The City School District of Albany kicked off the new school year with a celebration of the myriad contributions that community partners make to support our students, families and schools at a Sept. 8 reception at Albany School of Humanities.
It was the district’s first opportunity to thank our community partners for their support in-person since the start of the pandemic.
“We have gone through so much over the past few years, and we thank you for your support with our scholars, families, faculty and staff,” said Superintendent Kaweeda G. Adams.
You can visit our Facebook page to check out photos from the evening.
The event featured performances by students who played leading roles in last spring’s district-wide middle school production of “Moana.”
Azia Barao (Stephen and Harriet Myers Middle School), Celine Casasola (William S. Hackett Middle School) and Nevaeh Harvey (North Albany Middle School) performed “How Far I’ll Go.” Julia O’Neill (Hackett) also performed “Shiny.”
Adams and Board of Education President Vickie Smith presented certificates of appreciation to representatives from approximately three dozen organizations in attendance.
During the event, Adams emphasized that partnering with our diverse community is an integral component of the district’s mission and strategic goals, quoting the English poet John Donne.
“No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main,” Donne wrote.
“When we face challenges in our community, our district and partners make us stronger,” Adams said. “When one of us struggles, we all struggle. When one of us succeeds, we all succeed!
“Because we are involved in each other’s existence, we are connected and impacted by each other’s actions, each other’s decisions, each other’s contributions. Therefore, we celebrate our collaboration and unified approaches to the work on behalf of our scholars, our families and our community.
“No man is an island because we are “All in for Albany!”
