Good afternoon,

I hope you had a great week. Before you begin the long weekend, I hope you'll take a few minutes to read this update.

On Wednesday evening, at the Board of Education work session, members of our team including Joe DiCaprio and Carmella Parente, provided an update on the grading policy that was adopted about a year ago. The update included work that has been done to align our practices with the policy and how the policy is connected to each of the pillars in our strategic plan. The presentation also included feedback on a variety of topics from students, teachers, and administrators. Among other things, middle and high school students who were interviewed expressed that they want the opportunity for retakes. They also suggested that teachers be open with how and what they are grading. These are just examples of the long list of feedback collected. Through the interviews, our team also learned about some of the grading practice problems. Teachers expressed that they want the report card more closely aligned with the grading policy. The team talked about what is to come and how to keep the work moving in a direction that aligns practice to policy. You can see the presentation here. The recording of the meeting is also available here.

Tyrone O'Meally spoke briefly about grades 3-8 assessments and the high school graduation rate for the last three cohorts. We will take a deeper dive into this data at the next board meeting, October 23, including grade level and subgroup performance. Overall, especially considering the impact of COVID, we continue to move in the right direction.

School Board Recognition Week

Next week is School Board Recognition Week. Please join me by offering gratitude to our school board members. School board members are volunteers who devote countless hours of their time. In addition to the time they spend at school board meetings, they also attend important trainings, study and learn. They learn about and develop policies, lead and participate on committees, visit schools and attend events, listen to community stakeholders, and they advocate and represent our district. The Board of Education is responsible for creating a shared vision that sets the direction of the district, develops district policies and approves the budget ensuring that resources are aligned with goals. We have a thoughtful board in which every member truly cares about every student, family, staff member and the well-being of our community. Please join me in thanking each of them for their dedication and service.

Schenectady City School District

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