Happy Friday,

Today we finished Regents week at the high school. This can be a stressful time for our students. Encourage students to take a deep breath and look ahead to the remainder of the year. We look forward to seeing all of our high schoolers back in school on Monday.

Wednesday is the final day of the second quarter marking period. That means next week we begin the second half of the school year. It's not too late to help student step up their game and turn things around if they've fallen behind. Let's continue to do all we can to wrap around our students and help get them to where they need to be.

On Wednesday evening, the Board of Education held a public work session to discuss the different opportunities they have for seeking a new superintendent. Mr. Douglas Gerhardt, attorney, spoke about the pros and cons of hiring an internal candidate or doing an external search. He also described the difference between and open search and a closed search. A video of the meeting is available here. The board will continue to provide updates as they move through the process. The next Board of Education meeting is scheduled for February 7, 6:30 p.m. in the Mont Pleasant Middle School Schenectady Room. At this meeting, Mr. Gillooley will provide a preliminary 2024-2025 budget picture based on the governor's New York State Budget.

I continue to offer gratitude to those of you who have participated in our Strategic Planning focus groups. We are gathering great input that will help us develop our plan and continue to improve. It's not too late if you haven't participated yet. We have added three more sessions (one for Spanish-speakers) to the schedule as follows:

• Wednesday, January 31, 5:30 p.m., Schenectady High School Commons

• Thursday, February 1, 5:30 p.m., Mont Pleasant Middle School

• Spanish Session Tuesday, February 6, 5:30 p.m., Hamilton Elementary School

You can attend any location regardless of where your child attends school. You can sign up by clicking here.

The committee for the "Code of Character, Conduct and Support" is seeking feedback and suggestions that will help inform the development of the "2024-2025 Code of Character, Conduct and Support." This is important as this it is the set of rules and behavior expectations for providing a safe, respectful, inclusive and nurturing environment where all students can learn. You can find the 2023-2024 Code here. Please provide feedback, by clicking here.

Good luck to the 40 Schenectady student musicians who were selected to participate in this weekend's Schenectady All-County Music Festival. The festival takes place on Friday, January 26 and Saturday, January 27 and includes 8+ hours of rehearsals followed by a concert on Saturday at 2:00 PM at Schalmont High School. The concert is free and open to the public (donations accepted at the door) so please come out and support our students.

REMINDERS

January 31
End of the 2nd Quarter

February 7
Reports cards sent home with students in grades K-5

Report cards mailed home for students in grades 6-12

Food Pantries

Food pantries are open to all families.

Contact your school's parent liaison to access the pantry which provides food for your entire family. If your child is in middle school or high school, please contact your school's parent liaison who will help connect you to the pantry closest to you.

Thursday is the first day of February which is Black History Month. This is a time when we celebrate and honor the rich cultural heritage, triumphs, and recognize the adversities that are an important part of our country's history. It's also time to pause and remember the long journey of sacrifice, struggle, oppression, discrimination, racism and more.

Black History Month is celebrated in February because it is the birth month of Frederick Douglass, an abolitionist, and Abraham Lincoln who led our country during the Civil War, which was primarily fought over the enslavement of Black people in the country. It honors all Black people from all periods of U.S. history.

Please educate children on why we celebrate Black History Month. Here are some things you can do to honor and recognize Black History:

• Educate yourself on the Black history in your community

• Visit a Black or African-American History museum

• Learn about Black music history

• Read books by Black authors

• Watch films or videos by Black creators

• Organize or attend a diversity and inclusion event. There are often Black History celebrations in our schools and the community.

The Black History Month 2024 theme is "African Americans and the Arts."