ Breakfast
November 19, 2014
Welcome!
Overview of the morning
1. Opening remarks by Dr. Linda Curtis-Bey, Executive
Director of STEM, NYC DOE
2. Norms for working in groups
3. How UA schools… support class trips
4. How UA schools… connect literacy with science
5. Wrap up: reflection and evaluation
Dr. Linda Curtis-Bey
Executive Director
Science, Technology, Engineering &
Mathematics
UA School Administrators
• Administrator Breakfasts 2014-2015
• Using the new myUA portal
• Our expectations and needs for working
productively as a group
UA Administrator Breakfast
Events 2014-15
• The theme this year is “Learning from each
other: Sharing promising practices at UA
schools”
• Save these Wednesday dates:
– February 4, 2015 (Connecting Science with Math)
– March 25, 2015
– May 13, 2015
Using the myUA portal
This (https://myua.amnh.org)
Not this
(www.urbanadvantagenyc.org)
Using the myUA portal
Go to https://myua.amnh.org to log in
• If you have NEVER logged in before, and don’t
recall your temporary password:
– Click “Forgot Password”
– Then enter Username—this is your first initial and
last name
– Then follow instructions
Using the myUA portal
• If you HAVE logged in before, and don’t recall
your password:
– Same steps as above but Answer Security
Question
• If you’re having trouble with the portal, stay
after the breakfast to troubleshoot.
Using the myUA portal
• Features: reports and registration for events
• Use the school report feature to: view your
teachers’/PC’s use of UA (PD registrations,
equipment orders, voucher usage, bus
utilization)
• Teachers should have received all vouchers
and student science journals
Using the myUA portal
Using the myUA portal
Current Year
Using the myUA portal
Current Year
Our expectations and needs as a group
UA principals’ responses… (from September 2014 kickoffs)
…when asked what they need from their peers to create a
positive and collaborative learning community:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Contribute Ideas and Best Practices
Participate and engage in Active Listening
Support a Positive and Collegial Environment
Engage in Collaboration and Teamwork
Be Open Minded
Respect Ideas and Others
Respect Time
Be Accepting of Feedback and Advice
Our expectations and needs as a group
Our expectations and needs as a group
Read list “UA principals’ responses”
Discuss with an elbow partner: (3 min)
• What the needs mean to you, look like in
action.
• Are there any needs that:
– need clarifying?
– should be on list but aren't? (on Post-it)
– are the most challenging?
Our expectations and needs as a group
Discuss at table: (5 min)
• Can we agree to be mindful of these ‘expectations’
… during this breakfast and the next ones?
• Are there other ‘needs’ or ‘expectations’ that
should be included? (Post-it)
Whole group check-in: (3 min)
• Can we agree to be mindful of these ‘expectations’
(…and work on items we find most challenging?)
Our expectations and needs as a group
Individual challenge: (1 min)
• Choose one ‘expectation’ for yourself this
morning. Check in regularly with yourself to see
how you’re doing…
How UA schools… support class trips
• Context: decreasing frequency, end of year
• Inter-disciplinary trips
• Curriculum-aligned trips during academic
year
Invited speakers
• Chrissy Vissa, The Math Science Exploratory
School (K447)
• Kamar Samuels, Bronx Writing Academy
(X323)
Questions for UA schools
1. How does learning outside of the classroom (field
trips specifically) support your school’s academic
goals and/or vision of how children learn?
2. What challenges has your school/science team
encountered and what ways have you addressed
them to make content-specific field trips viable at
your school?
3. How has UA influenced class trips at your school?
(e.g. linking to curriculum, frequency, connection to
teachers’ vision of learning, supporting cross-content
learning)
Common barriers to class trips to
UA partner institutions
• Teachers required to defer trips until after testing
• Hard to meet curricular requirements and take
students out of the school building
• Teachers required to arrange for their own class
coverage during field trips
• Teachers required to have a whole grade
participate in school trips
• Transportation difficult because DOE buses can’t
pick up until 9:30 or 10:00 a.m. and then have to
be back at school by 1:30 p.m.
• Difficultly getting chaperones
Questions for UA schools
1. How does learning outside of the classroom support
your school’s academic goals and/or vision of how
children learn?
2. What challenges has your school/science team
encountered and what ways have you addressed
them to make content-specific field trips viable at
your school?
3. How has UA influenced class trips at your school?
Chrissy Vissa, The Math Science Exploratory School (K447)
Kamar Samuels, Bronx Writing Academy (X323)
Question & Answer Time
What would you like to ask our
presenters?
Reflections and Table discussion
Quick write: (2 minutes)
• What elements shared by the presenting
schools resonated for you? In what way?
Table discussion: (5 minutes)
• What can you take away from the experiences
shared today? What next steps can you take?
5 minute break
return at 10:40
How UA schools… connect science
with literacy
• UA Science and Literacy Project at AMNH
– Small number of UA schools and teachers working
together to integrate literacy strategies into
science instruction
– Objective: Literacy in service of science
– What have we learned?
– How can this be integrated into UA for all schools?
Panel
• Michael Troy, America’s School of Heroes (Q137)
• Jenny Camillieri, Arthur W. Cunningham JHS (K234)
• Lisa Nelson, Isaac Newton Middle School for Math &
Science (M825)
Question & Answer Time
What would you like to ask our
presenters?
Reflections and Table discussion
Quick write: (2 minutes)
• What aspects of connecting science and
literacy that you heard today resonated for
you? In what way?
Table discussion: (5 minutes)
• What can you take away from the experiences
shared today? What next steps can you take?
Integrating the CCSS for
Non-Fiction Reading and Writing into
Science Instruction
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Pilot project
2-year grant from New York Community Trust
50 teachers and 16 schools over two years
Literacy-focused science PD
School-based teams of 2-4 teachers
Three days of PD (weekdays over 3 months)
Two meetings with principals
Applications open December 1st and due by
January 15, 2015
Please complete an evaluation
Thank you for coming!
If you would like to share your school’s strategies and
examples of connecting science with math—please let
us know! Speak with any UA partner this morning!