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Community schools: bridging the gap

There’s a lot more than ABCs happening at Sheridan Preparatory Academy, a City School District of Â鶹ӰԺ elementary school that’s also known as a “community school.”

Supported by state funding and dozens of partner organizations, the district’s nine community schools provide students with access to a wealth of academic enrichment opportunities. Teachers also have more time to work together to refine their skills and learn new strategies to help students succeed. 

At Sheridan Prep, families can connect to dental care and health and mental health services, use laundry facilities at school, and stop in at the school food pantry and clothes closet. All these things happen before, during and after the regular school day. 

“As a community school, we are proud to provide opportunities and resources that benefit our entire school community,” said Sheridan Prep Principal Tina Cascone. 

What is a community school?

At Sheridan Prep, the community school investments were an important part of the school’s growth from being on a State Education Department academic watch list to being a school in good standing.

As a community school, Sheridan Prep receives state dollars to serve as a neighborhood hub that provides, or partners with outside groups to provide, services to students and families during and beyond the regular school day.

The goal? Addressing issues that can stand in the way of learning.

“Our community partnerships provide enrichment opportunities for all students while giving teachers valuable daily common planning time,” Cascone said. “Additionally, our community partners make it possible to offer a variety of interest-based after-school clubs, giving students access to fun and diverse experiences.”

The state has provided funds for schools that adopt a community schools model since the 2016-17 school year. For the last several years, the district has allotted about $4.5 million annually to support community schools.

State Ed gives the district flexibility on which schools it can designate as community schools, but in general, Â鶹ӰԺ’s community schools meet at least two of these criteria:

• Serve significant numbers of students with unique challenges posed by poverty;
• Are designated as schools that need academic improvement; or
• Serve significant numbers of English-language learners.

Programs and services at community schools are rooted in six “pillars:” health and wellness, educator support, academic enrichment, extended learning time, parent and family engagement, and community engagement. 

Each community school has its own coordinator who creates an advisory board that assesses the school’s unique needs. The coordinator works to connect their school and families to community organizations and programs that fill gaps and remove barriers to learning. 

Micaela Townsend is Â鶹ӰԺ’s district-wide community schools director. A former community school site coordinator at Thomas O’Brien Academy of Science and Technology (TOAST), she’s seen their value first-hand.

“When educators, families, students and community partners share responsibility for developing the resources that address the unique needs of their schools and communities, they create conditions that support student success and create a whole-school reform strategy,” Townsend said. 

The district receives guidance and technical assistance from United Community Schools, a network of community schools created by the United Federation of Teachers. UCS helps the district seek out program opportunities and partnerships.

Julianna Obie, UCS’ regional director, also is a former community school site coordinator, serving at the former Edmund J. O’Neal Middle School of Excellence and North Â鶹ӰԺ Middle School from 2018-22.

“I’ve been around since almost the beginning of the district’s investment and expansion of community schools,” she said, “and I’ve seen our community schools intertwine the work into the fiber of the school in ways that have deepened family engagement, rebuilt trust with community and families, and created unique programs that put students in the driver seat to envision the endless possibilities of their future.”

Tailored to meet school needs

TOAST is a themed elementary school that uses science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to guide lessons in all subjects. 

One of its community school partnerships is with the RPI Ambassadors, a group of RPI students who visit the school weekly and lead TOAST students in a variety of STEM activities and experiments. Another is with the University at Â鶹ӰԺ’s College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity; representatives visited the TOAST Makerspace in February to help students get hands-on experience with a variety of creative technologies (pictured above ).

Each community school provides some form of enrichment in partnership with more than 80 organizations: art, basketball, career and college advice, coding, cooking, dance, drumming, engineering, financial literacy, flag football, gardening, karate, mentoring, music, science, soccer, tennis, theater arts, tutoring and yoga. The list goes on. 

Some programs occur during school, allowing all kids to participate and giving teachers extra time to collaborate with colleagues. Other programs happen after school, and some on weekends, like 15-Love’s STEM-themed Saturday tennis lessons for students at Roots Academy at West Hill.

“We also provide after-school tennis at Lincoln Park with students from TOAST, and after-school tennis at Delaware Community School’s gymnasium,” said Domingo Montes, 15-Love’s program director. “At Sheridan Prep, we work with kindergarten classes during enrichment doing fun literacy activities.”

In addition to partnerships and programs tailored to meet the needs of individual school communities, there are other programs designed to meet needs across multiple schools. 

One of those is Seal-a-Smile, which provides free twice-yearly dental screenings, cleanings and, when appropriate, dental sealants to students – all at school. If more services are needed, schools connect families with a local dentist. 

