Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Instruction Lori McKenna has announced that she plans to retire next spring after more than 32 years in education, including nearly nine years serving students and families in the City School District of Albany.
McKenna’s resignation was one of several important administrative positions the Board of Education approved at its meeting Wednesday.
The board also approved the appointment of longtime Sheridan Preparatory Academy Principal Zuleika Sanchez-Gayle as the district’s new Early Childhood director, and the temporary addition of secondary responsibilities for current Elementary Humanities Instructional Supervisor Elizabeth Morphy.
Also Wednesday, the board approved the appointment of Meghan D'Alessandro as the new principal at Pine Hills Elementary School. Currently the assistant principal at Thomas O'Brien Academy of Science and Technology, D'Alessandro will replace Tia Corniel, who resigned from Pine Hills earlier this fall to take a position in another school district.
D'Alessandro will begin at Pine Hills on Jan. 1. TOAST will begin a search for a new assistant principal immediately.
Lori McKenna
McKenna has been responsible for several important academic and operational departments since she came to Albany from the Schenectady City School District in 2016.
That includes supervision for the district’s middle schools and Albany High School, as well as alternative programs at the Tony Clement Center for Educaton and grades 6-12 at the Albany International Academy's Newcomer Program. Her areas of responsibility also include the Special Education, English as a New Language and Refugee Services, Safe Schools and Violence Prevention, and Pupil Personnel Services departments, the latter including oversight of the district’s Health Services Department.
Throughout her tenure, she has focused on elevating educational quality, safety and equity for all students, with a commitment to improvement, innovation and supporting students and employees across the organization.
Notable achievements during her tenure have included:
- Guiding Albany High School out of Receivership to being a School in Good Standing in partnership with the high’s school leadership team
- Programmatic equity for all students in grades 6-8, including the establishment of three equitable middle schools and the enrollment pattern implemented in 2022
- Expanding programs and services for special education students and English-language learners. That included the establishment of an interdisciplinary evaluation team for preschool special education, and the district’s unique Newcomer Program.
“Lori’s laser-like focus on the school improvement process at the secondary level has fostered improved district-wide coordination that has enabled our schools to receive the support they need to succeed,” Superintendent Joseph Hochreiter said. “Her commitment to the success of every student has established a solid foundation on which we can continue to build.”
McKenna’s last day will be March 31.
Zuleika Sanchez-Gayle
In her 25th year in the school district, Sanchez-Gayle is in her 15th year leading Sheridan Prep. She led the school’s transformation from Receivership to being a School in Good Standing through strategic data-driven initiatives, culturally responsive teaching and social-emotional learning practices, with a focus on equity and inclusion.
In the Early Childhood Department, she will fill a position that opened at the start of the school year with the sad and untimely passing of Melissa Hasty. She will lead a department that is responsible for approximately 1,000 full-day prekindergarten seats for 3- and 4-year-old students in addition to curriculum alignment and programming for grades K-2.
Sanchez-Gayle noted her long working relationship with Hasty dating to their time as elementary teachers in the district, and her deep respect for the Early Childhood Department’s growth and development under Hasty’s leadership.
“Melissa was a very respected colleague of mine throughout my career,” she said. “I am mindful of and respectful of her legacy, and I want to continue to focus on her legacy of excellence throughout our Early Childhood program.
“I know there is work to do, and I’m ready and poised to facilitate that work while also honoring everything that Melissa has done and making sure we keep her commitment to excellence at the forefront.”
Sanchez-Gayle will begin in the new role Jan. 1.
Elizabeth Morphy
Morphy will add the secondary Humanities duties to her elementary role for the remainder of the school year following Jennifer Houlihan’s appointment earlier this year to the position of interim assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and professional development.
Houlihan will serve in that interim role for the remainder of the school year; Morphy will handle Humanities duties K-12 for that period of time as well.
“It’s a really great opportunity to look at our vertical alignment for ELA,” said Morphy, who joined the district in 2022. “I think it’s going to be really powerful to see some of the things that secondary does and to bridge those two pieces. It’s nice to have those two things overlap for this period of time."
Morphy will begin in her expanded role Nov. 4.
