September 2024

Hot off the Press!

Hello, everyone! It is my great honor and pleasure to introduce myself as the new Executive Director for Schools, Planning, & Accountability. I look forward to working with all in collaboration to continue to help our district rise in all facets of our work for children and families. A big thanks to our department for the work they have done, and we will continue be of support and service for anything you may need in regards to our department's focus areas.

Thank you, Tyrone O'Meally

Title One Communication Information to share with STAKEHOLDERS:

What is Title I Funding?

This federal program provides supplemental financial assistance to school districts/schools with a high percentage of children from low-income families, to provide all children a significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, high-quality education and to close educational achievement gaps.

How does SCSD use Title I Funding?

SCSD uses Title I Funds in many of the following ways

Supports for Title I Students:

• AIS, RTI, and credit recovery services • Certified teachers and teaching assistants • Proportional benefits for Title I salaries • Counseling, school-based mental health programs, specialized instructional support services, mentoring services, and other strategies to improve students’ skills outside the academic subject areas • Equitable services for private school students • Pre-K, summer, and extended day programs • Transportation for Title I programs if not otherwise available

Title I Parent and Family Engagement:

• Parent liaison or coordinator • Family engagement consultants • Stipends for staff to plan for or participate in Title I activities outside contract hours • Costs for activities including materials, transportation, childcare, and light refreshments

Title I Program Supplies and Materials:

• Instructional materials for Title I programs • Computer aided instructional software for Title I programs • Diagnostic and progress monitoring materials for Title I programs

NYS ESSA Parent Information Sheet.pdf

What are the Title I Funding Requirements?

Each school that receives a Title I allocation must:

Hold the meeting at a convenient time for parents at the school.
- The meeting should include topics such as a brief explanation of the Parent and Family engagement policy, the funding amount for the school and what that funding supports and to explain the Title I, Part A requirements and the right of parents to be involved in those programs.
- The meeting should be integrated/part of an existing back to school meeting (should only be about a five to maximum ten minute section) so that the participation is high
Have parents sign an attendance sheet (example), has an agenda and meeting announcement and the each school keeps this information on file.

Support:

For one-on-one support for presentations or other questions around Title I funding requirements, please reach out to Christy Ferri at ferric@schenectadyschools.org

Parent and Family Engagement Guidance for schools Title I.pdf

The Data Dish:

Data Requests:

The Data Team has moved over to Servicenow for all staff data requests. This will allow us to ensure we capture all requests and create an efficient system for the Data Team.

You can now access Servicenow on your Launchpad on Classlink and follow the instructions below:

https://scribehow.com/shared/Log_in_to_ServiceNow_and_access_District_Initiatives_Planning_and_Accountability_catalog_items__zR_Bzj0_TAaqgYBuKr6N8w

BEDS Day Communication and Deadlines Coming Soon!

Electronic Referrals in Infinite Campus Office Hours:

Below is a link to assist with entering a behavior referral along with our office hours.

Electronic Referrals and Office Hours

The Registration Record

Welcome back - Welcome HOME!!!!

Please remember when making address changes to call the school the student is going to and make sure they have room. If you are withdrawing students, and they have never attended your building, send the requests to Katy Vacca (at vaccak@schenectadyschools.org) so that we can delete this years enrollment.

Please also change the end status to where the student is going. This happens right up until Beds Day in October.

Please remember to let Student Support Services (SSS) know if you are withdrawing a student with an IEP so that they can withdraw them in Frontline.

STAFF TRAC

Teacher worksheets have been sent to building. Please review to make sure your scores are correct. Feel free to reach out to Natasha Bangaroo at 518-920-46987 with any questions or concerns.

Building Principals/Secretaries - Please remember to enter ALL building faculty meetings in StaffTrac. Each event must have a description and/or agenda attached. All staff enrolled need to be marked as 'Attended' or "Did not attend' after the meeting.

If you would like StaffTrac training, please contact Natasha Bangaroo at: bangaroon@schenectadyschools.org.

The HomeSCHOOL review

Home School/Instruction continues to be supported for 2023-2024!

We currently have 240 students in homeschooling status. If you have interested families looking for information, please inquire to ask why they are seeking homeschooling, ensure that staff/school has provided supports that will encourage students to stay enrolled in the building, and that they have reviewed their intent with the Principal or Counselors. We have developed a "Fact Sheet for Counselors" to assist the conversations with families about homeschooling. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Please provide them with the following:

Questions regarding home instruction should be directed to Connie Miller at 518-464-3982 and/or homeschooling@neric.org.

Documents may be submitted via email to homeschooling@neric.org or hard copies mailed to the address below:

Attn: Connie Miller

Capital Region BOCES

900 Watervliet Shaker Road

Albany, NY 12205

If you have a family/parent that would like to re-register their child back to the school building, please have them contact Registration to review what they would need.

Please contact Tracy Angelini, if you have any questions.

Wait, there is more!

Supports for CSI and TSI schools

Districts Supporting Identified Schools Support from NYS - PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR CSI AND TSI SCHOOLS:

During the 2024-2025 school year, the NYSED Field Support team continues to provide schools in the CSI and ATSI support models supplemental support programs that eligible schools may select to pursue. Participation in these programs is voluntary. Schools may select one Supplemental Support.

