Music wing update

The following message is from City School District of Albany Superintendent Kaweeda G. Adams:

I am writing as a follow-up to our recent communication from school about the band and orchestra room in Albany High School’s music wing. As you know, we have taken that room out of service for the rest of this school year because of our ongoing concerns about air quality in that room due to mold. 

As Principal Commerford noted in her previous communication with you, the band and orchestra room will be sealed off from the rest of the music wing to allow our students and staff to continue to safely use the choral room, faculty offices and practice rooms. I would like to update you on our plans for those spaces beyond the current school year.

Our Rebuilding Albany High School construction project has planned for the full replacement and relocation of the entire music wing. Our brand new choral, band and orchestra rooms will be located in the Phase 2 building that is currently under construction on the front of campus along Washington Avenue. We are excited about these outstanding new facilities, which will provide 39,000 square feet of state-of the-art space for our music and art students and staff when Phase 2 is completed in November 2020. 

To prepare to serve our music students at the start of the 2020-21 school year, the band and orchestra room will undergo extensive professional cleaning next summer. This will include the removal of all carpeting and furnishings prior to cleaning. The full music wing will re-open temporarily in its current location at the start of next school year until we are ready to move into the new Phase 2 addition. Once Phase 2 is completed and open, the entire current music wing will be used for storage only.

The health and safety of all of our students and staff is a top priority throughout the City School District of Albany, as is our goal to provide the best learning experiences possible. Our entire staff at Albany High is committed to providing all of our music students with an exceptional experience this school year as we look ahead to celebrating the opening of our Phase 2 addition next fall. We appreciate your patience and partnership as we work through this matter together.

Sincerely,

Kaweeda G. Adams
Superintendent