Literacy in UCS

The past few years have brought the most comprehensive review and improvement to our curriculum since I joined UCS over 20 years ago. Every core subject area, the arts, and Career and Technical Education has been updated to ensure our students have access to relevant, engaging curriculum.

One area that has experienced greater focus is early literacy. Thanks to this concentrated effort, we are quickly being recognized as an educational leader in providing our students with a strong literacy foundation.

Utica Community Schools implements Structured Literacy, which is an evidence-based approach to reading instruction that aligns with the Science of Reading. Our instruction emphasizes explicit, systematic, and sequential teaching of foundational skills such as phonology, phonics, syllable instruction, morphology, syntax, and semantics. Our teachers ensure that literacy instruction explicitly develops both decoding skills and language comprehension.

Much of the public debate centered on literacy instruction is focused on these time-tested strategies. It is important for our families to understand that decoding skills and language comprehension are integral to our program. Decoding skills are essential for literacy development because they allow students to accurately read and recognize words, which is the foundation for fluent reading. Language comprehension is equally important, as it enables students to make meaning from the words they read. Without both skills working together, true reading comprehension cannot occur.

UCS further commits its investment to the literacy of all students through literacy coaches at each elementary school, highlighting the importance we place on building this foundation. We are unique among school districts with this critical resource for our staff and students.

Our literacy investment goes hand in hand with effective professional development.  Through professional development known as Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS), we are giving our elementary teachers the tools they need to develop students who are effective communicators.

Foundational literacy is important to our UCS Empowered Strategic Plan. It is essential to nearly every trait we identified in our graduate profile - contributor, communicator, creator, collaborator and critical thinker.

Literacy will continue to be an area of focus, both inside and outside our district. In UCS, we want our families to recognize that as public debate continues around us, we remain committed to a proven strategy that makes our students successful communicators who have a life-long love of reading and learning.

UCS showcased as eSpark leader in Michigan

eSpark, a supplemental elementary education tool, recently showcased Utica Community Schools as a leader in utilizing the platform to support student achievement. eSpark invited school districts from across Michigan to UCS to learn more about how our team works with the program.

MORE. 

No Days Off: Malow Skater Glides Toward Her Dreams

Each day before school, Malow Junior High 9^th grader, Brooklynn Twork, goes to Suburban Ice with the Onyx Suburban Skating Academy for an hour and a half of ice time. She returns to the rink after school for another hour, and even practices on the weekends – Twork takes no days off from her passion of figure skating.

MORE. 

Schuchard honored for community service project

What started as a classroom discussion at Schuchard is now a 20-year annual service project that is being honored for the difference it makes in our community.

The Schuchard Elementary annual sixth grade garage sale has been honored by MCREST with its Good Samaritan award for supporting the agency’s effort to assist the homeless in our region. 

MORE. 

Doctor Day at Duncan – Fueled by Amplify CKLA

"Where is the esophagus?" “No! The stomach is above the intestines." "A pediatrician is a doctor that takes care of kids, not animals!" These were all sentences that 1^st graders shared with classmates on their first ever Doctor Day at Duncan Elementary.

Amplify CKLA (Core Knowledge Language Arts) was introduced this school year as the Language Arts curriculum for UCS students in kindergarten through 5^th grade.

MORE. 

When the Carnival Comes to Town

Senior CSI students hosted 3rd grade students from Harvey Elementary to try out the carnival games they created using advanced sensor technology.

Each game had unique marketing/branding and thematically represents a piece of literature read at the high school level. Each group created a 3D animation to advertise their game, and they defended the age-appropriateness and safety of their creations with a research essay.

Check out the Carnival Reel, here: https://vimeo.com/1127505593?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

UCS K-12 Building Configurations

We have placed a Q and A on our website to follow-up information on our current building configurations. See this link for the update.

UCS Champions

This month, we join districts from across the country in recognizing the work of school principals.  

UCS principals, associate principals and assistant principals work tirelessly each day to move forward our vision of empowering students to transform their future in safe and positive environments.

You see them on the sidelines, in the classrooms, the auditorium – sometimes on the roof, being turned into a human ice cream cone or duct-taped to walls …. any place where they can celebrate their staff, students and their school’s many successes.

They are effective leaders in our community and for that we celebrate them as UCS Champions.

Click here to view the video.