Albany High, Hackett among nine schools in Good Standing

  • Posted January 17, 2019
Good Standing

Nine City School District of Albany schools, including Albany High School and William S. Hackett Middle School, have been identified in Good Standing based on their overall academic progress, according to accountability data the State Education Department released Thursday.

The nine schools in Good Standing are the most the district has had since 2010-11, the second year of the state’s current accountability system. The district had four schools in Good Standing entering this school year.

“We are pleased to see so many of our schools making strong academic progress,” said Superintendent Kaweeda G. Adams. “I would like to commend our administrators, teachers, support staff – and especially our students and their families – for their dedication and efforts.

“However, we know there is much more work to do, and we must remain focused on our goals and committed to our educational design to ensure academic success for all of our students and all of our schools in the future.”

You can follow these links to watch videos with more information about how the district's educational design and instructional framework are making a difference in student achievement:

Albany High also has come off the state’s list of Receivership schools, although the school will need to comply with the remaining monitoring and reporting requirements through the end of the current year.

State Ed announced in December that the high school showed significant progress on performance measures that included more students passing Regents exams, a higher graduation rate, improved safety and improved attendance.

Albany High’s graduation rate has increased from 50 percent for the Class of 2010 to 65 percent for the Class of 2017. State Ed is expected to announce 2018 graduation rates in February. Based on the high school’s continued progress, the district anticipates the rate will increase again for the Class of 2018.

In addition to Albany High and Hackett, here are the seven other district schools in Good Standing for 2018-19 (follow the links to each school page and select the NYS report card link on the left-hand side for more information about each school's state assessment data):

Two district elementary schools also have been added to the state’s list of Receivership schools: Giffen Memorial Elementary School and Sheridan Preparatory Academy.

Under the state’s Receivership law, the superintendent will work with the Giffen and Sheridan Prep principals and their respective school communities to develop practices to meet and exceed the Receivership expectations.

Sheridan Prep is planning a meeting at school for families on Feb. 5 to discuss the impact of Receivership and next steps. Giffen will hold its meeting with families to begin the planning process Feb. 13.

Giffen and Sheridan Prep both showed academic progress in some areas in 2018 even though the state placed them in Receivership.

At Sheridan Prep, the percentage of students proficient in ELA (levels 3-4) increased from 9 percent in 2017 to 14 percent. The percentage of students at level 1, the lowest level, also decreased from 56 percent to 38 percent in third grade.

In math, Sheridan Prep’s percentage of proficient students increased from 6 percent to 14 percent.

At Giffen, in ELA the percentage of students at level 1 decreased by 13 percentage points in third grade, by 20 percentage points in fourth grade and by 10 percentage points in sixth grade. The school’s percentage of sixth-graders proficient in ELA also increased from 5 percent to 15 percent.  

“While Giffen and Sheridan Prep did not meet all of their academic targets in 2018, it is important to note that both schools did make progress,” Adams said. “We are confident that with the strong partnerships these schools have begun to build through their Community Schools models, and with the leadership and teamwork they have in place, Giffen and Sheridan Prep will join our district’s list of schools in Good Standing.”

All three district schools that have been in Receivership in the past – Albany High, Hackett and Schuyler – have made the improvement necessary to return to Good Standing.

Here is the 2018-19 accountability status for the remaining district schools: 

Accountability designations have changed for 2018-19 to reflect the new federal Every Student Succeeds Act, which replaced No Child Left Behind. Here are the new ESSA designations, with their NCLB equivalent:

  • Good Standing = Good Standing
  • Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) = Focus status
  • Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) = Priority status

The district is a Target District for 2018-19, essentially unchanged from its Focus District designation in 2017-18. Read more about the district's state assessment data.

The mission of the City School District of Albanyis to work in partnership with our diverse community to engage every learner in a robust educational program designed to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for success. The district serves approximately 9,500 students in 18 elementary, middle and high schools. In addition to neighborhood schools, the district includes several magnet schools and programs, as well as other innovative academic opportunities for students, including four themed academies at Albany High School.