Second Annual Teach-In

Earlier this month, alums joined Clarke Weatherspoon, Urban's Dean of Equity and Inclusion, and Rebecca Shapiro, History Department Chair, for our second-annual Alumni Teach-In around the topic of Race, Gender and the 2016 Presidential Election. It was a wonderful discussion and we are grateful to Clarke, Rebecca and our lifelong learning alums!

From Head of School Mark Salkind: Urban Has a New Logo

It is with great pleasure that I announce Urban’s new visual identity! After more than 30 years with our previous logo, we believed it was time for a new look and feel that speaks to who we are today. As you know, next year Urban celebrates its 50th Anniversary. The school has evolved significantly over a half a century, yet our core educational approach – teaching students how to think, not what to think – has remained the same, and indeed, has become even stronger over time. Our new logo reflects who we are in 2016 and more fully represents our dynamic future.

Our new logo is meant to convey confidence, trust, experience and vibrancy. We’ve heard many positive analogies already: the layering of one year upon the other in terms of the learning process; a visual representation of our new campus and its three buildings (performing arts center still to come!); the interconnectedness of the U speaks to the concept of connections that are core to the Urban experience; the several shades of blue show that there is more than one way to be an Urban Blue. We’d love to hear if you have a different idea of what the new logo means to you.

If you would like to see Urban’s new family of logos and learn more about the process, please click here.

Last spring, with the help of many generous Urban alums and community members, we launched our first-ever Sophomore Career Shadow Days! Sophomores traveled throughout the Bay Area (and as far north as Sacramento!), visiting different organizations and meeting with alums to learn about careers in our community and hear stories about various career paths. Students chose from myriad options: local and state politics, business, technology, film, design, music, environment; science, medicine and more.

It was an incredible opportunity for 10th graders to broaden their understanding of the high school journey and explore their passions more deeply, while meeting and connecting with some truly wonderful Urban alums! Here are some examples of what the students had to say about the experience:

The work on the Bigger Picture campaign struck me as so creative and compassionate, especially in how it draws attention to an often overlooked issue. It opened up a whole new world to me, in terms of turning ideals/concepts into concrete action. - Zachary N (’18)

It is OK not to know what I want to do when I leave Urban. - Riley C (’18)

I really loved understanding how designers worked together for many different projects and seeing what kind of things you do, I also loved your dog as it sat on me. – Nina C (’18)

We are so grateful to all the community members who took time out of their busy schedules to meet with Urban students, give them hands-on learning experiences and share their perspectives and advice. If you are interested in serving as a career resource to students and young alums in the future, please click here. Thank you in advance!

Mark Salkind Center Update and 50th Anniversary Celebration

As we announced earlier this month, our new Academic and Athletics Center will henceforth be known as The Mark Salkind Center. For the full notice, click here. Construction is moving along quickly, and the front of the building now looks very much like the rendering! Thank you again to everyone who supported this transformational project.

We look forward to welcoming you to a special community celebration in the new facilities on Sunday, November 6, as part of our 50th Anniversary festivities that weekend. Stay tuned for details!

Carposina Urbanae is Official

There are not many schools that can boast having a moth named in their honor. Meet Carposina urbanae, a previously unknown moth discovered by our own Dr. Matt Medeiros in Kauai. From Matt’s published paper in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society: Carposina urbanae is named in honour of the Urban School of San Francisco, where MJM (Matthew J Medeiros) has been a science teacher for 5 years, and many of his Urban Advanced Studies Genetics students performed PCRs used in this study. Urban has supported MJM’s research commitment to entomology, with the formation of a new class, Entomology: Bugs & Biodiversity, which provides an education in general entomology to high school students. 

Congratulations to Matt, and also to two Urban alums, Griffin B ('16) and Laurel T ('16), who worked with Matt to do the genetics research and who were published alongside him. See the full paper here.

URBAN IN THE NEWS

Over the last few months, Urban has had some ink. Please enjoy the following stories.

Thank you to .Mic and author Marie Solis for shining some light on the importance of authentic high school health and sex education courses. Read The Key to Curbing Campus Sexual Assault Lies in High School Health Class article, featuring Urban's Sophomore Health Teacher Shafia Zaloom talking about the "yes means yes" California affirmative consent law. There are some great insights from an Urban student and parent, as well as from SF Unified School District's health teacher.

An article in the Industrial Designers Society of America Innovations magazine highlights the importance of STEAM opportunities in high school and how students are ready to take on real challenges in their coursework. Read it here.

Summer Reading List is Out and Urban Reads!

Here is your chance to get amazing recommendations for summer reading! Members of Urban’s faculty and our student Library Leaders have come up with a list of tantalizing choices in a variety of genres. This year, the all-school read is The Notorious RBG, click here for more information and book recommendations and mark your calendars for Sunday, September 25 from 4 - 6 pm for our first UrbanReads event of the year! Parents, alum parents and alums will be invited to come back to Urban for a moderated discussion about our all-school read. Hope to see you then and happy reading!

A Major Misconception: Urban Alumni Reflect on the Importance of a College Major

Last winter, two of our current juniors and Urban Legend reporters interviewed nine alums and wrote this piece to offer some insights into how college majors really play out.

Be Urban

To me, to Be Urban is to care deeply and to act intentionally. - Charlotte Worsley, Assistant Head for Student Life

Thank you to all of our alumni families who have contributed so generously to Urban’s 2015-16 Annual Fund, themed this year as Be Urban! We are pleased to report that once again 100 percent of Urban faculty and staff participated, an inspiring symbol of their belief in the importance of an Urban education. If you would like to join us with a gift of any amount to this year’s campaign, please click here.

Alumni parents are also welcome to contribute to Class Endowment Funds, which ensure Urban’s long-term financial sustainability, and help perpetuate our core values by strengthening our endowment. To make a Class Fund donation of any amount, please click here.