Welcome to a new school year! - 8/27/21

The following message is from Rachel Stead, principal of Albany International Center and the Dual Language Program at Edmund O'Neal School of Excellence. The message will be shared in a letter that is being mailed to families; you can download that letter here.

Dear Families:

We are excited to welcome you and your child to a new school year at our new location at Edmund O’Neal School of Excellence on North Lark Street. We also look forward to having all our students back in school five days a week!

The official first day of school is Wednesday, Sept. 8, but we will hold orientation on Thursday, Sept. 2 and Friday, Sept. 3. There is no school on Monday, Sept. 6 and Tuesday, Sept. 7. The following information will be helpful as you prepare for school.

COVID-19 safety

• Please be sure that your child wears a mask to school each day. Masks will be mandatory in all schools for everyone, regardless of vaccination status. Masks will be optional outside on school grounds. More information related to COVID-19 protocols can be found on the district website at www.albanyschools.org.
• Students will have their temperature checked prior to entering the building. As long as the temperature is below 100 degrees, a student will be permitted to stay in school. Any student with temperatures above 100 will be evaluated by the nurse. It will then be determined if the student can return to class or if the student is to go to the isolation room for parent pick-up.
• Outside visitors will be limited at school to ensure the safety and well-being of students, faculty and staff. If you need to meet with a principal, guidance counselor or teacher, please contact school at (518) 475-6600.
• Student desks will be socially distanced three feet apart as regulated by the State Education Department and Albany County Health Department. We will also use polycarbonate dividers (plastic shields) that will be mounted on each elementary school student’s desk as an extra safety measure.
• Daily cleaning and sanitization protocols will continue. Students are expected to stay in their designated area during instruction. Hand sanitizer dispensers will continue to be used in all classrooms.
• All students in pre-K through grade 5 will be eating in their classrooms. In middle school, some students will be eating in the cafeteria and others will be eating in their classrooms. All high school students will be eating in the cafeteria.  

Buses

The school district transports all eligible students – those who live 1.5 miles or more from the school – either by yellow bus or Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA). In addition, all special education students whose Individualized Education Plan (IEP) requires specialized transportation are eligible for yellow bus transportation.

Students in kindergarten-grade 5 and certain special education students will ride yellow buses operated by First Student.

Eligible middle and high school students in the district will ride CDTA buses. Students will have their student ID activated to use as their bus pass. CDTA also allows a two-week grace period at the start of each school year (through Friday, Sept. 17 this year) when all students are allowed to ride. CDTA will continue to provide tripper buses for eligible students in the morning and afternoon; eligible students also can ride any regular CDTA bus using their activated student ID.

Masks are required on all buses regardless of vaccination status. Please understand that it takes a couple of weeks at the start of every new year for the buses to run on a regular schedule. Students who ride the bus may arrive home 15-20 minutes later than their scheduled time so please be patient with this process. We also are requiring students to board the bus starting at the back and filling toward the front.

Drop-off and pickup

Student safety is our priority. Parents and guardians dropping off and picking up students should line up their vehicles on the right side of Second Street and proceed to Lark Street, where they will turn right and drop off and pick up their students in front of the building at the Lark Street entrance. There will be cones in place indicating where to line up.

We urge families to avoid stopping or getting out of their vehicles while in line to drop off or pick up a student, and to only drop off or pick up a student in the designated area.

Breakfast and lunch

A free grab-and-go breakfast will be provided to students when they enter the building. Students will eat a grab and go breakfast when they come into the building and eat in the classrooms. Free lunch will be provided to students, as well.

Attendance

Every day in school counts! Good attendance is essential to students reaching their potential!  We highly encourage regular daily attendance in order to support our students’ success.

Please bring your child to school on time and pick them up on time. Schedule appointments prior to or after school so that your child misses as little school as possible. If your child is tardy, they will miss an essential part of their education.

Please call the school by 8 a.m. if your child is going to be absent from school or tardy. The telephone number is (518) 475-6600. This phone call does not take the place of a legal, written note upon your child’s return to school. A written note must be received within five days or it will be counted as an illegal absence.

All in for Albany

A successful 2021-22 school year will require that we work together. We ask that you review all this information at home with your child prior to the start of school, especially the important health and safety components. Now more than ever, it is critical that we are “All in for Albany!”

We can’t wait to see you!