Rochester Prep’s newest principal is a familiar face
What a full circle moment! Our former student Keana Courtois, has joined the Rochester Prep halls once again…but this time as Jay Street’s Principal! Watch her story on Spectrum News!
Category: Rochester
Honoring the Legacy of Jaimie Magee Lesnick at Rochester Prep
Rochester Prep Jay Campus Elementary dedicated its library in memory of Jaimie Magee Lesnick, a beloved 4th-grade teacher who passed away from ovarian cancer in 2020. Thanks to her family’s nonprofit, Jaimie’s Bridge, the new library space celebrates her love of learning and ensures her impact continues for generations to come. The organization also provides … Continued
NASA engineer visits Rochester Prep Classrooms
Rochester Prep High School students welcomed a special guest during their AP Calculus Class! Clayton Turner, Acting Associate Administrator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA and RIT alum spoke and took questions from students about his 30-year tenure and leadership at NASA. The students were over the moon! Read more about this story … Continued
Rochester Prep seniors celebrate college choices on Senior Signing Day
Rochester Prep High School Class of 2024 celebrated their Senior Signing Day! There is nothing more joyous than watching students announce their college decision to a room full of family, friends, and middle school students. Over half of the class will be attending college in the fall debt-free! Read more about this event at WHAM 13.
Students at Rochester Prep navigate their learning disabilities together
BY HALENA SEPULVEDA Uncommon School’s Eye-to-Eye program at Rochester Prep brings together neurodiverse high school mentors and middle school students that share similar unique talents and educational experiences. The program creates a community that goes beyond tolerance to celebrate the unique differences of each student. Read the full article at Spectrum News.
Spotlighting efforts to boost reading proficiency in NY post pandemic
October 23, 2023 | By: Halena Sepulveda at Spectrum News 1 According to the Nation’s Report Card, 33% of fourth-grade students performed at or above proficiency levels in 2022, which was 2% less compared to 2019. “Post-pandemic we’ve really figured out that we need to target exactly what our kids need and our curriculum has … Continued
Rochester Prep celebrates Senior Signing Day
WHAM ABC 13 | Fri, May 19th 2023, 7:28 PM EDT Rochester Prep celebrated its Senior Signing Day on May 19 to commemorate students’ college decisions and to cheer them on as they begin their next chapter. 98% of the seniors are graduating and heading to college in the fall. “So often we hear about … Continued
Rochester Prep Students Earn Full Scholarships to Prestigious Colleges
By Tocarra Hughes | Feb. 10, 2023 Four students from Rochester Prep will attend Notre Dame, Colgate University, the University of Chicago, and Boston University on a full, four-year academic scholarship through the QuestBridge National College Match. The Rochester Prep students were selected from among more than 17,900 applicants for the scholarship. Read more on … Continued
A national model locally for K-12, higher ed collaboration
By Ronald L. Zarrella In this Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Op-Ed, Ronald L. Zarrella discusses how a partnership between the Rochester Institute of Technology and Rochester Prep is helping students experience the rigors of academia, learn exactly what it takes to be successful in college, and discover fields of study that they may not have … Continued
A call to teach now more than ever
By Brett Peiser In this New York Daily News Op-Ed, Uncommon Schools’ co-CEO Brett Peiser acknowledges how hard the past two-and-a-half years have been on teachers, but he also knows that students and families need teachers now more than ever. Read this story as it originally appeared on October 17, 2022 in New York Daily … Continued
Program helping combat teacher shortage in Rochester
The worker shortage is affecting a wide variety of professions, including teaching. Local school districts are dealing with a shortage of both teachers and staff, just like every other district in New York. Rochester Prep is trying to combat the shortage by helping people who want to become teachers go to school to do so … Continued
13 Uncommon Seniors Receive QuestBridge Scholarships to Top Schools
Please join us in congratulating Uncommon’s QuestBridge Scholars! Thirteen seniors from Uncommon’s network in New Jersey, Rochester, and Brooklyn have accepted their QuestBridge matches and will receive full four-year scholarships to 9 colleges and universities, including Wellesley and Yale. We are so proud of these graduating seniors and the work they have done to achieve … Continued
11 Rochester Prep Alumni Join RIT City Scholars Program
Spectrum News1: Rochester Prep Works to Close COVID-Related Learning Loss
Read the full story here.
