COMMUNITY UPDATE
AUGUST 2024
Summer is speeding along once again!
It is always amazing – and a little bittersweet – how quickly summertime seems to pass. It often feels like we have barely written the final chapter on one school year when we are picking up the pen anew for next year’s volume.
Yet, it seems that way for a school district because it is that way.
Our preparations for the next school year begin many months before we officially say goodbye to students for summer break, and they continue in earnest while the not-so-lazy, hazy days roll by.
After celebrating the Albany High School Class of 2024 on the final day of June, we now find ourselves just a few days away from celebrating the newest members of our Class of 2024 – this year’s summer graduates, who will receive their diplomas in a ceremony at Albany High on Wednesday.
We also have just a few weeks to go until the members of the Class of 2025 begin their final journey around the school calendar – along with all of their peers from the Class of 2026 through the Class of 2038 (yes, this year’s incoming prekindergarteners!).
We’re also getting ready to share your survey feedback and our consultants’ recommendations from the communications audit we conducted last winter and spring in partnership with the National School Public Relations Association. Look for that later in August as well.
We are looking forward to seeing all of our students once again when the new school year begins in September. Please read on for a wealth of helpful information as you prepare for the start of school; you also can visit your individual school page for links to school supply lists.
As you scroll down, we hope you’ll also take some time to relive our coverage of what has been a fun and educational summer for the students and employees who engaged in the wide range of summer programs available in the City School District of Albany. It has been a great summer, even though it’s once again passing too quickly.
I hope your summer has been great, and that it continues to be until we see you on the school-year side of Labor Day weekend!
Sincerely,
Joseph Hochreiter
Superintendent
Back-to-school schedules
Most students in grades 1-9 will begin the 2024-25 school year with a full day of school on Friday, Sept. 6.
Please visit our start day info page for specific information on when your student will begin the new year.
Middle school orientations
A reminder that each of our middle schools is holding transition camps for sixth-graders -- including practice in riding CDTA tripper buses -- as well as orientation programs for all students and families this month:
| SCHOOL | DATE | DETAILS |
|---|---|---|
| Hackett | Aug. 19-21 |
Grade 6 Transition Camp, 8:30–11:30 a.m. each day |
| Aug. 22 | Summer orientation, 6-8:30 p.m. All new and returning students and their families are invited! |
|
| Myers | Aug. 12-16 | Grade 6 Transition Camp, 8–11:30 a.m. each day |
| Aug. 13 | Parent Information Night, 5-6 p.m. All new and returning students and their families are invited! |
|
| North Albany | Aug. 21 | New Student Family Night, 5:30-6:30 p.m. All new and returning students and their families are invited! |
| Aug. 20-22 | Grade 6 Transition Camp, 8:30–11:30 a.m. each day | |
Health & immunization reminders
A reminder that summer is a great time to schedule your child for their required health exams and immunizations for the upcoming school year!
New York requires all students in public, private and parochial schools to have regular physical health exams. Your child will need a health exam if they will be in prekindergarten, kindergarten or grades 1, 3, 5, 9 or 11 next school year.
New York also requires all students to receive certain immunizations before they can attend school. Please contact your child’s health provider to schedule the immunizations. You also can make an appointment to get school vaccinations through these partners:
- Albany County Health Department – (518) 447-4589
- Whitney Young Health – (518) 573-2556
Transportation updates
We are preparing for 2024-25 with an expanded lineup of yellow bus partners to provide a total of 98 daily home-to-school routes, which is significantly higher than our capacity since the pandemic and even beyond our daily routes prior to the pandemic in 2019-20. Our hope is that this diversified lineup will allow us to provide greatly improved consistency in our on-time arrivals in the morning and afternoon. That was our experience throughout our summer school programming, and we anticipate a much better school year for our yellow bus services as well.
- First Student – 70 routes
- Durham – 19 routes
- Rejha – 9 routes
| YEAR | TOTAL ROUTES |
|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 91 |
| 2021-24 | 70-75 |
| 2024-25 | 98 |
Cell phone use survey update
A huge thank you to the 1,389 parents and guardians who took the time to complete our cell phone use survey! Your feedback will be vital to the process, and will be compiled for the committee's review and discussion.
We expect that the committee will hold monthly meetings through January and present its recommendations to the superintendent by Jan. 31.
Below is a brief summary of our summer survey some results:
| QUESTION | % RESPONSES OF "AGREE" OR "STRONGLY AGREE" |
|---|---|
| Cell phones are a distraction to the learning environment | 60% |
| My child should not be on social media during school hours | 84.5% |
| My child needs to text, call and/or receive messages during school hours | 30.6% |
| I would support a “phone free” learning environment | 65% |
In-person tax payments
We are pleased to announce a new partnership with the Albany Public Library that will provide our taxpayers with an additional in-person option for paying their school taxes this year.
Albany Public Library Washington Avenue Branch, 161 Washington Ave.
- Fridays from noon-5 p.m. beginning Sept. 6
- One exception – The library will be closed Friday, Oct. 11
- Residents may pay their school taxes in-person using a check or credit card
Other payment options this fall also will include:
- The KeyBank dropbox at 66 South Pearl St.
- Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
- Online payment via our School Taxes section
Fall sports info
The start of the fall 2024 athletic season is just around the corner!
Check out our Athletics section for all the important dates, including phyiscals and practice dates.
Tech Innovation Academy
The second cohort of educators in our summer Technology Innovation Academy (pictured) was hard at work during the week of Aug. 5 learning how to maximize the latest AI and tech tools supported for use in the district!
Under the leadership of Technology Integration Coach Jeremy Dudley, participants are given time to create new instructional resources, or enhance existing resources for their classrooms
Summer learning and fun district-wide!
Students at all grade levels throughout the district have been engaged in summer learning and summer fun since early July. The district offers a wide range of programs and opportunities during the summer; you can check out some photos highlights on our Facebook page:
Looking ahead
Don't forget that you can view our online calendar for a look at all the important events coming up throughout the district and at our schools! Also, be sure the contact email we have on file for you is correct so that you automatically receive regular updates through SchoolMessenger, and don't forget to follow us on our various social media platforms!
This site provides information using PDF, visit this link to download the Adobe Acrobat Reader DC software.