Families at all City School District of Albany elementary schools will have the opportunity to participate in virtual meetings Feb. 14-17 to learn more about the district’s planning for new middle school feeder enrollment patterns that will be phased in beginning next school year.
Each virtual meeting is organized in groups of three schools to allow the district to respond to as many questions as possible from parents and guardians during the meetings. Participants will be able to watch the meetings live and use our Feedback form to submit questions.
The district's Feeder Alignment Committee has presented eight proposed feeder scenarios that the Board of Education reviewed for the first time at its meeting Thursday night. Next week's virtual meetings will allow the district to review both the process used to develop the proposals, and the proposals themselves, and also allow parents and guardians to ask questions.
Links to watch the meetings will be available on each school’s web calendar via the links below.
Here are the virtual meeting dates and times:
- Monday, Feb. 14 – 6:30-7:30 p.m.
- Tuesday, Feb. 15 – 5:30-6:30 p.m.
- Tuesday, Feb. 15 – 6:30-7:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, Feb. 16 – 6:30-7:30 p.m.
- Thursday, Feb. 17 – 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Parents and guardians of elementary students at Albany International Center may participate in any of the meetings.
In-person meetings, community survey
The district also is planning two additional in-person community meetings to provide additional opportunities for all families to learn about the new enrollment plans and provide input.
- Monday, Feb. 28 – 6:30-7:30 p.m.
- Arbor Hill Elementary School, 1 Arbor Drive
- Tuesday, March 1 – 6:30-7:30 p.m.
- Giffen Memorial Elementary School, 274 South Pearl St.
The district also is preparing an online survey to allow another way for families to provide input. Please watch for more information next week.
Background, overview
The Feeder Alignment Committee has been working since last summer to develop equitable new enrollment patterns for all three district middle schools – North Albany Middle School, Stephen and Harriet Myers Middle School, William S. Hackett Middle School.
The phase-in will begin next school year with students currently in fifth grade who will be moving to sixth grade for 2022-23. Students currently in grades 6-7 at Hackett, Myers and North Albany will remain at their schools until they move on to high school.
The primary goal is to ensure that all three middle schools have similar academic profiles and total enrollment (approximately 600 students per school when the new feeder patterns are fully implemented).
The feeder committee is comprised of district parents, staff and, since December, three board members. The committee’s work represents the final phase of a multi-year process to provide equitable elementary and middle school experiences for all students.
The district shifted to uniform prekindergarten-grade 5 enrollment for all 12 elementary schools this year, with all students in sixth grade attending middle school for the first time. The district previously did not have enough space at the middle level for all sixth-graders, leading to inequities in academic programming and opportunities.
The construction project currently in progress at North Albany will expand that school to include facilities on par with those at Hackett and Myers.
The committee made its first formal recommendations to the board Thursday night. Following opportunities for community input, the board is working toward selecting a final enrollment pattern in March.
