New York's new education commissioner makes first stop at district school

Dr. Rosa and Superintendent Adams visit with ASH students.

An Albany School of Humanities (ASH) student could be heard telling another student, “There sure are a lot of teachers out there in the hallway.”

One just happened to be the teacher of all teachers, so to speak: New York State Education Commissioner, Dr. Betty Rosa.

City School District of Albany Superintendent Kaweeda G. Adams, Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Instruction Cecily Wilson-Turner, Ed.D., ASH Principal Marie Culihan and Assistant Principal Janet Escoto-Lavoie led Rosa on a tour of the building on Monday morning - providing a sneak peek into the daily workings of one of the district’s magnet schools, and the district itself.

“I was incredibly proud to showcase, along with Principal Culihan, the amazing work that occurs at ASH,” said Superintendent Adams.

“Visiting with teachers and students in the classroom is one of the best parts of my job and I love seeing the district’s focus on Culturally Responsive Education (CRE) in action at ASH – from the ‘One School One Book’ choices to curriculum, diversity is recognized and celebrated in this building.”

Superintendent Adams and Dr. Rosa also discussed the many challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic and what next year may look like for students, staff and faculty in our district and across the state.

Dr. Rosa was appointed education commissioner in February and oversees more than 700 school districts, and 3.2-million students, throughout New York. She is already scheduling a second visit to one of the district's middle schools.


Photos from Dr. Rosa's visit to Albany School of Humanities are linked here.

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