More information about the Supplemental Supports being offered can be found with the 2024-25 Supports Catalog.

Diagnostic Tool for School and District Effectiveness (DTSDE) School Review

Coming to Schenectady CSD for ALL schools in 2024-2025.

DTSDE Tenets of Effective School Systems and Practices

Tenet 1 – Systems and Organization: Effective schools establish school-wide systems and structures that promote continuous improvement and success for all students.

Tenet 2 – School Leadership: Visionary leaders create a school community and culture that leads to success, well-being, and high academic outcomes for all students.

Tenet 3 – Curriculum: Effective schools provide students with rigorous, coherent, and relevant curricula that prepares all students for success.

Tenet 4 – Instruction: Effective teachers engage with students in a manner that promotes mastery and allows students to stretch their knowledge and deepen their understanding.

Tenet 5 – Social-Emotional Learning: Effective schools develop a systematic approach to Social-Emotional Learning to ensure that all students can develop social-emotional learning skills necessary for success within and beyond school.

Tenet 6– Parent and Community Engagement: Effective schools develop a systematic approach to Family and Community Engagement to empower parents to effectively advocate for their child’s learning and for the improvement of the school.

DTSDE Framework

The DTSDE Framework outlines effective practices organized along the DTSDE Tenets. The framework is a reference tool to assist schools in examining the practices and engaging in reflective dialogue to improve practice.

More to come at the next Principals’ meetings…(and Principals - look for emails 😁)

For questions, contact Tracy Angelini at angelinit@schenectadyschools.org

and, yet - more good news -

NYS Gr 3-8 TESTING

2024-25 School Year Elementary- and Intermediate-level Testing Schedule per NYSED

NOTE: SCSD will send out communication about CBT scheduling soon

NYSAA ELA, Math, and Science

Monday, March 10 - Friday, June 6; Make-ups must be given within the testing window

ALL Gr 3-8 ELA, Mathematics, and Science - Computer-based testing

SCSD will send out communication about CBT scheduling soon

Monday, April 7 - Friday, May 16; Make-ups must be given within the testing window

ELA - Paper-based testing for students with disabilities and ENL that require paper testing - Tuesday, April 29 - Thursday, May 1; Make-ups given May 2 - May 6

Mathematics - Paper-based testing for students with disabilities and ENL that require paper testing- Wednesday, May 7 - Friday, May 9; Make-ups given May 12 - May 14

NYSESLAT Speaking

Monday, April 14 - Friday, May 23; Make-ups must be given within the testing window

NYSESLAT Listening, Reading, and Writing

Monday, May 12 - Friday, May 23; Make-ups must be given within the testing window

NOTE: SCSD will send out communication about CBT and PBT scheduling soon!!!

SCSD 24-25 Assessment Calendar

with additional information for iReady, Interims, Mid-Terms, etc.

NEW FOR 2024-2025 - BULLSEYE

Classroom WALKTHROUGHS

Bullseye Trainings - Trainings for setup and use of the Bullseye Platform has begun. Continued from the August Administrators' Retreat - look for an email to coordinate a date and time for your training - trainings to continue through 9/27 - this will also be another time to have your questions answered.

For additional questions, please email Tracy Angelini at angelinit@schenectadyschools.org

The Feedback Loop

Following up after Classroom Walkthroughs

Just like feedback between student and teacher is important, so is the feedback loop between building leaders and teachers. The purpose of instructional feedback is to support and help teachers grow as professionals, increase personal competencies and clarify expectations which filters to better instruction for students (James, 2023; Khachatryan, 2015; Vandermolen et al, 2021). The feedback loop, through listening, questions and quality/timely feedback, allows teachers to engage in reflective practice.

Fig. 1 Southern Regional Education Board. Feedback on Teaching: A Fresh Look (2017)

After conducting your classroom walkthrough, it’s important to provide timely and specific feedback so teachers can reflect on their performance and improve. Bullseye automatically sends feedback, via email, directly to the teacher. Feedback should be encouraging, positive, and empowering. It should also be actionable so your staff can use it to improve their performance. Consider hosting debriefing sessions or one-on-one meetings with the instructional leaders, instructional coaches and/or teachers to discuss observations, identify strengths and areas for growth, and develop a plan for follow-up support or professional development.

our crew

WELCOME HOME!!

The Crew

518-881-3405

Tyrone O'Meally - Executive Director for Schools, Planning, and Accountability (X36979)

Tracy Angelini - Director for Planning, & Accountability (X36976)

Natasha Bangaroo - DIPA Project Manager (X36937)

Natalie Cable - Manager of Data and Information (X36972)

Hector Gallardo - Senior Data Analyst (X36973)

Sujaan Shah - Data Analyst (X36919)

Jimmy Rampersaud - Assistant Manager of Data (X36926)

TBD - Assistant Manager of Data (X36937)

TBD - Data Team Secretary

Katy Vacca - Registrar/Principle Clerk (X36928)

Aimee Demarest - Registration Secretary (X36929)

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