State Education Department honors

five district schools for achievement

ALBANY, N.Y. (March 24, 2007) -- Four district elementary schools have been named “rapidly improving" schools by the New York State Education Department, and another was recognized as a “high performing/gap closing” school, an indication that the district's efforts to increase student performance and close the achievement gap are paying off.

Four district elementary schools have been named “rapidly improving" schools by the New York State Education Department, and another was recognized as a “high performing/gap closing” school, an indication that the district's efforts to increase student performance and close the achievement gap are paying off.

The rapidly improving schools are Delaware Community School, Montessori Magnet School, Pine Hills Elementary School and Thomas O’Brien Academy of Science and Technology (TOAST). Albany School of Humanities (ASH) was named a high performing/gap closing school for the second year in a row for its performance in English and math for each of the previous three years.

The rapidly improving distinction -- earned by Delaware Community School (formerly School 18), Pine Hills Elementary School (formerly School 16), Montessori Magnet School, and TOAST -- belongs to schools that met their state performance benchmarks in English, math and or science during each of the past three years and improved their performance in areas where they were below state standards. Only 226 schools statewide earned the rapidly improving honor.

“Your entire school community has earned this distinction,” New York State Education Department Commissioner Richard Mills wrote to schools that were honored. “We encourage you to celebrate your achievement and to continue implementing strategies supporting your school’s improvement.”

City School District of Albany Superintendent Eva C. Joseph, Ed.D., credited the students and staff at each school for making this significant accomplishment possible. She said that the district places a strong emphasis on quality teaching, a strong literacy foundation through initiatives such as Reading Recovery and the nationally renowned Writing Workshop Program from Teachers College at Columbia University, the nationally recognized elementary Math Trailblazers curriculum and a strong science curriculum.

“It is with great pleasure and pride that I congratulate the students and staff at each of these schools for their hard work and these fine accomplishments,” Dr. Joseph said. “Closing the achievement gap is the stated goal of our district, and we have worked and will continue to work aggressively toward doing so. To be honored with such distinctions as "rapidly improving" and "high performing/gap closing" shows not only that our efforts are paying off, but that greater achievement is on the horizon.”

In addition to ASH, School 19 and Pine Hills Elementary School (the former School 16) ) were named “high performing/gap closing” schools in the spring of 2006. At that time, Arbor Hill Elementary School was named one of 71 “rapidly improving” schools in the state.

The City School District of Albany serves almost 9,400 students in 19 elementary, middle and high schools. The district includes several magnet schools and programs, as well as other innovative academic opportunities for students in addition to neighborhood schools. The district is more than halfway through its comprehensive facilities project to newly build and/or renovate nearly all of its elementary and middle schools. The ultimate goal of the facilities project is to provide schools with the resources necessary to help students succeed in the 21st century.