Last fall, 556 community school students got check-ups.

Seven community schools also provide food pantries, thanks to a partnership with the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York. The pantries have served some 335 students so far this school year.

“As a community school, we provide a supportive network that helps meet the diverse needs of our families in one convenient location,” said Sheridan Prep’s Cascone. 

“We have fostered a nurturing and welcoming environment, making our school a central hub where students and families feel supported and cared for.”

Interested in getting involved in one of our community schools? Contact any one of our site coordinators or our district-wide director!

Your investment in our future

April 14, 2018 seems a very long time ago. 

That was the chilly day when representatives of the City School District of Â鶹ӰԺ and our community gathered to turn the first ceremonial shovels of earth and begin the long-awaited transformation of Â鶹ӰԺ. 

So much has changed over those seven years. 

Seismic political and social changes. A devastating worldwide pandemic. Destabilizing international conflicts. 

One constant across those often-turbulent years has been the steady progress toward our goal of re-imagining our city’s public high school. And now that work is nearly complete. 

The fourth and final phase of the sweeping renovation and expansion of our high school campus will be done in time for the 2025-26 school year. We are planning a community event in August to celebrate completion, including opportunities to tour the new facilities.

We hope you’ll join us, because there is so much to see. 

The new academic and fine arts buildings. The exceptional library. The amazing career and technical education classrooms. The beautifully renovated auditorium and new balcony. The new cafeterias that give our students the feeling of having lunch on a college campus.

In our most recent step toward the project’s end, when we returned from the holiday break in January we opened new special education classrooms and related spaces on the ground floor of what was, from 1974-2020, the high school’s only academic building.

If you knew Â鶹ӰԺ High before, you will not recognize it today. 

The project has expanded Â鶹ӰԺ High’s facilities by 40%. Nearly all of our popular CTE programs already are relocated from Abrookin Career and Technical Center, and all will be by the start of next school year. 

No students will have to cross busy Washington Avenue or take a shuttle bus to get to classes ever again. 

Â鶹ӰԺ High is now more technologically advanced than any high school in our region – and we have assured that we remain on the leading edge of that ever-evolving world through each phase of the project. 

Every classroom has natural light. The heating and cooling systems work as they should.

It has been a long path to this point – an often noisy and frequently inconvenient one for the students, administrators, teachers, support staff and families who have learned, worked and visited Â鶹ӰԺ High over these last seven years. We are grateful for the patience and perseverance that has gotten us almost all the way to the finish line.

We are grateful, too, for the community support that allowed us to undertake this game-changing effort. For those who remember even further back – to the 2015-16 school year – you’ll remember the vigorous debate on the topic.

The first vote, on a $196 million proposal, failed by 92 votes out of more than 12,000 cast. The second vote, on a scaled-back $179.9 million proposal, passed by 189 votes out of nearly 8,000 cast.

In 2023, nearly 80% of voters approved an additional $9 million to account for significant inflationary costs that impacted the project – and most every aspect of our lives – during the pandemic. Those additional funds, from a capital reserve, had no impact on taxes.

We recognize this was not an investment our community undertook lightly. That is as it should be. 

We are pleased to be following through on our promise to build our region’s premier high school, and we look forward to providing opportunities for you to see the outcome of your investment in the months and years to come. 

Sincerely,

Joseph Hochreiter
Superintendent

Free cosmetology services for ages 55+

Our Â鶹ӰԺ cosmetology students are thrilled to once again offer free services for Â鶹ӰԺ residents 
ages 55+. 

Services provided include hair cuts and coloring, washing and curling/straightening, manicures, pedicures, wig services, eyelashes and much more!

All services require an appointment, some require a consultation. To book an appointment, please call (518) 475-6393 or contact CTE teacher LaQuita Love at llove@albany.k12.ny.us.

Spread the word about this amazing service to our community, running now through May!

Adding student voice to our school board

Our Board of Education is working to identify high school students to serve in an advisory role as non-voting board members. One student will attend each board meeting beginning next school year to represent the voices of students in the district.

This is part of a statewide initiative that Governor Hochul signed into law last fall, which takes effect July 1.

Having student representation on the board will provide pathways for student voices to be more consistently considered. Students will be able to share their informed perspective on how decisions that leaders are making impact their learning, growth, safety and well-being.

Cell phone use update

The City School District of Â鶹ӰԺ is continuing to move ahead with analysis and planning for new restrictions on cell phone use that would be in place for next school year.

The district formed a Cell Phone Use Task Force to study this important issue last summer. The group of employees, students and parents has met several times throughout the school year. 

