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 Advisory
committee studying future facilities options for Albany High
The City School District of Albany has put together a
team of 38 community and district representatives to serve on an ad hoc High School Facilities
Advisory Committee. The committee is scheduled to conduct its work from
January-May 2012. Its charge is to assist the district in determining the future of Albany High by
studying the pros and cons of renovating the current high school and of
constructing new high school facilities.
Visit the committee's home page to learn more about its work,
including a complete schedule of its meetings and related materials.
Lottery for 2012-13 academy placement held Dec. 7
The
lottery to determine academy placement
at Albany High School for the 2012-13 school year was held Dec. 7.
The lottery was open to incoming
freshmen, other new students and current Albany High students wishing
to change academies for next year. Applications were accepted from Oct.
21-Nov. 21 and the lottery was open to all students interested in
atttending Albany High next year: current eighth-graders, current Albany
High students interested in switching academies and high-school students
interested in transferring to Albany High.
There were 149 students assigned to
Citizenship Academy, 151 students assigned to Discovery Academy, 155
students assigned to Innovation Academy and 150 students assigned to
Leadership Academy.
All students will receive a letter from
the school indicating academy assignment. Students currently attending
district schools also can find out their assignment from their guidance
counselor. For more information, contact Albany High Magnet Grant
Principal Stan Harper at 454-3987, ext. 990.
What's the same: core courses, high expectations for all
Albany
High School has been transformed into four academies -- physically
smaller learning environments designed to help students feel connected,
involved and engaged.
Each
offers electives tied to its own theme; all will offer the
same core classes in English, math, science and social studies. Students
will take their core courses within their own academy, but can take
advanced elective classes in other academies. For example, a student in
Innovation Academy -- which offers advanced electives in science and
technology -- will be able to take a playwriting class in the Discovery
Academy, which offers advanced English electives.
What's different: themes
Each of the four academies has a theme:
Each academy
has up to 600 students, its own principal, four teams of teachers
and a "theme" coordinator. These smaller academies will offer more
demanding coursework and extra support for all students.
Click here for an
overview of the new academy structure.
History behind the changes
Four
decades ago, a comprehensive high school serving all students in the
City School District of Albany was the right plan at the right time. As
Albany High School
approached its 40th anniversary last year, the district knew that times had changed.
Reorganizing Albany High was a top priority in
the
district’s 2008 strategic plan, “A Vision for Tomorrow. The process
gained increased urgency in January 2010 when
the State Education Department identified Albany High as a
"persistently lowest-achieving" school
because of the school’s
lagging performance in math and English language arts (ELA).
A $7.5 million federal grant is bolstering the transformation of
Albany High.
The district continues to work with state
education officials to gain financial support from the state for these
efforts.
Smaller learning communities
like Albany High's new academies
were at the center of the research and
planning that the High School Restructuring Committee did between fall
2009 and summer 2011 (read below for more information
about this committee of district and community representatives).
High School
Restructuring Committee
 Through
winter 2011, a committee of district and community
representatives met monthly to discuss and plan for a broad range of
issues relating to the redesigning Albany High School and the new
structure that was implemented in fall 2011.
You can
download a PowerPoint presentation
outlining the
alignment of
core
and elective courses in each of the four magnet academies and background information on the goals and
objectives that guided the decisions.
You also can download minutes from
previous High School Restructuring Committee meetings during the 2010-11 school year:
In addition to the full committee,
there also are numerous subcommittees addressing areas such as
curriculum, parent advocacy, social-emotional wellness and more. To find
out more about how you can get involved, contact Mary Mathai at
454-3987, ext. 920 or
mmathai@albany.k12.ny.us.
Alternative
Education Think Tank
Another important part
of the restructuring plan is the work of the Alternative Education Think
Tank, also formed in the fall of 2009 to address another key element of
the district's strategic plan.
The think tank is comprised of 20 members of
the community and district staff and has been meeting monthly, both as a
full committee and in three subcommittees, to analyze each of the 14
alternative-education programs operating during the 2009-10 school year
and evaluate best practices locally and nationally.
After more than a year's work, the think tank
in August 2010 issued a series of recommendations
to address the needs of students at risk of failing or dropping out of
school. You can read the committee's recommendations by
clicking here. Think-tank members continue to be involved in the
process of reorganizing Albany High to assure that its new structure
meets the needs of at-risk students.
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