Posted 12/1/11

Shenendehowa Superintendent, Dr. L. Oliver Robinson, is featured in Education Speaks, a blog about public education. Click here to view his perspective on the "Transcending and transforming power of education."

Posted 11/28/11

We are pleased to announce that Elizabeth Wood　was appointed as Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment taking the place of Jill Bush who was appointed Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources.

Finishing her fifth year as principal at Shatekon Elementary, Ms. Wood began her career in the South Colonie School District teaching social studies at Colonie Central High School. From there she became　 associate principal at Lisha Kill Middle School　 and then principal at Shaker Road Elementary School. She has a Bachelors and a Masters degree from Union College and completed coursework for an administrative certification at the University at Albany. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Educational Leadership at Sage Graduate College in Albany.

"Ms. Wood brings a wealth of administrative experience to the position and she has a track record of tremendous leadership at Shenendehowa," said Superintendent Dr. L. Oliver Robinson."As the assistant superintendent, she will continue the positive momentum with the district’s major initiatives and instructional goals."

While her appointment is effective on December 19, she will be in transition between the two positions to maintain stability at Shatekon. The district plans to have an interim principal in place beginning the first day after the New Year.

The elementary principal position has been posted with a closing date of January 13^th for applications.

Posted 11/22/11

The Shenendehowa Transportation Department will again be hosting the 2nd annual “Stuff the Bus” with Toys for Tots in co-ordination with the United States Marine Corps. Last year was a huge success and we are hoping for an even better response this year. According to SSgt. James Bolen from the Marine Corps, due to the flooding and devastation in so many parts of our area this year, the need is much greater than in the past. Kick off will be on Black Friday (11/25) in front of Kmart’s Clifton Park and Saturday (11/26) at The Crossings from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. All donations, large or small, are graciously accepted in the Main Office of the Transportation Department between now and December 9th.

Posted 11/17/11

In an effort to dispel rumors and provide you with factual information, we would like to make you aware of an incident that occurred this week.

Earlier this week, after school hours, a person was stopped by the district’s security crossing through the campus with a package containing a gun. The police were called and they handled the situation. Although it was determined that the person was not a threat, the possession of a weapon on school grounds is in violation of state laws. It was determined there was never an intent to harm students or school personnel.

Today students reported receiving a text message that someone had a gun on campus. We contacted the Sheriff’s Department and they spoke with several students about the texts, along with one faculty member who was made aware of this text by students. The police believe that this text was referring to what occurred earlier in the week. However, as a precaution, the police maintained a presence throughout the day until dismissal.

The district encourages student and staff “if they see something, say something” and report any and all incidents that are suspicious. We commend the efforts of the students and staff for their vigilance in following the district’s safety protocols.

Posted 11/14/11

A 1980 Shen class ring was found with initals CJM and a light blue stone. Please contact defekell@shenet.org.

Posted 11/14/11

Congratulations to all our varsity fall sports teams on completing the most successful fall season in the history of the Shenendehowa Athletic Program. Of the 11 fall varsity sports, Shenendehowa captured six sectional championships and three runner-up plaques. Teams that won sectional championships include Boys Golf, Boys Soccer, Field Hockey, Girls Swimming and Diving, Girls Volleyball and Football. Girls Soccer, Boys Volleyball and Girls Cross Country finished their seasons as runner-up in sectionals.

• Boys Soccer will play Hicksville in the semi finals on Saturday, November 19th at 11:15 a.m. at Middletown High School. All tickets are $8.00.

• Football will play Newburgh Free Academy in the semi finals on Saturday, November 19th at 7:00 p.m. at Dietz Stadium in Kingston. All tickets are $10.00.

Posted 11/14/11

Two Shenendehowa middle schoolers will be performing in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade this year with Camp Broadway, an elite performing arts training program for children who aspire to be theater professionals, based in NYC. In August, Gabrielle Straight, an 8th grader at Koda, and Connor Olney, an 8th grader at Acadia, traveled to Rhode Island to participate in a nationwide audition for the performing group. Over 1,200 children from across the country auditioned and the Shenendehowa students were selected as two of the 132 participants. They will spend a week in NYC, training with Broadway professionals and learning the music and choreography that will culminate in the live, nationally televised performance on NBC, Thanksgiving morning.

Posted 11/9/11

Fourth Annual Veteran's Day Dash

The Shenendehowa Athletic Department and the Track and Field/ Cross Country Booster Club will be sponsoring the 4th Annual Veterans Day Dash on Friday, November 11th at 11 am. Last year, we had over 450 participants run through the campus. Registration starts at 9:00 am and long sleeve t-shirts are given to the first 350 registered participants. Over the course of the last three years, we have donated over $3,000 to the Wounded Warriors project. We will again be making a donation to this cause.
We are also adding a kids/ family mile walk on the track that will be starting at 10:15 am. It will take place prior to the 5K. Please see the attached flyer for more information.
Register online at: http://www.active.com/running/clifton-park-ny/shenendehowa-veterans-day-dash-and-walk-2011 or by printing the attached flyer and sending it to the Shenendehowa Athletic Office at High School East. Please go to www.shenrunners.com for more information. We look forward to seeing many of you on November 11th for a great workout and to support a good cause!!

