Albany school board candidates on Facebook

There are eight candidates competing for three school board spots – one 4-year term, one 2-year term and one 1-year term.

You can find more information on each candidate’s Facebook page:

·         Noelene Smith: https://www.facebook.com/Noelene-Smith-for-Albany-School-Board-442203719320552/

·         ​Vickie Smith: https://www.facebook.com/vickiealbany?fref=ts&ref=br_tf

·         Carol June Washington: https://www.facebook.com/Carol-June-Washington-for-Albany-School-Board-532507640235831/

·         Ira Bethea: https://www.facebook.com/IraBetheaforAlbanySchoolBoard?fref=ts&ref=br_tf

·         Jennifer Lange: https://www.facebook.com/JenniferLangeForSchoolBoard?fref=ts&ref=br_tf

·         Mark Barth: https://www.facebook.com/MarkBarthAlbany?fref=ts

·         Sridar Chittur: https://www.facebook.com/SridarChitturforAlbanySchoolBoard?fref=ts

·         Ellen Roach: www.facebook.com/albanysbo

The League of Women Voters, the NAACP, and the Albany City Council PTA held a candidates forum on October 20

(http://www.timesunion.com/tuplus-local/article/Albany-school-board-candidates-differ-on-the-6582777.php).  Also, the eight candidates were profiled in this Times Union article: http://www.timesunion.com/tuplus-local/article/Albany-school-board-candidates-talk-about-the-6575921.php.  

Albany School District Candidates' Forum October 20

Albany School District Candidates' Forum
Tuesday, October 20 at 6:00pm
First Unitarian Universalist Society, 405 Washington Ave, Albany, New York across from the downtown SUNY campus

Albany (NY) School District needs candidates for vacant seat on Board of Education

The City School District of Albany Board of Education is inviting candidates to apply for its vacant seat.

Albany residents interested in filling the volunteer position can apply through the end of business June 10. Please visit the Board of Education section to find out how to apply.

Interested candidates will have an opportunity to make a five-minute public presentation at the board's June 18 meeting. The board could make an appointment as soon as its July 16 meeting.

Albany school budget, library budget and library trustee vote Tuesday, May 19, 7 a.m.-9 p.m.

Voting for library board, the library budget, AND school budget will be held Tuesday, May 19, along with balloting for two tax-free facilities projects, including one that would provide a new turf athletic field at Albany High School.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. city-wide. The polls may or may NOT be at the same place one votes in the general election.

Albany City School Board of Education in forum on October 22 and 27

This year's candidates for the Albany City School Board of Education will participate in a school board forum on Wednesday, October 22 from 6-7:30 p.m. at Stephen and Harriet Myers Middle School. Four candidates are seeking two seats in the November elections – Kenneth Bruce, Edith Leet, Sharon Rowe and Anne Savage.
Forum Sponsors- The Albany City Council Parent Teacher Association (ACCPTA) Albany Branch of the NCAAP, League of Women Voters of Albany County, George Biddle Kelly Education Foundation, Capital Area Urban League, Council of Albany Neighborhood Associations (CANA), Capital Area Council of Churches, and Reform Jewish Voice of New York State.

If you miss that one, the school board candidates will present again on Monday, October 27 at 7 pm at the Pine Hills Library.

meeting re: the impact of school testing and how to refuse it

Come join fellow parents and learn more about the impact of testing and how to refuse the NYS ELA and Math assessments scheduled to take place in April. There will be a presentation by Tim Farley, one of the founding members of New York State Allies for Public Education.

Monday March 10th at 6:30 pm
Howe Branch Library
105 Schuyler St
Albany, NY
Parking is Available!!!

Presenter Tim Farley:
Tim Farley and his wife Jessica are the proud parents of four school-aged children. Tim is the Building Principal of Ichabod Crane Elementary and Middle School (Grades 4-8) in Kinderhook, NY. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education for Earth Science, a Master’s Degree in Special Education (K-12), and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Educational Administration and Supervision. He has been in education for over 22 years and has been a Building Administrator for 15 years. Tim is also one of the founding members of the New York State Allies for Public Education and has been quite critical of the Regents Reform Agenda.

Our schools in fiscal peril: meeting January 30

Albany City School District of Albany Superintendent Marguerite Vanden Wyngaard, Ph.D., and Albany High School senior Zilpa Oduor will be among the panelists next Thursday, Jan. 30, when people who value public education gather at Colonie High School to call on the state to adequately fund our schools and end the fiscal crisis threatening education statewide.

The event picks up where last year’s heavily attended regional advocacy effort at Columbia High School left off. More than 1,000 people from throughout the Capital Region attended last year's forum.

The event begins at 6:30 p.m. All are welcome and guests are encouraged to arrive at least 30 minutes early to be able to park and find a seat in time for the start of the program. Please visit the Albany District News section of the website to read more.

