Albany, Schenectady, Troy on worst schools list
By Scott Waldman
Published 4:55 p.m., Thursday, August 30, 2012



ALBANY — The districts that make up the urban core of the Capital District were named among the worst five percent in New York, according to the state Education Department. Most of the districts in the region's wealthiest suburbs were listed as among the best in the state.

Albany, Schenectady and Troy all have schools that made the state's newly created "Priority" schools list. That means they have not made sufficient progress improving student standardized test scores in math and English language arts or have had graduation rates below 60 percent for years. The 221 schools on that list will have to develop and implement reform plans by the 2014-15 school year and could qualify for up to $2 million in federal funds for three years.

Bethlehem, Guilderland, Niskayuna and Shenendehowa were among 250 with schools that made the state's "Reward" schools list, which means they have made significant progress on student test scores or have high achievement records.



Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/loca.....53.php#ixzz2552tYtGH

And that is why I send my kids to a Catholic School.

Quoted from Parent

And that is why I send my kids to a Catholic School.

Yet you still have to pay your school taxes anyway...plus your children's tuition.

The Schenectady School District has around 10,000 kids and a $150 million dollar budget.

Sounds as corrupt as many of the Metroplex deals.

BTW Parent, I hope your children found a Catholic School they will love as much as they did St. Johns. Good luck to them this school year!

This is why no school district should ever consolidate with the city school system, it would just lower the education level.

So, DV, are you STILL happy the the last Catholic school in the city thereby depriving many parents from having an alternative?

Answer??????


So, is THIS more of the city's renaissance?


Much too embarrassed and the EVIDENCE that the hundreds of millions of taxpayers' money has NOT helped the city one teeny weeny little bit!

Much to embarrassed to admit the wild uncontrolled spending on downtown is a failure for the rest of the city, huh?

Can anyone tell me what's been accomplished with all the money that's literally been poured into this school system? Is it possible that no amount of money can fix stupid?  How many plans do we need developed?
We all know there's a fair amount of kids who have no interest whatsoever in being there, cut them loose. Use all this funding to build more jail space, hire more cops. we're gonna need them. Every year let's paint the
turd a new color and call it something else. I can't wait for the flaming, hope it's brutal.

I don't understand why good liberal middle class suburban parents don't move into the City of Schenectady to help raise the level of education in the city by getting involved and participating in the school district and join the PTA and do what they can to help the poor struggling lower income families.  Why didn't the likes of Susan Savage, Angelo Santabarbara, Martin Finn, Kathy Gatta move their families into the failing district to help lead Schenectady City Schools to prosperity?

I'll tell you why, because they are leeches that really don't give two shits about the community and only care about their advancement through the government ranks and lining the pockets of their friends and family by convincing the uneducated they "really care".

The Priority list includes: Schuyler Achievement Academy, Hackett Middle and Albany High in Albany; P.S. 2 in Troy; the Lincoln School, Hamilton Elementary and Schenectady High in Schenectady; and the William B. Tecler Arts in Education Magnet School in Amsterdam.

The Albany, Amsterdam, Cairo-Durham, Catskill, Gloversville, Hudson, Schenectady and Troy districts were placed on the Focus district list, which means they have low graduation rates for at least one student subgroup — including racial, economic or disability status — performing poorly on state tests. All Focus districts must have comprehensive improvement plans for all of their schools and will qualify for additional federal funds.


Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/loca.....53.php#ixzz259W238ZP

For the record, I NEVER said that I was happy that ANY Catholic school closed.

Fortunately, the city is still served by two AWESOME Catholic schools -- St. Helen's which will become Blessed Kateri Tekawitha School and Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons.

This school should be on the A+ list with all of the money that has been thrown it's way!!

Funny, but for so called 'educators'....you would think that they would realize that money just ain't cuttin' it and that there is a deeper problem!!

BUT THEN AGAIN............it's just another failed government program and a waste of taxpayer's money!!!

St Helen's is in niskayuuna-not Schenectady.  My guess is tha BG does last for too many more years either since most of the feeder schools have closed. I hope I am wrong though because I would hate not to have that option in the future for my children.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

For the record, I NEVER said that I was happy that ANY Catholic school closed.

Fortunately, the city is still served by two AWESOME Catholic schools -- St. Helen's which will become Blessed Kateri Tekawitha School and Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons.

But you REFUSED to acknowledge that the priest at St John's avoided the parents by choosing not even to give them a remotest clue that the school was going to close and then he craftily choose to notify parents just as he fled the country, yes, sure, his trip was pre-planned but his obligation is FIRST to his parishoners, NOT to his personal luxury trips, he had an obligation to be available when the announcement was made, I mean he could have postponed the announcement til he was back when he would be available after each Mass and on the phone all day when the parents got their letters.

And also since the enrollment there was the same as other schools, the math shows there was no need to close it.

And WHY did he REFUSE to allow fundraisers for the school??????    Huh?????????


Parent is right, St Helens, aka, Kateri T IS not in THE CITY.   Does the city provide transportation to St Helens and St Madeline Sophie?

Also, DV, please explain the math, tell us HOW the typical family in the city, with an income of around $35,000 and paying their own taxes PLUS the taxes of the downtown millionaires, meaning roughly $5,000 a year, tell us DV how a family is supposed to pay the roughly $7,500 tuition for even one child at BG???????    Can you answer that?

DV, you simply must agree that since Philip Morris has a gold ceiling, doesn't pay taxes while getting millions in taxpayer money, illegally has a STAR exemption, You DO agree that he should do something for the homeonwers in the city and cover part of the tuition to BG??????    I mean, WHAT does he do for the homeonwers in the city?????

Quoted from Parent

St Helen's is in niskayuuna-not Schenectady.  My guess is tha BG does last for too many more years either since most of the feeder schools have closed. I hope I am wrong though because I would hate not to have that option in the future for my children.

St Helen's SERVES students from the city -- always has.   The school campus is a mere 1000 or so feet from the city line.  You know that --- Everyone knows that.

when my daughter and I were looking for a Catholic or Christian school for my grandson who will be starting kindergarten next week, the problem was NOT the transportation so much as the cost  

Most families cannot afford to pay both their school taxes AND  tuition for a school.

My grandson will be attending a city school, but if worse comes to worse I think he would be homeschooled.

There are some great teachers in the city, some not so great from experience but the problem is not just the schools.

It's that lack of pride, values and morality from the homelife.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

St Helen's SERVES students from the city -- always has.   The school campus is a mere 1000 or so feet from the city line.  You know that --- Everyone knows that.

Yes, of course it SERVES kids from the city, BUT does the city school district transport students OUTSIDE of the city????   Well DV?????   If not, then please explain how kids get to the Catholic schools?   I don't know if they do or not.  Perhaps Parent can tell us.

And again, DV, can you tell us how a family of $35,000 can pay tution on top of their own property taxes on top of paying the property taxes of the millionaires downtown??????   Oh, of course, you won't answer that one, too chicken to admit that people in the city CANNOT afford the DEM IMPOSED taxes