WEEK ENDING September 8, 2023| VOLUME 3 ISSUE NO. 2
Good afternoon,
Welcome back! This has been an exciting two days. I hope your start to the school year is off to a good one.
The first day of school is one of my favorite days of the year. I started my day yesterday morning at our new high school satellite program, Big Picture Schenectady, located at Washington Irving. It was great to see the happy faces of the freshmen attending this program, and the many parents who were dropping their students off for the first day. The students started the day together in one room with music, collaboration and celebration for the start of school. Thank you to Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara for stopping by to check out our program and meet the students and staff.
I, and the members of my administrative team, visited many of our schools over the two days. For the most part, things went quite smoothly. There are always kinks to iron out at the start of school. We will continue to work on improving and are committed to having a great school year. Thank you to our faculty, staff, parents, and students for making our return a strong one. #strongertogether
I recognize that we are experiencing unusually warm temperatures. This may impact recess and outdoor activities. It looks like it will begin to cool off over the weekend and next week.
Above: Supt. Soler welcoming students to Big Picture Schenectady
Above: Supt. Soler, Assemblyman Santabarbara and Big Picture Principal Sarah Horaczek
We also had exciting faculty and staff opening days on Tuesday and Wednesday. We all came together in the morning at Proctors on Tuesday where we had a formal program to welcome everyone back. There was so much energy and excitement for the new school year. Michael Bonner, a renowned educational leader, spoke to our team and helped set the stage for the new school year. We also had fantastic speakers and performers. Thank you to Board President Bernice Rivera, SHS Student Speaker Alyssa Cook, Schenectady Federation of Teachers (SFT) President Mike Silvestri, Teacher of Distinction Colleen Keough, and Alex Torres and his Latin Orchestra for entertaining and bringing an energy, groove, and joy to our day. I am also grateful to the members of my team who planned and coordinated this special event. Thank you to everyone who made this day special.
You may be hearing or seeing #welcomehome. During my remarks to staff I referenced my family vacation to Disney and how with each door guests walk through on Disney grounds, they are greeted with "welcome home." These words reinforce a sense of community and family. We want everyone to feel welcome, included, and at home in our schools. #welcomehome.
FOOD SERVICE
Our district has a new food service provider this school year. Aramark will now be preparing our food service options for students. If you weren't a fan of school breakfast and lunch in the past, please give it a try. September menus are posted online here. We continue to participate in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) in which all students in our district receive free breakfast and lunch in school each day.
INNOVATION, EQUITY AND ENGAGEMENT (IEE) NEWSLETTER
Click here for the September issue of the IEE Newsletter. This newsletter includes mobile food pantry schedules, parent liaison information, and more. Thank you to Kayla Ambesi, our community schools supervisor, and IEE team for this publication.
DROP OFF AND PICK UP AT SCHENECTADY HIGH SCHOOL
With the McClellan Street parking lot closed and to help with safety and traffic flow, we made some changes to drop off in the morning and pick up in the afternoon at Schenectady High School. We are asking parents, guardians, and caregivers to pick students up on Grand Blvd. in the afternoon after school. McClellan St. will be closed for approximately 15 minutes at dismissal time each day. In the morning. We ask you to please drop students over in the SSFA parking lot, on the Plaza, or on Grand Blvd. behind the athletic fields.
Drop students off in the SSFA lot (lot accessible from the Plaza), on the Plaza or on Grand Blvd. behind the athletic fields.
Pick students up on Grand Blvd. (behind the fields)
McClellan St. will be closed for approximately 15 minutes at dismissal time
Please click here for more details and maps.
Thank you to the Schenectady Police Department who is helping us facilitate this process while construction is taking place.
ATHLETICS
Fall sports are underway. Please come out and support our student athletes. There are events tomorrow including cross country at Niskayuna at 9 a.m., JV Football at Mohonasen at 10 a.m. and Varsity Football at Mohonasen at 6 p.m. You can find our athletic schedule on the website, our app, or by clicking here.
If you purchased tickets to the 25th Annual Athletic Hall of Fame and Reunion Dinner, don't forget that will take place Monday evening at the Event Center at Rivers Casino and Resort. That is always a special event. I hope to see some of you there.
Our next Board of Education meeting will be held on September 20, 6:30 p.m. in the Mont Pleasant Middle School Schenectady Room.
Please don't hesitate to reach out to us at anytime with questions or concerns. Let's Talk is available from our website and mobile app 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Please follow us on social media and if you haven't downloaded our mobile app, please do so. Information is below.
Have a fantastic weekend. I wish you an amazing school year and look forward to seeing you.
Sincerely,
Anibal Soler, Jr.
Superintendent of Schools
Congratulatons and Welcome
The following were appointed by the Board of Education on September 6, 2023 . If you are new to the district, "Welcome to Schenectady."
