COMMUNITY UPDATE
MARCH 2024
Help us communicate better with you
The City School District of Albany believes that clear, consistent and honest two-way communication with everyone in our diverse community is a critical component in supporting student success.
Communication done well across an organization supports a vibrant, safe and collaborative school community. It underpins successful outcomes for all students.
Inconsistent communication creates opportunities for inaccurate information, misperceptions and distrust. In the end, inconsistent communication limits our students’ opportunities to learn and grow.
We want you to let us know how we’re doing in pursuit of these goals. What parts of our communication program work well for you? What parts need improvement?
We are working with the National School Public Relations Association this spring on a district-wide communications audit. You can visit our Communications section to read more about this audit, and, importantly, to find a link to our communications survey.
The opinion of everyone in our school community matters to us. We sincerely appreciate everyone who already has taken some time to complete our survey, and, for those who haven’t, we hope you’ll do so before the survey closes April 9.
Your responses are valued as we work hard to build an even more effective program of two-way communications – listening as well as providing timely information and answers.
Thank you for your partnership, and for sharing your perspectives.
Sincerely,
Joseph Hochreiter
Superintendent
Celebrating Fine Arts
March is always a particularly great time to see the musical, artistic and theatrical talents of our students in action!
Our All-City Chorus, Strings and Band concerts were big successes, as well as the three-day run of Albany High Theater Ensemble’s production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee!”
There were also numerous art exhibits throughout the month, including the K-8 art show at the Empire State Plaza, and several juried exhibitions for high school students, including junior Z'Andre Wilkinson who was honored at the the Opalka Gallery’s 25th Annual High School Regional Juried Exhibition.
Our Marching Falcons also hit the streets on St. Patrick’s Day weekend, along with several other community events throughout the month! And don’t forget to help support their return to France for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion during World War II.
Congratulations to all our students for a month of outstanding performances!
Odyssey of the Mind wins regionals
A team of students from three district elementary schools took first place in their division at the Odyssey of the Mind regional competition, and they’ll travel to Syracuse in April to compete on the state level!
The students all take part in the one-to-one literacy program run by our amazing community partners at Wizard's Wardrobe. Members of the winning team are Giffen’s Autumn King, Michael Davis and Ma'Shiya Cain, ASH’s Iliyah Munoz and Arbor Hill’s Mina Mirzaie.
Congratulations, and good luck at the state competition! And thank you, Wizards Wardrobe!
Fitzsimons earns statewide honor
Albany High’s Sean Fitzsimons has been named a 2024 Outstanding Social Studies Classroom Teacher by the New York State Council for the Social Studies!
“Social Studies is critically important for creating healthy communities and empowered individuals,” Fitzsimons said. “Young people – all people – need to learn lessons from history. We need to understand how to navigate shifting political and social landscapes, and we need to have the critical thinking skills that a social studies discipline provides if we are to succeed in this world.”
2024 Mock Trial county champs
Albany High defeated the Albany Academies to become the 2024 Albany County Mock Trial champions!
The Speech and Debate/Mock Trial Team, advised by teacher Leah Evans, played the prosecution in this tournament coordinated by the Albany County Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association.
Congratulations, Falcons!
Early dismissal April 8
A reminder that we will have an early dismissal for all students on Monday, April 8 due to the solar eclipse that will occur that afternoon.
You can read our full news release for additional information, including specific dismissal times and eclipse-viewing resources.
Mail-in voting now available to all
Albany voters will have a new and convenient option for casting ballots in this spring’s school budget vote and Board of Education election – early voting by mail.
Early voting by mail will work much the same way that absentee voting traditionally has. The main change for this year is that the vote-by-mail option now is available to everyone.
The City School District of Albany will continue to automatically send absentee ballots to people the Albany County Board of Elections designates as having a permanent disability or are in the military.
However, everyone else also can vote by mail now, too.
Applications for a vote-by-mail ballot will be available later this spring on our website. You also can call (518) 475-6015 and ask to have a vote-by-mail application mailed to you.
If you want a vote-by-mail ballot sent to your home, the district clerk must receive your completed application at least seven days before the vote – by Tuesday, May 14 at 4 p.m.
If you want to pick up your vote-by-mail ballot in-person at the district headquarters in Academy Park, you must have your completed application to the clerk by 4 p.m. the day before the budget vote – Monday, May 20.
All absentee and vote-by-mail ballots must be received in the clerk’s office by 5 p.m. on the day of the vote – Tuesday, May 21.
You can call the board clerk with any questions at (518) 475-6015.
Falcons claim CEO Titan crown
Albany High seniors Oliver Alvarez and Padraig LeBuis beat out 100 students from four area high schools to win the 2024 JA Titan CEO Challenge!
Alvarez and LeBuis are students in Christopher Austen’s college-level Business Concepts and Applications class, and acted as CEOs of a fictitious phone company in a virtual competition.
Representatives from Junior Achievement of Northeastern New York stopped by to present both students with a certificate recognizing this accomplishment!
Advocates celebrate 'HEROes'
During March, the Albany Special Education Parent Advisory Council – SEPAC, for short – recognized 65 City School District of Albany employees as HEROes.
The HEROes were nominated for going above and beyond in their work on behalf of students with disabilities.
Congratulations to all!
Falcons in Nike national competition
Albany High School student-athletes competed in this year’s prestigious Nike Indoor Nationals track meet the weekend of March 8 in New York City!
The event - for elite athletes from across the country - is promoted as the "premiere showcase for the best of high school track and field" and is broken into two divisions - Emerging Elite and Championship, the latter being the most competitive.
Congrats to Samir Gardner, Jahcere Laboy, Elijah Temple, Daaron Harrell, Malachi Young and Patrick Ponzo!
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.