COMMUNITY UPDATE
OCTOBER 2025
Welcome!
Each month we strive to present this Community Update to help you stay informed about exciting accomplishments and important updates from around the City School District of Albany. These are just a sampling of the incredible things happening across our district each and every day, so I encourage you to follow us on our social media and regularly visit us here on our website for even more great news.
As a reminder, my door and my inbox are always open, so please feel free to reach out with any questions, comments or concerns.
Sincerely,
Albany High seniors join Board of Education
Our Board of Education officially welcomed its first student members — Albany High School seniors Cleana Brummell and Carmen Sampona — on Oct. 9!
Student representation on the board is part of a statewide initiative that Gov. Hochul signed into law last fall, and we are thrilled to have Brummell and Sampona as our inaugural student board members.
Already leaders in student government at Albany High, Brummell and Sampona will serve in an advisory, non-voting role on the board. They will represent the entire student body for the district by attending and participating in bimonthly board meetings.
We are proud of Brummell and Sampona for embracing this opportunity and know they will serve our school district with dedication and excellence!
Bouget named National Merit semifinalist
Albany High senior Kailas Bouget has been named a semifinalist in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Competition!
Bouget’s tremendous score on the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT) placed him in the top 1% of the 1.3 million juniors from approximately 20,000 high schools who took the exam nationwide.
From more than 16,000 semifinalists, approximately 15,000 are expected to advance to the finalist level. National Merit scholarships will be awarded in the spring.
We congratulate Bouget on this wonderful accomplishment!
Falcons earn musical accolades
Lots of exciting music news during October for our Falcons!
Senior Anna Ustin received an invitation that many students hope for, but few achieve: the opportunity to intern with Albany Pro Musica, an elite, professional-caliber choral ensemble that rehearses and performs in the Capital Region!
Ustin and five other brilliant Albany High musicians also have been selected to participate in the Area All-State Music Festival of the New York State Music Association on Nov. 22 at Proctors Theatre!
Margaret Ardrey, Celine Casasola and Anna Ustin will perform in the mixed chorus, Eli Stanwicks and Cameron Volk will perform in the symphonic band and Aidan Carlson will perform in the symphony orchestra.
Krengel and Schillinger earn state recognition
Huge shoutout to Albany International Academy teachers Hannah Krengel and Tammy Schillinger!
Both are being recognized at the state level for their excellence in teaching multilingual learners. Krengel, a high school ELA teacher, has been selected as a recipient of the 2025 Educator of Excellence Award from the New York State English Council (NYSEC). Schillinger, who teaches third grade, has been named the New York State TESOL Teacher of the Month.
Congratulations, and thank you both for your outstanding work!
Athletics recognized for sportsmanship
Congratulations to our Athletics Department for receiving a well-deserved Sportsmanship Promotion Award for the 2024-25 school year!
We were granted the award from the New York State Public High School Athletics Association for putting forth exemplary effort in promoting sportsmanship through a variety of methods that foster a positive environment for spectators, officials, coaches, opponents and student-athletes.
Homecoming a huge success!
Homecoming 2025 was an incredible celebration, and we are thankful to all the students, faculty and staff, coaches, community leaders, family members and friends who made this a memorable experience for our Falcons!
Full of athletic events, our Hall of Fame induction, the return of our Homecoming parade, tailgating and more, it was a truly outstanding weekend!
Planning for a future-ready Albany
On Oct. 24, faculty and staff from the district gathered to envision a future-ready Albany. They explored how the district can play a vital role in aligning educational opportunities with economic growth and innovation to meet our community’s evolving demands.
During professional development sessions, counselors and career and technology teachers from our middle schools, elementary home school coordinators and community school site coordinators participated in guided tours of our career and technical education classrooms at Albany High.
Albany High's annual Chili Cookoff
Albany High's beautiful new culinary space was bustling on the evening of Oct. 23 as staff, community members, family and friends sampled delicious chilis prepared by our Culinary II and Culinary III students at our annual Albany High Chili Cookoff.
Everyone cast their votes for their favorite chili, and the results are in. Our teams were so competitive that we had a two-way tie for first place!
Congratulations to our first-place teams:
- Katerine Barros and KLana Hinds
- Olivia Del Moor and Asia Green
A big thank you to everyone who supported this wonderful event!
Falcons soar to victory on the bocce courts
Congratulations to our unified bocce team for an incredible win at the culminating tournament of their season!
Our Falcons faced off against Queensbury, South Glens Falls and Shaker and the competition was extremely competitive. Our Falcons tied with Shaker, but ultimately were declared the winning team based on the total number of points scored.
A big shout out to Coach Alicia Arisim and the entire team for an amazing season. Falcons, we are so very proud of you!
Looking ahead
Don't forget that you can view our online calendar for a look at all the important events coming up throughout the district and at our schools! Also, be sure the contact email we have on file for you is correct so that you automatically receive regular updates through SchoolMessenger, and don't forget to follow us on our various social media platforms!
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