The Unity Scoop – September 6

Dear Families of Unity,

It was an honor to welcome our high school students back this week, and to see our middle schoolers continue during their strong second week. Our team is excited for a full week of classes ahead and is committed to a strong start to the 2025–26 school year.

In this edition of The Unity Scoop, you’ll find photos of students and staff in action, resources from our social work team, and information on after-school programming. We’ve also included a recap of key details from last week to keep you fully informed.

Please take time to enjoy the photos and talk with your child about their first days of school—how they are feeling, what went well, and what they hope for in the week ahead. If there’s anything you’d like to share with us to better support your child, reach out to their advisor(s). Your partnership is invaluable.

Wishing you and your family a fantastic weekend!

In unity,
Josh

Josh Beauregard
Executive Director / Co-founder
Updates as of September 6, 2025:

1. New – Highlights of Students and their Teachers in Action this Week!: Enjoy the photos below of our students and staff in action this past week!  Highlights include Mr. Labuff’s 8th-grade Algebra I class, where students worked in teams to tackle polynomial problems and reflect on what strategies worked best. We’re also spotlighting Mr. Birkoff’s AP Precalculus class, as students engaged in the essential life lesson of tackling something new and learning from mistakes using models. This skill will serve them well as they encounter and grapple with new mathematical concepts throughout the year.

2. New – We Welcome our High School Students Back to School this Week!: It was a joy to welcome our newest 9th grade students and families, and just as energizing to reconnect with our returning 10th–12th grade community. We’re thrilled for the year ahead together. Enjoy the photos below from our first week back!

3. New – Unity Grades 6–8 Outperform New York State in Math, ELA, and Science!

Our middle school students shined in 2024–25—performing above peers in math, English Language Arts (ELA), and science- compared with benchmark districts and the New York State average. Kudos to our students, educators, and families for their powerful impact on learning!

4. Updated – Unity’s Back-to-School Night for Families – Save the Date!: During this upcoming in-person event, family members will meet their child’s educators and learn about curricula and academic programming. We will also share how parents and families can access student information systems and support their child’s academic success in the year ahead. We look forward to seeing you there – see the middle school and high school flyers below!

5. Updated – August & September 2025 School-wide Calendar: For your family’s convenience, here is a schoolwide calendar of events for the months of August & September – print it out and throw it on the refrigerator door!  It is possible that events could change and new events could be added.  An up-to-date events calendar can always be accessed on our website.

6. Updated – Become a Unity Student-Athlete by Joining One of our Athletic Teams this Fall!: We are excited to cheer on our Unity athletic teams this fall.  Information on joining one of our fall teams is provided below.  Questions about our middle school athletic program can be directed to Mr. Coleman.  Questions about our high school athletic program can be directed to Coach Egharevba.

Middle School Fall Athletics:

• Tryouts for the following sports teams will take place during the week of September 9th – 11th from 3:30 to 5:15pm:
  • Cross Country
  • Girls Volleyball
  • Flag Football
  • Soccer
• Permission slips will be made available on Tuesday, September 2nd.  Students must turn in a signed permission slip in order to try out.

High School Fall Athletics:

• Tryouts are set to begin the week of September 9, 2024 for all fall sports teams.  See the details for individual team tryouts below.  To participate in any sport, students must be medically cleared by a doctor. Please complete the medical form linked here by September 9th to participate in the fall athletics season.

7. Recap – Please Take Five Minutes to Complete this Brief Website Survey: We are now working on re-designing our Unity website to better serve as a resource for families.  To guide our re-design, we kindly request your input by completing a short survey.  Your responses will help us to organize the pages of the website. Here is the survey link.

8. Recap – Our Middle School Students Complete their First Week of School!:  It was wonderful to meet so many of our newest families and equally rejuvenating to reconnect with our returning families.  A special congratulations to our 6th grade students and families – we are thrilled to have you join our community!  Enjoy the photos below capturing our students and families during the first week!

9. Recap – 2025-26 School Year Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families: Calendars for the 2025-26 school year are available below.  Note that we have two versions this year – one version for our middle school (grades 6-8) and another version for our high school (grades 9-12).

• Grades 6-8 2025-26 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families
• Grades 9-12 2025-26 School Calendar of Key Events and Vacations for Families

10. Recap – State Exam Results from the Spring of 2024 are Now Available to Individual Families: State exam results in ELA and Math for Unity students in grades 5-9 are now available. You can view your child’s test scores in their NYC Schools Accounts.  You will need their child’s student identification number, which can be found on Jupiter, as well as your child’s account creation code, which should have been mailed to you. You may reach out to Mr. Beckford (cbeckford@unityprep.org) if you do not have your account creation code.  We are excited to share our schoolwide results in the coming weeks – overall, the results are impressive and reflect our students experiencing strong growth in their skills over the course of last year!

11. Recap – AP scores from the 2024-25 school year are now available!: Students who completed their AP exams in May can sign into their College Board accounts and use this website to obtain their scores.  In addition, students can also see notes on the scoring here.  Course selections for the 2025-26 school year, including AP courses, will be finalized in late August.  Congratulations to all of our students who earned college credit based on their scores!  More generally, congratulations to all of our students who experienced an AP course this year!

12. Recap – Information and Guidance on Unity’s Dress Codes for the 2025-26 School Year: Unity’s dress codes by grade level are provided below.

• Grades 6-8: Here is a link to all things dress code for all middle school students.
• Grades 9-12: Here are links to our dress code policy and the school store to buy uniforms online.

13. Updated – New Students for Fall 2025 – Unity Prep has a few seats available for rising 6th and 9th graders for the 2025-26 school year. Finding the right school can be tough, and our current families (you!) are the best advocates. If you know of any interested families, please reach out to Mr. Beckford via email or cell (862-294-0219). For any families that refer a new family, both will be given a $100 Amazon gift card for school supplies.

14. Recap – College Acceptance List for Unity’s Class of 2025!: We are excited to share with our community the full list of colleges to which Unity’s Class of 2025 have earned admission.  Congrats to the entire class and their families as they now decide which college they will attend this fall!

15. Recap – Join our New Unity Prep Instagram (IG) Account Today!: We recently launched our new grades 6-12 IG account to bring our entire community together – @unityprepcharterschool.  Don’t miss out – follow us now!