Albion Board Reviews New Graduation Pathways as President Questions Whether a Diploma Prepares Students for College
At its May 6, 2024 meeting, the Albion Board of Education heard a presentation on New York's new graduation pathways and diploma seals, then closed with Board President Wayne Wadhams voicing "real concern" that a diploma alone may not equip students with the coursework a community college requires.
Chimney Bluffs on Lake Ontario, NY — photo:
Andre Carrotflower
(BY-SA 4.0)
▶Key Actions & Decisions
●• High School Principal Jennifer Ashbery presented the state's Blue Ribbon Commission on Graduation Measures, covering new multiple pathways (Arts, CTE, CDOS, Civics, Humanities, STEM, World Languages), the Seal of Civic Readiness, Seal of Biliteracy, and the 4+1 Arts pathway; Albion's 22.5 graduation credits (statewide requirement is 22) include a half credit for community service, and the district will return next year to requiring a full 30 hours of service for that credit
●• Board President Wayne Wadhams closed the meeting by saying he has "real concern" about how the Blue Ribbon Commission changes are being communicated, recounting an account from a BOCES meeting of an NCCC student who received a high school diploma but was later required to take, and pay for, additional English and math coursework
●• Budget Transfer Requests: $87,117.53 additional transfer for BOCES adjustments — BOARD APPROVED; a $900.00 Middle School 8th grade field trip transfer was presented for information only
●• Finance and Audit Committee (Mr. Kast) reported the enacted state budget restores save-harmless Foundation Aid cuts, sets Albion's Foundation Aid increase at 2.25%, and allocates $2 million to study the Foundation Aid formula, with recommendations due by December 2024; the district's proposed 2024-2025 budget aligns closely with the state allowance
●• Health & Safety Committee (Mr. Schmitt) reported an unplanned high school evacuation caused by dust in a sensor, with students moved to the elementary school during rain without incident; drywall dust from the ongoing construction project was also raised as a concern
●• Personnel: BOARD APPROVED resignations of Rebekah Thompson, Michael Fahy, and Peter Kemblowski; tenure was granted to Amanda Kast, Cayla Hutteman, Amber Marvin, and Stephanie Hack; two new 2.0 FTE Teacher Aide positions were created
●• Superintendent Edwards reported Orleans County has no preschool special-education program since Rainbow Preschool closed, leaving some eligible children without services; the district is starting an "8+1+2" program in response
●• Donations of $500 to the Albion High School Band and $1,000 to the district were BOARD APPROVED
●• Upcoming dates: Public Hearing May 14 at the HS LGI; Budget Vote May 21, Noon-8:00 pm, at Hoag Library; Graduation set for June 28 on the football field, with a rain-date contingency
At the Albion Board of Education's May 6, 2024 meeting, High School Principal Jennifer Ashbery walked the board through New York's Blue Ribbon Commission on Graduation Measures, the state's effort to rework what a high school diploma requires. According to the minutes, the commission was established in 2019 by the state Board of Regents and drew on educators, administrators, researchers, school counselors, business and industry professionals, higher-education professionals, parents and students to define four target areas: multiple pathways, assessment flexibility, life-ready credentials, and culturally responsive instruction.
Ashbery described a system built around pathways in the Arts, Career and Technical Education, Career Development and Occupational Studies, Civics, Humanities, STEM, and World Languages, in which four required Regents exams plus one completed pathway would produce a diploma. Albion's own graduation requirement is 22.5 credits, half a credit above the statewide 22, with the extra half tied to community service; that requirement had been changed during COVID, and the minutes note the district will return next year to requiring a full 30 hours of service to fulfill it. The board also reviewed the Seal of Civic Readiness, for which Albion High School CAS students have already completed a pilot project studying and presenting on the cafeteria; the Seal of Biliteracy; and the Individual Arts Assessment Pathway, a locally determined three-unit arts sequence assessed through a student portfolio.
The Blue Ribbon Commission delivered its final report to the Board of Regents in November 2023, recommending, among twelve proposals, that the state's three diploma types be replaced with a single diploma carrying optional seals and endorsements. The state education department will now build the framework districts are expected to follow, and Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Rebecca Manfreda told the board that June 10 is the initial date information is expected to reach the district, with the existing Regents diploma still being offered.
The subject resurfaced at the end of the meeting, after committee reports and a run of personnel and program approvals. Board President Wayne Wadhams told the board he has "real concern" about how the Blue Ribbon Commission's changes are being communicated. He described attending a BOCES meeting where he heard about an NCCC student who had received his diploma, then found two months later that he had to take, and pay for, additional English and math coursework, receiving no credit for it because it didn't reach the standard, according to the minutes. "If we can’t complete and provide skills for a community college, what do we do?" Wadhams asked.
The board also worked through its regular committee and business agenda. The Finance and Audit Committee, chaired by Mr. Kast, reported that the enacted state budget restores save-harmless Foundation Aid cuts, sets Albion's own aid increase at 2.25%, and allocates $2 million to study the statewide Foundation Aid formula, with recommendations due by December 2024; the district's proposed 2024-2025 budget aligns closely with the state allowance. The Health & Safety Committee, through Mr. Schmitt, reported an unplanned high school evacuation after dust triggered a sensor, sending students to the elementary school in the rain without incident, and flagged ongoing drywall dust from the district's construction project as a separate concern.
Superintendent Edwards told the board that Orleans County has no preschool special-education program since Rainbow Preschool closed, and that a shortage of providers means some eligible children are going without services; the district is starting an "8+1+2" program in response, and Edwards asked board members to direct any community complaints about missing preschool services to the county, which he said holds that responsibility.