Posted 11/3/11

Schools across the state are hemorrhaging, cutting programs that have a direct impact on kids. Here at Shen, we still have a lot to be proud of and we should celebrate what we have been able to maintain because of our size, sound financial planning and community support. Over the course of the year, the district will be highlighting 100 reasons or more to love Shen. We would like you to participate in the conversation. Click here and tell us why you love Shen!  [MORE]

Here are just a couple examples of why we should love Shen!

Strong Academics

• While other school are cutting advanced placement courses or not offering them at all, Shen continues to offer 11 AP courses. In fact, 545 AP exams were given last year.
• In 2011, Shen was one of 367 public school districts across the nation honored by the College Board with a place on the 2nd Annual AP® Honor Roll, for simultaneously increasing access to Advanced Placement coursework while maintaining or increasing the percentage of students earning scores of 3 or higher on AP exams. Shen increased the number of students participating in AP from 373 to 421, while improving the percentage of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or higher from 76 percent in 2009 to 83 percent in 2011. The majority of U.S. colleges and universities grant college credit or advanced placement for a score of 3 or above on AP exams.

College Readiness

• Shen students scored approximately 50 points higher than their peers in New York State on the reading, writing and math SAT.
• In 2011, 16 Shen High School students were named Commended Students in the 2011 National Merit Scholarship Program. Commended Students place among the top 50,000 of over 1.5 million students who entered the 2012 National Merit Program by taking the 2010 PSAT/NMSQT Qualifying Test.

Health and Welfare

• While other schools are cutting school nurses, Shen still has nurses in every building. In fact, Shen nurses attend to students in more than 44,000 office visits a year. Specifically, they treat more than 400 students with food allergies, 30 insulin dependent diabetics, 600 students with seasonal and/or environmental allergies, 1,000 with asthma and 136 with diagnosed headaches.

Community Resource

• Every year, more than 14,000 community events are scheduled on the district’s 357 acres of grounds, 52 playing fields and more than one million square feet of building space. From youth sports leagues to community education to campus walkers and joggers, our campus is used 24/7.
Sound Financial Management
• While some schools in the state are exploring bankruptcy options, Shen has maintained fiscal solvency during very difficult times. On average, the budget has increased less than 1% in each of the last 3 years, or a total of 2.86% in 3 years (since 08-09). At the same time, Shen has an AA bond rating from Standard & Poors. This is a high grade rating from a nationally recognized statistical rating organization that assesses the credit worthiness of an entity’s debt issues.

Posted 11/1/11

Shenendehowa Placed on the College Board’s 2nd Annual AP® District Honor Roll for Significant Gains in Advanced Placement® Access and Student Performance

Shenendehowa is one of 367 public school districts in 43 states and Canada being honored by the College Board with a place on the 2nd Annual AP® Honor Roll, for simultaneously increasing access to Advanced Placement coursework while maintaining or increasing the percentage of students earning scores of 3 or higher on AP exams. Achieving both of these goals is the ideal scenario for a district’s Advanced Placement program, because it indicates that the district is successfully identifying motivated, academically-prepared students who are likely to benefit most from AP coursework. Since 2009, Shen increased the number of students participating in AP from 373 to 421, while improving the percentage of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or higher from 76 percent in 2009 to 83 percent in 2011. The majority of U.S. colleges and universities grant college credit or advanced placement for a score of 3 or above on AP exams.

“One of our district’s goals is to encourage more students to challenge themselves by increasing enrollment in more rigorous and enriching courses (honors, AP, accelerated, and college-level),” said Superintendent Dr. L. Oliver Robinson. “This honor is evidence of our commitment to providing opportunities that ensure college and career readiness for our students”

“This school has achieved something very remarkable. It managed to open the doors of its AP classrooms to many more students, while also increasing the percentage of students earning high enough AP Exam grades to stand out in the competitive college admission process and qualify for college credit and placement,” said Trevor Packer, the College Board’s senior vice president of Advanced Placement and college readiness.

Inclusion on the 2nd Annual AP District Honor Roll is based on the following criteria:
1. Examination of three years of AP data, from 2009 to 2011;
2. Increase in participation in/access to AP by at least 4 percent in large districts, at least 6 percent in medium districts and at least 11 percent in small districts;
3. A steady or increasing percentage of exams taken by African American, Hispanic/Latino and American Indian/Alaska Native students; and
4. Performance levels maintained or improved when comparing the percentage of students in 2011 scoring a 3 or higher to those in 2009, or the school has already attained a performance level in which more than 70 percent of the AP students are scoring a 3 or higher.

Pennsylvania led all states with 34 public school districts named to the 2nd Annual AP Honor Roll, followed by Massachusetts and New York, both with 30 (click here to view).

Posted 11/1/11

The District Instructional Technology Integration Committee (DITIC) provides a forum for the exploration of issues, ideas and products related to technology in K-12 education. Learn more about the District’s Teaching and Learning with Technology plan and view a video on National Educational Technology Standards on the Instructional Technology web page.