March 24 health updates

Two district employees loading a box of food onto a yellow school bus

Yellow school buses were winding through the streets of Albany once again Tuesday. Although classes remain cancelled due to COVID-19, it was part of the City School District of Albany’s new effort to deliver meals to families during this difficult time. 

Staff members and volunteers organized through Christ’s Church Albany delivered more than 1,400 meals to nearly 300 families Tuesday aboard nine buses provided by our transportation partners, First Student and CDTA. Delivery will continue each weekday to families that registered by 11 a.m. Monday. Families can expect deliveries from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., and a district employee will call each family as the delivery bus is getting close to your home. 

Families also can continue to take advantage of the pickup option at our six school locations each day from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Those locations are:

  • Albany High School (Washington Avenue entrance), 700 Washington Ave.
  • Albany School of Humanities (ASH), 108 Whitehall Road
  • Arbor Hill Elementary School, 1 Arbor Drive
  • Giffen Memorial Elementary School, 274 South Pearl St.
  • Tony Clement Center for Education, 395 Elk St.
  • William S. Hackett Middle School, 45 Delaware Ave.

We will provide updates if we develop the capacity to open the delivery option to more families in the future. 

Academic updates
Faculty and staff from all district schools began reaching out with check-in phone calls to students and families Tuesday. We want to see how you’re doing, what supports are needed academically and what your access to technology is at home. 

These calls also will help inform our next steps regarding additional academic resources and supports. If you have not heard from your teacher or another school representative, please expect a call Wednesday or Thursday. We will be reaching out to all of our students to check in. 

IB cancels May exams
The International Baccalaureate Organization has announced that the May examinations for the IB program have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 crisis. The organization based this decision on considerable advice from stakeholders across the globe, including schools, students, universities and official bodies.

Depending on what they registered for, students will be awarded a diploma or a course certificate that reflects their standard of work. This is based on each student's coursework and the established assessment expertise, rigor and quality control already built into the program. 

Please note that students are responsible for their own internal assessments.  

If you have any questions about how this will affect IB students at Albany High School, please contact IB Coordinator Leah Evans at levans@albany.k12.ny.us.