United Community Schools
Hudson HSLT - A Community School!
Hello Hudson HSLT Community Members,
I am the new Community School Director(CSD) from United Community Schools(UCS). I am delighted to welcome everyone to Hudson High School. Our school became a United Community School in the Summer of 2022. This is the first school in District 2 to earn this designation. UCS was founded in 2012 at the United Federation of Teachers(UFT). Community Schools is a strategy where we advance student academic achievement by developing partnerships with community based organizations, government agencies, businesses, and other interested stakeholders that support students academically and socio-emotionally. Our model provides support to other stakeholders including parents, school staff, and others by connecting them to services or programs for assistance and capacity building. Examples of these programs include a vision program to provide students with vision screenings and access to glasses; food pantry to remove any barriers to food for our students and community.
In my first year at Hudson High School I intend to work with all community members like yourselves to facilitate a needs assessment analysis so we can understand the school’s assets and the gaps in services and programs to begin working collaboratively with the school community. The school will have an advisory board that will meet monthly to discuss data from the needs assessment and will be charged with deciding what programs and services will partner with the school to help remove barriers to education and support the academic achievement and social emotional development of all students.
In the next few weeks all school community members will receive a google survey through our Kinvo text message application for all parents to review and submit responses to jump start this year’s needs assessment. We ask that everyone respond to the survey to help uplift all preferences and needs. Your responses will be used to make decisions about what programs and services are brought into our community to support you and your students. I am excited to hear from all of you and partner with you to build a community school that provides the supports you and your students may need for this academic year and beyond. You can reach me at arosario@ucsuft.org or 917-242-6197 for any questions.
Anthony Rosario
Community Schools Director
212-488-3330 ext. 1302
Room: 130
E-mail: ARosario@ucsuft.org
Dear Hudson HSLT Community Members,I am the new United Community Schools Social Worker for Hudson HSLT. I’m so excited to meet you all! I am looking forward to helping students, parents, teachers, and all staff this upcoming school year with mental health, wellness, and SEL support. Prior to my start at Hudson, I worked as a mental health therapist for a private practice in Brooklyn serving adults, adolescents, and children. I also have experience working as a clinician in the NYC shelter system, inpatient psychiatry settings, and at a K-8 school in Baltimore.
I’m passionate about using social emotional learning, mindfulness, and talk therapy modalities with students to address anxiety, depression, trauma, and other struggles that can impact our learning and relationships. I’m also here to help parents and teachers through providing mental health education, group therapy, and any other wellness resources. My #1 goal is to provide a comfortable space for students and families at Hudson to connect with themselves and others.
I’m excited to share these experiences and skills as well as learn from you all throughout the year. I’m also excited to learn more about the community - the strengths, challenges, and how we can address those challenges. You can reach me through email at jsmith@ucsuft.org or by my work cell at 917-938-4173. Please feel welcome to reach out with any questions or concerns throughout the school year.
Warmly,
Jessica Smith LMSW
UCS School Social Worker
Hudson HSLT
Hudson HSLT Community!
