Stress test
New standardized tests have parents, educators worried about effects on students
On Tuesday, April 16, students in third to eighth grade across New York will sit down for the first day of standardized tests that adhere to the Common Core Standards. But it has been months now that parents and educators have worried pupils are being pushed too far with the sudden shift to more rigorous standards.
Cracking the Common Core
New York’s students will start taking new standardized tests this year in the name of improving performance. So why are kids expected to fail?
Students in third to eighth grade will face English language arts and math tests adhering to Common Core Standards, national standards that were developed by looking at what students should achieve to be prepared for college.
NYSUT calls out tax cap
Area legislators ask for increased state aid to schools
Public schools are in the budget limelight as local lawmakers call on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to modify aid distributions guidelines, while at the same time the state’s largest teachers union is suing to challenge the constitutionality of the state tax cap law.
Niskayuna schools facing tough cuts
Closure of middle or elementary school possible as $6M budget gap looms
The Niskayuna Central School District would need to raise taxes by 11.4 percent to maintain current programming and services, and making the least painful cuts would only bring that down to 8.9 percent.
Mohonasen starts tackling budget
District facing $1.4M budget gap, 4.1 percent tax cap
Superintendent Kathleen Spring and Business Administrator Christopher Ruberti presented a budget development update during the Mohonasen Board of Education meeting Monday, Feb. 4, with the district 1.4 million budget gap.
Elementary equations
Area educators decry lack of state aid, distribution inequality
Around 1,400 people on Thursday, Jan. 31, attended the regional event “Your Public Schools in Fiscal Peril — Running Out of Time and Options” featuring Statewide School Finance Consortium Executive Director Rick Timbs as the keynote speaker.
Robotics power mental sports
Niskayuna and Mohonasen students compete at FIRST Tech Challenge
Niskayuna and Mohonasen students recently competed at the regional FIRST Tech Challenge Championship Tournament at Pace University in Pleasantville, and were among 36 teams of high school students bringing robots they spent months creating into the limelight.
Niskayuna seeks bonding for land buy
District officials say purchase would save over lease, March vote set
As the Niskayuna Central School District tackles a $6 million budget gap, district officials are asking voters to approve borrowing $3.2 million to purchase a property it now leases for its transportation facility.
SCCC completes Center City expansion
College leases extra 11,000 square feet, adds courses
Shortly after Schenectady County Community College announced its plans to open a satellite campus in Albany, students were welcomed into an expanded Center City location in downtown Schenectady.
Morning traffic takes its toll
Spike in parent drop offs spur safety concerns at North Colonie school
An unexpected wave of morning traffic at a local elementary school led educators to plead with parents to keep safety in mind and send their children to school on the bus if at all possible.
Niskayuna schools drop federal lunch regulations
District: Students balk at meals; participation down as food waste up
The Niskayuna Board of Education unanimously approved terminating the district’s participation in the National School Lunch Program effective April 1. The district’s lunch program is at a net operating loss of almost $70,500 from the start of this school year through December.
SCCC expands reach into Albany
Satellite campus touted as boon for education and downtown businesses
Three years after discussions began, SCCC announced Friday, Jan. 18, its footprint is expanding into the county’s building at 112 State Street in Albany. The college is renovating nearly 10,000 square feet of former Albany County offices on the second floor for classrooms and will lease the space from the county.
Niskayuna schools start tackling $6M budget gap
Superintendent outlines mandates at budget forum, public requests numbers
The district is projecting a $6 million budget gap in the 2013-14 school year, which would require an 11.8 percent tax levy increase to close. But the district must contend with an estimated state tax cap of 3.4 percent, which would still require around $4.3 million to be cut.
Educators skeptical about Cuomo’s reforms
Area school administrators grade governor’s education proposals
Gov. Cuomo linked education to the economic recovery of the state and laid out several proposals to enhance the quality of the state’s public schools. Area school administrators say district funds are tapped and are wondering how initiative will be funded.
Let history take its course
Course will examine the archaeological record of biblical times
On Monday, Jan. 7, Steven Stark-Riemer will begin teaching “Archaeology and History of Ancient Israel.” The eight-session course will dive into the development of biblical archaeology by looking at several time periods and how events later affected the lives of the people who now live in the Middle East.
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