Administrators
Lindsay Higgins, Assistant Principal, SHS
Marcia Ranieri, Assistant Director of Student Engagement and Attendance
Secretary to the Superintendent & Clerk of the Board
Michelle Eden
Deputy Cerk of the Board (.5)
Martha Morris
Nurse
Stephanie Lencewicz, Mont Pleasant MS
Assistant Director of Innovation, Equity and Engagement
Simone Miranda
Community Schools Supervisor
Kayla Ambesi
Innovation, Equity and Engagement Specialist
Alfred Tompkins
Devon Wimberly
Restorative Practices Specialist
Meralys Collazo
Sheleah Ford, Schenectady HS
Daquan Freeman
Tyler Hedgepeth
William Kent
Jonna Miller
Shastidy Ponce
Dumar Smith
Catherine Tidball
Farm to School Project Manager
Rebekka Henriksen
Human Resources Assistant
Jaslyn Rikhi
School Safety & Contract Center Technician
School Safety Officer
Kenneth Luft
Jhai Vellon, Schenectady HS
Kevin Willoughby
Security Monitors
Nicole Alexander-Hamlin, Paige ES
Venise Beauzile, Washington Irving
Ramsis Berghela, Central Park MS
Phillip Caraballo, Oneida MS
Wilfredo Giboyeauz, Schenectady HS
Roy Jenkins, Schenectady HS
Alexandria Knight, Mont Pleasant MS
Toluulope Kolawole, Paige ES
Nachea Langston-Mayers, Oneida MS
Roqueisha Lawson, Oneida MS
Gloria Smith, Keane ES
Parent Liaisons
Lisbeth Fernandez, SCLA
Nyemiah Greggs, Central Park MS
Jeannette Rodriguez, Zoller ES
Sha'aisha Terry, Lincoln ES
Instructional
Ashley Allen, Special Education, Hamilton ES
Jessica Armstrong, Special Education, Mont Pleasant MS
Dhevandrah Athill, School Psychologist, Paige ES
Lauren Beberich, Special Education, Mont Pleasant MS
Daniel Bernstein, Social Studies, Schenectady HS
Amanda Cabrera, Oneida Middle School
Kaitlyn Catello, Special Education Hamilton ES
Justice Colvin, Physical Education, Schenectady HS
Kaitlynn Decker, Lincoln ES
Kaitlyn Dowsett, Mont Pleasant MS
Anna Doyle, Special Education, Yates, ES
Deborah Greene, School Social Worker, Schenectady HS
Donald Hartman, Science, Schenectady HS
Mercedes Hutchins, Psychologist, Schenectady HS
John LaCombe, Music, Mont Pleasant MS
Amy Leonard, Soeech, Hamilton ES
Bridget Miner, Social Worker, Yates ES
Farzna Nazrana, Mathematics, Schenectady HS
Rachel Rice, Central Park MS
Serena Skipp, King ES
Tessa Steller, Mont Pleasant MS
Ahteras West, Pleasant Valley ES
Sean Van Laeken, School Counselor, Schenectady HS
Summyrrh Woodard, School Social Worker, SCLA
Luke Zauner, Social Studies, Schenectady HS
Adult Education Case Manager
Sarah Zarrelli, Washington Irving
Teaching Assistant
Jannatul Ara, Paige ES
Stefanie Bartley, Oneida MS
Nylse Rios, Mont Pleasant MS
Secretarial
Kameko Green, IPS II, Schenectady HS
Robin Knapp, IPS I, Paige ES
Cristine Nowak, IPS II, WIC
Keisyha Ritter, IPS II, Central Office
Hemala Shiwprasad, IPS I, Mont Pleasant MS
N'dea Tibbs, IPS I, Zoller ES
Head Custodian
Barbara Tidball, WIEC
Cleaners
Nathan Robinson, Schenectady HS
Cassandra Sanders, Schenectady HS
Noreah Singh, Schenectady HS
Jermaine Splunge, Central Park MS
Harold Sukram, Hamilton ES
Paraprofessionals
Cody Ashby, Central Park MS
Danielle Carrigan, Washington Irving
Jefton Carrion-Rivera, SCLA
Celica Casanova, Lincoln ES
Shawn Daniels, Central Park MS
Janessa Jones, Hamilton ES
Luckrisha Layne, Hamilton ES
Magailie Mathurin, Woodlawn ES
Alexandria Morin, Oneida MS
Hemwattie Peresaud, SCLA
Nadia Takehand, Central Park MS
Linda Taylor, Schenectady HS
Lunch Monitors
Ty'hiem Burks, Van Corlaer
ESReina Gonzalez, Howe ES
Poppy Nurun, Zoller ES
Download Our Mobile App
Catch up with the latest student stories, events, and news updates. It's everything Schenectady Schools, in your pocket. If you haven't already, download the app!
📲Download for Android https://bit.ly/3Mzposx
📲 Download for iPhone https://apple.co/3lAXbWA
MOBILE APP SUPPORT Click here to watch a short video on how to set your school and language preferences on our mobile app: hhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saNC9ek2Lqg