Albany public schools, city and libraries to offer 'cooling stations'

The City School District of Albany, in cooperation with Mayor Gerald D. Jennings and Albany Public Library, is providing "cooling stations" for community members through Friday.

The cooling stations are located at:

Giffen Memorial Elementary School, 274 South Pearl St.
North Albany Academy, 570 North Pearl St.
Schuyler Achievement Academy, 676 Clinton Ave.
Delaware Branch of the Albany Public Library, 331 Delaware Ave.
Bach Branch of the Albany Public Library, 455 New Scotland Ave.

Each location will be open from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. through Friday. Water will be provided, and an emergency medical technician also will be on hand at each location.

For more information, contact the school district's administrative offices at 475-6000.

Sue Fowler a top Capital Region teacher

Delaware Community School second-grade teacher Sue Fowler has been selected as one of the Capital Region's top teachers for the 2012-13 school year by WNYT/TV-13. You can check out the story online HERE.

Albany public school kids can 'Meet the Author and Illustrator' Saturday

Elementary-school children in the City School District of Albany on Saturday (March 9) will have a chance to talk to the authors and an illustrator of several children’s books at “Meet the Author and Illustrator Day” at Giffen Memorial Elementary School.

The event – free and open to students in all our elementary schools – is designed to get kids excited about reading.

The authors and the times they’ll speak:

Matt McElligott (author of Benjamin Franklinstein, 12 other books) – 9 a.m
Coleen Paratore (author of The Wedding Planner’s Daughter, 16 other books) – 9:35 a.m.
Bruce Hiscock (author of The Big Tree, 11 other books) – 10:30 a.m.
Liz Zunon (illustrator of The Boy who Harnessed the Wind, four other books) – 11:05 a.m.
Daniel Mahoney (author of The Saturday Escape, seven other books) -- noon

Refreshments will be served and the Giffen orchestra and chorus will perform.

Giffen is located at 274 South Pearl St.

New Albany Board of Education officers

Alexandra Streznewski is the new president of the City School District of Albany Board of Education. Streznewski, beginning her third year on the board, was selected unanimously by her peers Wednesday night. She served as board secretary in 2012.

The board members also selected Ginnie Farrell as the vice president for 2013, and Rose Brandon, Th.D., as secretary. Dr. Brandon served as vice president for the past three years and was elected to a second four-year term in November along with former President Dan Egan. Dr. Brandon and Egan were sworn in to begin their second terms Wednesday night.

Read more.

Albany School District Board of Education meets tonight

The City School District of Albany Board of Education will meet tonight, Wednesday, Jan. 2, at Albany High School, 700 Washington Ave. There is a reception for newly elected board members at 6:45 p.m., followed by the meeting at 7 p.m. in the north cafeteria.

The meeting will include the election of board officers for the 2013 calendar year. You can find the full agenda in the Upcoming Events section at www.albanyschools.org, and in the Board of Ed section.

Albany Schools' 2012 Summer Celebration July 28

You're invited to the City School District of Albany's 2012 Summer Celebration presented by ShopRite of Albany this Saturday, July 28, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Krank Park in the South End.

This second annual community event once again will include a celebrity softball game with radio personalities from JAMZ/96.3 -- a rematch of last year's 12-12 tie! The Summer Celebration also will include fun summer activities for the whole family, including a cookout, face-painting, a bouncy-bounce, games, the popular Latino NY snow-cone machine, information about Albany's public schools and community organizations, and more.

And there is Krank Park's popular spray park to beat the heat on a hot summer day.

Please join us this Saturday for the 2012 Summer Celebration!

Albany schools make superintendent selection

From SNN:

The City School District of Albany Board of Education has selected Marguerite Vanden Wyngaard, Ph.D., to become the district’s next superintendent. The board voted Tuesday night to ask the New York State Department of Education to grant Dr. Vanden Wyngaard a School District Leader certificate that would allow her to serve in that capacity.

Dr. Vanden Wyngaard is deputy superintendent in the Paterson (N.J.) Public Schools. Although she currently does not hold a School District Leader certificate in New York, state education law allows the commissioner to grant a certificate to those “whose exceptional training and experience ... qualify such persons for the duties of a superintendent of schools.”

The board strongly believes Dr. Vanden Wyngaard meets those standards, President Dan Egan said. Visit the District News section to read more.

City School District of Albany’s Hall of Fame Class of 2012

A United States ambassador, the first African-American woman elected to the Albany Board of Education, an orthopedic surgeon and Albany High School’s only New York State Miss Basketball recipient are among the eight people selected for the City School District of Albany’s 2012 Hall of Fame.

The Class of 2012 will be inducted during ceremonies on Homecoming weekend in October. Visit the Hall of Fame section to read more about this year's inductees as well as past classes, and to find out how to nominate candidates for the Class of 2013.