That included a visit to the Troy City School District on Feb. 11 to learn more about restrictions Troy put in place at the secondary level at the start of this school year. 

Gov. Hochul is strongly advocating for all schools statewide to implement “bell-to-bell” restrictions – from the start of the school day until the end – beginning with the 2025-26 school year.

Our task force’s current recommendations include bell-to-bell restrictions at all grade levels, which would include lunch periods, study halls and between classes. Exceptions would include students with specific health needs (as indicated on a 504 Plan or IEP, or with administrator permission).

For updates and to learn more, visit our Cell Phone Task Force page.

Important reminders

Non-public transportation deadline April 1

State law requires Â鶹ӰԺ parents and guardians whose children will attend a non-public school in 2025-26 to submit a written request for transportation to the City School District of Â鶹ӰԺ by April 1.

The purpose of this deadline is to enable districts to budget funds and make necessary arrangements to provide reasonable and economical transportation. This applies to students who will attend private, parochial and charter schools next school year.

The district transports all eligible elementary students (grades K-5) via yellow buses. Eligible non-public secondary students (grades 6-12) are transported via CDTA buses unless their Individual Education Service Plan (IESP) requires specialized transportation via yellow buses.

In order to qualify for transportation, students must meet the requirements under the district’s Transportation Policy. 

You can also contact our Transportation Department at (518) 475-6170.

Special Education services

Parents and guardians have the right to request a referral and evaluation of a child for the purposes of special education services or programs. 

If you believe your child has a disability that requires special education or special accommodations, contact your child’s building principal. 

You also can call Assistant Director of Special Education Christina Lebrecht at (518) 475-6150 to discuss whether your child should be referred to the Committee on Special Education or the “504 Team” for a full evaluation.   

If you plan to home-school or enroll your child in a non-public school in Â鶹ӰԺ in 2025-26, you must provide a written request for services by June 1. 

If your child will attend a non-public school outside Â鶹ӰԺ and you want services, you need to request the services in writing from the public school district where the school is located, also by June 1. 

The district does not provide services to non-public-school students found eligible for accommodations under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.  

Please contact our Special Education Department at (518) 475-6150 if you have questions.

Pre-K & magnet lotteries

A reminder that our pre-K 4 (4 years old by Dec. 1) and magnet lotteries will be held on April 16. 

In order to be included in this initial lottery drawing, applications must have been received by March 14. Applications received after that time will be processed based on availability.

Also a reminder that our pre-K 3 (3 years old by Dec. 1) program is enrolled by a separate lottery held later in the spring.

Visit our lottery page for more information, or call (518) 475-6551.

Budget vote & board election May 20

A reminder that our school budget vote and Board of Education election will be held on Tuesday, May 20. 

Polling locations will be open throughout the city from 7 a.m.-9 p.m.

As with last year, all City of Â鶹ӰԺ residents will once again have the option to vote by mail. 

Two Board of Education seats will be up for election. 

For more information, please visit our budget page, or call (518) 475-6015.

Azera Gates reaches 1,000 points 

Â鶹ӰԺ High senior Azera Gates made history Jan. 14 when she became just the sixth member of the girls’ basketball program to reach 1,000 career points. 
A four-year starter, Gates achieved this impressive feat by sinking a foul shot in the second quarter during the Falcons’ game at Colonie, prompting Falcon fans to erupt with excitement!

109 seniors join Honor Society

In recognition of their individual academic achievements, Â鶹ӰԺ High inducted 109 seniors into the Arista Chapter of the National Honor Society on Jan. 6.

Inductees and their loved ones gathered for a beautiful ceremony in which the pillars of scholarship, leadership, service and character were celebrated with short speeches given by student leaders.

For a full list of inductees, check out our previous news story.

Three new STEM Master Teachers!  

A brother and sister are among the three district teachers accepted into the 2024 class of the prestigious New York State Master Teacher Program.

Congratulations to STEM-minded siblings Kevin Allen and Kerry Welcome, and to their fellow master teacher, Emily Lawlor. Allen and Lawlor both teach at Â鶹ӰԺ High; Allen teaches technology and Lawlor teaches science. Welcome teaches grade 7 science at William S. Hackett Middle School.

They are among 144 educators statewide who were selected for this year’s Master Teacher Program, which recognizes high-performing teachers of STEM – science, technology, engineering and math.

Blood drive helps save lives 

During its Jan. 31 blood drive, Â鶹ӰԺ High collected 61 pints of blood! 

With the steady guidance of Blood Drive Club Advisor Alicia Abdul, seniors Nathan Martel and Anya Stetzer continue to impress us with their leadership skills and commitment to the American Red Cross.

