Message from the superintendent

Looking back, forward with gratitude

Typically at this time of year, I take this opportunity to share my thoughts with you as we look back on the recently ended school year and ahead to the year to come.

This year, I have a little more ground to cover!

As you are aware, I will be retiring from my position as superintendent July 10. I leave with many great memories of the achievements we have made and the great relationships I have built in my 12 years with the City School District of Albany, including the last five as superintendent.

I also leave with great enthusiasm for the future of Albany’s public schools.

In the classroom, we have made significant progress in raising the level of academic achievement for all of our students.

Over the past two school years, 42 percent more of our students in grades 3-8 have achieved Level 3 or Level 4 on the state English language arts exam. In math, 40 percent more have achieved the two highest levels.

The evidence is clear that as a district and as a community we are making strides in our goal to eliminate the achievement gap.

In just a couple of months the district will celebrate the most recent piece in the ongoing facilities project for elementary and middle schools – the renovated Giffen Memorial Elementary School.

This will be the 12^th school completed this decade. We are grateful for the community support that has allowed us to provide the very best schools for our students as well as signature new buildings in our neighborhoods.

Following Giffen, there will be just two projects left before this historic rebuild is complete – Thomas O’Brien Academy of Science and Technology (TOAST) in January and Arbor Hill Elementary School at the start of the 2010-11 school year.

Then it’s on to the future.

The most significant work the district faces in the years to come already is underway – restructuring the academic programs and facilities at Albany High School, and developing new and better alternative education programs.

We are in the first stages of those critical planning processes now, and will gain momentum as we get into the 2009-10 school year.

The district will be in good hands under the leadership of Interim Superintendent Raymond Colucciello, Ed.D., while the Board of Education leads a national search in partnership with our community to find our next superintendent.

Whoever that is, I know he or she will benefit from the same resources I enjoyed during my time in Albany – a rich community that cares deeply about the future of its schools and its children.

I leave you with my gratitude for the support you have provided to the district throughout my time with Albany’s public schools. We have made significant progress this decade, and I look forward to seeing that progress continue into the next decade – and beyond.

Eva C. Joseph, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools