@albanyschools @albanyschools SPRING 2017 albanyschools.org/snn Albany High School: Student achievement where community meets opportunity Presidential Scholar semifi nalist hands-on about his future Given the size of Albany High School, it should come If he has his way – and he plans to – as no surprise that when Albany High School senior Santos Otero seven college-bound seniors will be a professional woodworker and were asked to refl ect on their furniture-maker. time there, they recounted To prepare for that dream job, Otero experiences as diverse as the has honed his talents and his love for the student body itself. craft in the Carpentry Program pathway Yet a common thread at Albany High’s Abrookin Career and ran through each narrative: Technical Center. Despite Albany High’s size, And he’s gotten so good that he was there exists within it an named a semifi nalist this year in the high- Albany High School senior Santos Otero, U.S. undeniable sense of commu- ly competitive and highly prestigious U.S. Presidential Scholarship semifi nalist, has a Presidential Scholars Program. nity and a wealth of oppor- Ready to take on the world: Graduating from Albany High knack for carpentry and woodworking. tunities. School, from left, are Noah John (Amherst College), Ridhwana Otero and Albany High classmate The students’ stories were Haxhillari (Harvard University), Assalah Othman (Siena Col- Jacob Citone were among just 25 students cabinets, tables, shelves and chairs. shaped by that place where lege), Jaylen Rivera (Hudson Valley Community College), Jar- nominated from throughout New York; “I really like working with my hands rell Chaney (University of Connecticut), Juliette Pluviose-Philip Otero was among fi ve nominated state- and creating stuff,” he said. community and opportunity (Boston University) and Raphael Cohen (Brown University). met for each of them. For wide in the Career and Technical Educa- After graduation, Otero is contemplat- some this was music, for supportive friends and family who fi ll the tion category. ing whether to pursue a Building Tech- others it was athletics and for many it was stands of the Falcons’ Nest. “Santos has talent and passion for nology degree at Hudson Valley Commu- rigorous academics. (Visit page 3 for a Jarrell Chaney echoed this sentiment woodworking,” said Construction Tech- nity College, where he has been accepted, full listing of schools that accepted Albany when describing his transition from a shy nology teacher Art Erbe. “His interest or a union apprenticeship through the High seniors this year.) middle-schooler to a standout student-ath- and enthusiasm are obvious whether he’s New York State Department of Labor. For Raphael Cohen, it was his experi- lete at Albany High, citing the help of his working on one of his own designs or Whichever pathway he pursues, his ence writing a musical during his sopho- coaches in particular. helping a peer or teacher with a project.” status as a Presidential Scholars semifi - more year. “Albany High is a place where you Santos fi rst dabbled in carpentry at nalist puts him in good standing for the “One of the advantages of Albany High can come and be yourself, a place where William S. Hackett Middle School. He next steps in his life. School is not only the opportunities that you can expand not only academically, didn’t get serious about it until he started The U.S. Presidential Scholars Pro- are available for you to take advantage but as a person,” said Chaney, who will taking classes in high school. gram is one of the highest honors for of, but the ones you are able to create as study marine biology at the University of His skills caught Erbe’s eye early graduating high school seniors. Students well,” said Cohen. Connecticut. on, and Otero credits his teacher for his are recognized for their outstanding work He will study musical composition at Juliette Pluviose-Philip named math success. in academics, the arts, or career and tech- Brown University. teacher Margot Wyan and the Interna- “Mr. Erbe taught me everything I nical education. Amherst College-bound Noah John tional Baccalaureate (IB) community as know,” Otero said. The State Education Department nom- her source of inspiration. The challeng- reminisced about his musical experienc- Since January, Otero has had intern- inated Otero and Citone in December at ing IB coursework helped her fi nd the es as well, noting his time in jazz band, ships through the state Offi ce of General the recommendation of Assemblymember well-rounded education and international wind ensemble and pit orchestra. John Services. He’s learning plumbing and car- Patricia Fahy. perspective she was looking for. also refl ected on the sense of community pentry trades, but it’s woodworking that “It feels good to have been nominated,” he found on the football and baseball “I wouldn’t trade my experience here for captures his interest the most – crafting Otero said. fi elds, and gave a special shout-out to the (continued on page 6) Abrookin pathways provide college and career edge Career and technical education, or Career pathways CTE, has gone 21st century in the City • Automotive technologies* • Family and consumer sciences- School District of Albany. • Business-accounting** early childhood development** Gone are the days of vocational edu- • Health science-nursing assistant cation offerings that largely were limited • Business-administrative to shop and home economics. Today’s professional* • Media arts-digital fi lm and students at Albany High School’s • Carpentry TV production ** Abrookin Career and Technical Cen- • Construction technologies* • Technology-pre-engineering* ter enter “pathways” in skilled trades, • Cosmetology* *State-approved **State approval anticipated this year applied sciences and technology. • Culinary arts** A pathway is a series of classes in a particular area that prepares students for college today.” class study, old-fashioned book learning an entry-level job, college or both. Abrookin offers 11 CTE pathways; and on-the-job training. “Students are given the opportunity fi ve are state-approved and an additional Raymond Diaz graduated Albany to not only graduate high school with four will be approved this year, Marques High in 2016. The Abrookin automotive a Regents diploma but with a state-ap- said. technology pathway he took included a proved technical endorsement,” said The state’s backing is a professional paid Cooperative CTE Work Experience Abrookin Principal Andrea Marques. “Good Housekeeping” seal of approval Program, or co-op, at DePaula Chevrolet. Albany High School sophomore Omokhele Itebe is “This endorsement shows that the indicating that students who complete Now he has a job at DePaula and learning her way around a professional kitchen in the students have the 21st-century skills the program have mastered entry-level studies Automotive Technology at Hud- Culinary Program at Abrookin Career and Technical Center. needed to enter the workforce or attend industry standards through hands-on (continued on page 3) SPRING 2017 www.albanyschools.org 1 From the interim superintendent Voices Q: What’s your favorite memory from this school year? Success, together My favorite Hackett memory was in My favorite memory from the school Thank you! Science, Technology, Engineering and year was when we did a music video for Math (STEM) Club. In a competition in Morning Program. It was a rap about There are no more STEM Club, we had a question we had citizenship because that was the char- fi tting words to express to answer through an essay, skit and a acter trait of the month. We did a lot of my sincere gratitude to our 3-D model. Luckily, this year a couple of brainstorming to fi gure out the words Albany community. friends and I were chosen to do the skit. for each verse. When we fi gured out the This was reinforced on We created a city named Aurora Fresca where public spaces words we had to memorize them, but it was still a lot of fun. May 16 when 75 percent of ran on three types of energy: piezoelectric, solar and wind. As That was my favorite memory from the school year. voters approved our 2017- a result, our team ended up coming in eighth out of 30 teams! – Tanaya Barnes, fi fth grade 18 school budget. – Elizabeth Alzawahra, eighth grade Delaware Community School Kimberly Young Wilkins, Ed.D. It was the highest William S. Hackett Middle School Interim superintendent approval rating ever for our My favorite memory from this school district in the 21 years that we’ve held school budget My favorite memory of the school year year was when the school had a free votes. I believe that support refl ects our communi- is going to the computer lab and learning comic book day. Almost all of my friends ty’s trust that we are serving our students – and our about technology. My favorite projects were there. There were (obviously) free rapidly growing student population – in a fi scally were the STEAM units that we did. comics and video games. I was able to responsible manner. STEAM means science, technology, en- play a video game called Super Smash gineering, arts and math, and I especial- Brothers. I lost two rounds, but I still Your continued support allows us to improve our ly liked learning about roller coasters. I enjoyed myself. I think Albany High should continue to efforts on behalf of all of our children. liked designing one, creating it on the computer and making have a free comic book day every year because of the fun Another way your support came to fruition was the a 3D coaster. The name of my roller coaster is “The Polar memories it will make for new students just getting used to offi cial May 10 opening of the new swimming pool at Express.” the school.