No Child Left Behind

Linda Rudnick, Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education
1 Academy Park
Albany, NY 12207
Phone: 475-6060

What does NCLB mean for Albany parents?
In January 2002, President Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, which took effect September 1, 2002. NCLB is designed to ensure all schools provide parents with a higher level of accountability, choice and information.

School Choice Options
One of the provisions of NCLB is that schools designated with In Need of Improvement or Corrective Action status provide parents a school choice option. In the City School District of Albany, Giffen Memorial Elementary School, North Albany Academy and William S. Hackett Middle School are so designated. 

For years now, the district has been offering ALL parents a choice option through the Open Enrollment Policy. This policy allows parents to choose another school outside of their designated neighborhood-zoned school to send their children to if space is available.

If you are the parent of a grade 6 student attending Giffen, Hackett or North Albany, you have the option of school choice. Although the district has five elementary schools serving students through grade 6 in 2010-11, only four are available for open enrollment. Parents can enroll students in Arbor Hill Elementary School, Eagle Point Elementary School, Giffen or Pine Hills Elementary School, per seat availability, by contacting Central Registration at 475-6125. 

The fifth elementary serving students through grade 6, Albany School of Humanities (ASH), is a magnet school and enrolled through an annual lottery. Each of the district's other six elementary schools serves students through grade 5.

The district enrolls all middle-school students in Hackett, Stephen and Harriet Myers Middle School and North Albany Academy. Each of these schools serves students in grades 6-8.

Students in Hackett and Myers are enrolled through a feeder pattern based on their elementary schools. Students in the North Albany elementary program continue on to that school's middle-level program.

Additionally, the Board of Education has established a half-mile enrollment zone for Hackett and Myers to allow students and families to choose the middle school that is within that distance of their home. The board also has established a half-mile zone around the former Philip Livingston Magnet Academy, allowing students and families in that designated area to choose either Hackett or Myers on an annual basis.

With the construction and the reconstruction of existing school buildings at the elementary and middle levels, creating equitable state-of-the-art facilities for all students, as well as careful planning of programmatic changes to ensure quality middle-level education for all students, students in Albany's public schools will be prepared to meet the rigor of the New York State Learning Standards at the middle level and will be readied for the challenge of high school and higher education.

Supplemental Education Services
For schools in need of improvement, NCLB requires that all eligible children receive the option of Supplemental Educational Services (SES), or more simply, tutoring services. If your child attends Albany School of Humanities (ASH), Delaware Community School, Giffen, Hackett, Stephen and Harriet Myers Middle School, North Albany, Philip Schuyler Achievement Academy or Thomas O’Brien Academy of Science and Technology (TOAST), and receives free or reduced-price meals, then they may be eligible for SES tutoring.

Because the New York State Education Department requires school districts with schools in need of improvement to set aside a certain amount of funds each year for SES, these services are free for your child. While we expect to be able to provide help/tutoring to all eligible students who ask for it, if there are more students than funding, students with the greatest academic need will have first priority.

Each year in the fall, letters are sent home to all parents whose children are eligible for tutoring. 

To assist families in making the best choice of tuturoing service available, SES fairs are held at the schools in the fall. This gives parents and guardians fo students an opportunity to talk with vendors who provide services about programs of study in both English language arts and math. Notice of fairs will be sent home to families in advance.

Do you have additional questions about SES?

Follow this link for more information about the Supplemental Education Services program.

Professional Qualifications
Another provision of NCLB is that schools were required to hire only "highly qualified" teachers in Title I schools beginning the 2002-03 school year, and then in all schools in the 2005-06 school year.

In addition, all parents who have children attending a school receiving Title I funding are entitled to request information regarding the professional qualifications of their children's teachers. Any parent who wishes to know the qualifications of the staff providing services to their children should call their child's school directly.

Complaint Process

The first point of receiving an action on complaints will occur at the building level through the building principal. The director of pupil personnel and the Office of Central Registration also will receive and act upon any complaints from parents, in coordination with school personnel.

The Office of Instruction, which provides oversight for Supplemental Educational Services, will assist parents directly or through the guidance counselors at each building so that students eligible for SES will be enrolled immediately in a tutorial program as warranted. The Office of Instruction, which includes the offices of the assistant superintendents for elementary and secondary education, often becomes involved in pupil personnel matters. The Office of Instruction has a long-standing practice of advocating for parents and students, as well as supporting staff in resolving complaints in the spirit of NCLB.

Complaints will be addressed in a timely manner. Parents who are not satisfied with the decision rendered at the building level will be offered opportunity within the same week to meet with the assistant superintendents for education to explore alternatives or options that will both satisfy the parent and, more importantly, positively influence the education of the student.

Providing a quality education for all students so that the goal of meeting the NYS Learning Standards in all subject areas and the probability of earning a high school diploma are imminent has been, and will continue to be, the benchmark by which the district is measured as successful.

Parent Compact and Parent Involvement Policy

Military Notice
Another NCLB regulation requires high schools to provide information about senior students to the military, including names and addresses. If parents do NOT want their children contacted by the military they must "opt out" in writing. A letter is sent home at the beginning of each school year letting parents know the provisions of this law.

For information about opting out, please contact Albany High School at 454-3987.