New Clement principal appointed

Tony Clement Center for Education will have a new principal starting July 1.

Veteran administrator Chris J. Martel returns to the City School District of Albany after serving 14 years as a special education principal at Questar III Board of Cooperative Educational Services.

The Board of Education approved Martel's appointment at its May 4 meeting.

Prior to his time at Questar III, Martel was an interim house principal at the district’s former Tutorial Opportunities Program for Students, an alternative education program for middle school students. Before that, he taught social studies for 13 years at Albany High School.

Martel earned his administrative certification and a master’s degree in reading education from The College of Saint Rose. He holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from the State University of New York at Oswego and an associate’s degree in liberal arts from Hudson Valley Community College.

Martel joins Assistant Principal Teresa Adalian to round out Clement’s administrative team. He replaces Scott Thompson, who accepted a position outside the district at the end of 2022, and interim principals Linda Martin and Jeffrey Ziegler, who will leave at the end of the school year.