Rochester Beacon: Rochester Prep Educators Kept Students’ Dreams Alive During Pandemic
Minority Reporter Op-Ed: Rochester Prep Meeting My Childrens’ Needs
Uncommon Sense: An Instructional Blog for Educators by Educators
Uncommon Schools has a history of collaborating with local school districts and sharing resources through in-person professional development trainings, online workshops, and multiple best-selling books. Why? Because we believe that every child deserves a great education. Why a Blog? The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to rethink our traditional sharing avenues, but being confined to … Continued
Rochester Beacon: Alumna Returns to Alma Mater to Teach
Rochester Prep Seniors Celebrate College Signing Day
Senior Signing Days are usually a raucous affair with students and families convening at a theater, all cheering as each senior declares where they will be going to college. This year, the event turned virtual on Youtube. Students proudly shared which college they will be graduating from in four years, and listened to guest speaker … Continued
Uncommon Schools to Close for Mental Health Day on June 1
Uncommon Schools is taking an organization-wide mental health day June 1, 2020 for the sake of our community. Like you, we spent the weekend watching, reading, grieving, raging, reflecting, and marching. We spent the weekend trying to explain to our own children what was going on, as we tried to explain it to ourselves. As … Continued
Together, We are Here
One Mission, One Vision. We may be separated from one another during this pandemic, but we are together in one purpose. With joy and love, our teachers continue to show their commitment to their students and families. North Star Academy and Camden Prep performing arts teachers created this video, singing out our mission to get … Continued
One Teacher’s Perspective on Uncommon’s Demands on Students and Teachers
When Mike Taubman was studying to become a teacher, he didn’t buy the anti-charter school sentiment. As an undergraduate, he interned at Uncommon Schools and now, at 39, is in his 15th year at the network and thriving. Many teachers at charter schools, like Taubman, are willing to work the long hours because, writes Jay … Continued
Reinventing Education Amid the Pandemic
In an op-ed for the Rochester Beacon, Assistant Superintendent Paul Powell describes how Uncommon Schools Rochester Prep revamped itself to address the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Echoing CEO Brett Peiser’s op-ed in the New York Daily News, Powell highlights the principles that guided this work, and how teachers are creating virtual curricula and … Continued
Making Remote Learning Easier and Engaging
Many educators across the country are navigating a huge challenge: how to keep students learning while away from school during the coronavirus pandemic. As Juliana Worrell notes in an op-ed for The 74, we created a remote learning platform that we believe will keep K-8 students learning until we’re able to return to classrooms. We … Continued
Uncommon Schools Launches Virtual K8 Program
No one knew how much the coronavirus pandemic would impact K-12 learning. Schools, including Uncommon Schools, initially made sure their students had enough learning packets and assignments for about two weeks. It quickly became apparent that more was needed. Starting March 30, every Uncommon student will be on a virtual school program with daily lessons … Continued
Literacy Nonprofit Donates Books to Children in Need During Pandemic
A Freeport-based nonprofit, The Book Fairies, donated more than 11,000 books so children can keep reading during the coronavirus pandemic. Educators approached the organization about books to send home to students. In response, Book Fairies temporarily opened its headquarters for scheduled pick-ups. Natasha Cherry-Perez, Senior Associate Director of Community Engagement, went to pick up books … Continued
3 Guiding Principles for Our Transition to Remote Learning
Days after we closed all of our school, Uncommon opened back up as a remote learning organization. In New York City alone we were serving nearly 10,000 students in their homes. Our teachers and staff scrambled to survey families about their Internet capabilities, became couriers to get equipment to families, and made wellness calls to … Continued
Uncommon School Leaders Attend TFA School Leaders of Color Conference
Seven hundred school leaders of color — including over 10 from Uncommon — gathered in Las Vegas on February 7 for Teach for America’s annual conference. This year, the focus was on resilient leadership and providing school leaders with inspiration and motivation to continue the work of supporting young people of color in achieving their … Continued
2,550 Strong — We are One Uncommon
In 1997, we began as a single school in Newark, New Jersey. To that founding class of 72 students and their families we made a promise. A promise to provide them with an outstanding education that prepares them to graduate from college and achieve their dreams. Our steadfastness and commitment to that promise has allowed … Continued
Charter School Leaders Invite Democratic Presidential Candidates to Visit Their Schools
In an op-ed for the Daily News, Brett Peiser (CEO, Uncommon Schools), Dacia Toll (President and Co-CEO, Achievement First), and Richard Barth (CEO, KIPP Foundation), invite Democratic presidential candidates to visit their schools and see firsthand how public charter schools are making an impact on student outcomes. Democratic presidential candidates have spoken on the need … Continued
Rochester Prep Alumna Joins RIT’s 10th Class of Destler-Johnson Rochester City Scholars
Cheyenne Williams, a Rochester Prep alumna, is one of 21 students who were welcomed at the Rochester Institute of Technology as the college’s 10th class of Destler-Johnson Rochester City Scholars. The program is designed to give graduates from the Rochester City School District the opportunity to attend college tuition-free. Watch the coverage on News10 here.
Paul Powell: Three Factors That Have an Impact on Students’ Lives
While attending a K-12 forum on the future of education, Rochester Prep Assistant Superintendent Paul Powell kept thinking about Jahnury Acosta, a Rochester Prep alumnus and freshman at Rochester Institute of Technology. Jahnury’s journey to graduate at the top of his class wasn’t an easy one but watching him succeed through rigorous AP courses in … Continued
Rochester Prep West Campus Identified as “Recognition School”
Rochester Prep West Campus has been identified by the New York State Education Department as a 2018-19 Recognition School, one of only four K-8 schools outside of New York City to achieve the distinction. Under the state’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), schools identified as “Recognition Schools” have high academic achievement, student growth and graduation … Continued
Rochester Prep HS Teacher Shares First Year Teaching Experience
Susan Spencer, a geometry and algebra teacher at Uncommon Schools Rochester Prep High School, recently spoke with Evan Dawson, host of Connections on NPR, about her first year of teaching. “I was surprised by how purpose driven this work is for so many people. I’ve never worked in a profession where people were so dedicated … Continued
Rochester Prep Students Discover Rare Bacterium
Atlantis, Joyceline, and D’Asia — three Rochester Prep seniors — made a surprising discovery with professor Andre Hudson while working in a science lab at Rochester Institute of Technology. The young women are co-authors on a scientific paper announcing a rare bacterium that kills e-coli. Their work will be published in the April issue of … Continued
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