Through their service, they are earning scholarship money for their post-high school studies.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to each donor, and stay tuned for more details on our final blood drive in the spring!

Student musicians at Suburban Council fest

Congratulations to our 18 talented student musicians – representing our three middle schools and Â鶹ӰԺ High – who performed alongside their peers from area schools at the Suburban Council Music Festival on Jan. 25!

Students were chosen based on scores earned at New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) auditions, teacher recommendations, and instrument and voice needs to balance the ensembles.

Congratulations again to our student musicians and our incredible teachers who guide them!

Marching Falcons at State of the State 

All eyes and ears were on our Â鶹ӰԺ Marching Falcons as they kicked off Gov. Hochul’s State of the State address 
on Jan. 14!

Congratulations to our student musicians for an outstanding performance and thank you for proudly representing our district!

Hackett science heads to the heavens again

For the fourth year in a row, an experiment proposed by a team of eighth-grade scientists at William S. Hackett Middle School will be performed on the International Space Station.

Later this spring, astronauts on the space station will conduct research on “The effect of microgravity on mentha piperita” – the effect of weightlessness on the growth of peppermint seeds. The proposal was designed by Grace Fruehwirth, Naomi Richards and Simone Schou, all students of Allison Sheehan.   

Their efforts were part of the Student Spaceflight Experiment Program (SSEP), an experiment-design competition involving students from around the world.

Hall Monitor Academy winter session

The second session of our Hall Monitor Academy featured 11 of our newest security team members!

The 10-day academy is designed to provide hall monitors with de-escalation techniques and crisis response, familiarize them with safety and security procedures in buildings, meet our school resource officers and develop an overall foundation of skills that will allow them to start out successful from day one.  

Interested in applying to be a hall monitor, or other available career opportunities in our district? to learn more and apply!

Eagle Point shares hope at North Â鶹ӰԺ

In January, Eagle Point Elementary School students decorated paper doves with an “I wish” statement that expressed their individual hopes for a better and more peaceful world.

The doves were then sent to North Â鶹ӰԺ Middle School where art teacher Caitlin Sweet created an installation that displays the project perfectly.

The effort – spearheaded by Eagle Point kindergarten teacher Wanda Carter – was designed to support the middle school with positivity and hope following the tragic loss of two beloved North Â鶹ӰԺ students in a drowning accident in December. 

Dr. Daniel Fernandez ’07

A lot has changed in the City School District of Â鶹ӰԺ since Dr. Daniel Fernandez sat behind our desks and walked our halls.

He attended PS #27, now Eagle Point Elementary School. His middle school – Philip Livingston Magnet Academy – transformed into an apartment building for seniors. And the renovated Â鶹ӰԺ bears almost no resemblance to the school he graduated from in 2007 (though he’s happy the “rubber gym” still exists!).

But Dr. Fernandez is confident one thing hasn’t changed in 18 years.

“Â鶹ӰԺ has a tremendous amount to offer,” he said. “I had access to almost every club, sport, program and class that I wanted to take.”

Dr. Fernandez entered Syracuse University with 30 credits, thanks to the numerous course options at Â鶹ӰԺ High. He graduated with a bachelor’s in Biology in 2011 and returned home to work. 

After two years as a cardiovascular tech at Â鶹ӰԺ Medical Center, he was accepted to Â鶹ӰԺ Medical College and graduated in 2018. He matched with Â鶹ӰԺ Med’s Pediatric Residency Program and completed it in 2021, and is now practicing at Delmar Pediatrics.

“This region, and its surrounding area, has a ton to offer,” he said. “It has always been my goal to stay and work here and give back to the community.”

That includes the career path he chose. 

Dr. Fernandez was diagnosed with leukemia in his early teen years and was treated at Â鶹ӰԺ Med’s Melodies Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders. He completed treatment during his sophomore year at Â鶹ӰԺ High and, as can occur, something good came out of bad – it’s Fernandez’s diagnosis that inspired him to become a physician.

“That helped me to better understand the feelings and concerns of patients dealing with significant medical problems,” he said. “It has helped with my compassion and attention to not just medical needs but emotional and family needs.”

His medical drive also was affirmed by the Health Career Explorations program he participated in at Â鶹ӰԺ High. As a senior, he attended classes in a medical complex near Â鶹ӰԺ Med and was exposed to public health issues, medical wards and operating rooms.

“Seeing alumni who have taken advantage of all Â鶹ӰԺ schools has to offer to become successful adults is very important,” he said. “It reinforces that hard work can, and will, be rewarded.”