In personnel actions, the board approved the resignations of Rebekah Thompson, Michael Fahy, and Peter Kemblowski, granted tenure to Amanda Kast, Cayla Hutteman, Amber Marvin, and Stephanie Hack, and created two new teacher aide positions. The board approved a $500 donation to the Albion High School Band and a $1,000 donation to the district. Looking ahead, the board set a public hearing for May 14 and the annual budget vote for May 21 at Hoag Library, with graduation scheduled for June 28 on the football field.
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Coverage of the Board of Education meeting on 2024-05-06,
Village of Albion, NY.
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●• Board adopted (8-0, Christopher Kinter absent) a resolution declaring a $100,000 bus-garage upgrade project (replacement of doors, frames, hardware, ceilings and lighting) a Type II action under SEQRA, exempt from environmental review, to be funded through a Transfer to Capital Fund line in the 2024-2025 budget.
●• Board adopted (8-0, Kinter absent) the Annual School District Meeting Resolution setting the May 21, 2024 vote at Hoag Library (noon-8 p.m.) on the 2024-2025 budget and three other propositions: $650,000 for bus purchases from the Bus Purchase Reserve Fund, $664,510 for the Hoag Library, and a new Capital Improvements Reserve Fund capped at $15,000,000 over a term of up to 10 years. Two Board seats (five-year terms) are also on the ballot; candidate petitions are due by 5 p.m. April 22, 2024.
●• Board adopted (8-0, Kinter absent) a resolution designating election personnel, naming Wayne Wadhams permanent chairperson, Cindy M. Ishmael chief election inspector, and Richard Recckio II assistant clerk; inspectors without a contracted rate are paid $16 per hour.
●• Finance and Audit Committee Chairperson John Kast reported the committee met March 26 to finalize the proposed budget, which goes out at zero percent on the tax levy; the minutes record him saying the process "has been challenging because theoretically, we're not sure of the state's budget."
●• During public forum, bus driver Heather Allchin asked the Board to fund an aide for every large bus route, citing runs of 20-45 students per bus; the minutes record no Board response or vote on the request.
●• Personnel actions: retirements of sixth-grade teacher Mary Jane Klips and cleaner Ricky O'Kussick; resignations of substitute cleaners Charles Hannigan and RoseMarie Matias; new hires Joseph King (custodial worker, $32,760) and Angela Boyce (district office clerk, $38,000).
●• Athletic Director Mariah LaSpina was presented a certificate for the 2024 NYSAAA Liam Frawley Emerging Athletic Administrator Award; Middle School enrichment students presented a repainted fire-station mural and a 3D-printed Hot Wheels track engineered to descend 60 feet from the auditorium balcony to the stage.
Literacy Scores Surge, but Algebra Remains a Challenge: Albion Board Reviews Year-End Academic Data
●Approved Personnel Changes: Accepted the resignation of High School Assistant Principal Paul Gilbert, effective June 30.
●New Hires: Appointed Laura Maier as Elementary School Registered Professional Nurse ($50,000 salary + $1,000 stipend) and Thomas O’Donnell as Middle School Counselor.
●Literacy Data: Elementary School Principal Angela Conway reported a 13% increase in K-5 students reading at grade level (rising from 47% to 60%).
●Safety Upgrades: The Health & Safety Committee reported the installation of exterior signage with door numbers to assist first responders on the single campus.
●Policy Updates: Approved the "Guidelines for Board of Education Members and Administrators" and the "ACS New Board Member Orientation Manual."
●Athletic Recognition: Celebrated the Boys' Track & Field team for their 5th consecutive Niagara Orleans League Championship and the "School of Excellence" status.
Albion Elementary Reading Scores Climb Districtwide, But the Cohort Hit Hardest by the Pandemic Still Lags
●• Angela Conway, Elementary School Principal, presented mid-year STAR reading data: districtwide, students reading at or above grade level rose from 47% at the start of 2023-2024 to 57% at midyear; she called the district not yet satisfied but pleased with the progress.
●• Conway projected that if the trend holds, 60% to 62% of K-5 students could read at or above grade level by the end of the 2024 school year, and 70% or higher by 2028.
●• Rebecca Manfreda, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction, reported a March 11 Staff Development Day will continue districtwide curriculum-mapping and scope-and-sequence work, now in year two of a three-year plan, with Orleans Niagara BOCES and Genesee Valley BOCES assisting.
●• School Resource Officer Deputy Matthew Prawel told the board that High School parking-pass sales rose from 31 in 2022-2023 to 79 in 2023-2024, with proceeds going to the Student Council; he also described a revamp of the district's Threat Assessment Policy and Form and a reconfiguration of campus cameras.
●• Board Policy, Process and Protocol Committee chairperson Mrs. Weller reported the committee's first read of eleven revised policies (3420, 5630, 6121, 6130, 6550, 7350, 7420, 7512, 7670, 8240, 8450); the board approved waiving second reading and adopted all eleven as a block.
●• BOARD APPROVED a $6,000 budget transfer for audio-visual equipment; a separate $1,200 transfer for fuel-tank electric-line installation was presented for information only.
●• Finance and Audit Committee chairperson Mr. Kast reported the fuel-price comparison favors Kurk over the district's Fuel Farm and that one of two originally scheduled March budget meetings was consolidated to March 26.
●• BOARD APPROVED a change to the budget vote location and final approval of the 2024 High School Band Trip to Toronto, May 10-12.
●• Personnel actions: resignations of Louis DiRienzo (substitute cleaner, effective 02/16/24) and Rachel Patten (clerk at the district office, effective 02/06/24); child-rearing leave for Rachael Dixson (first grade special education teacher), 11/28/23-03/05/24; new appointment of Eddie English as a monitor at the elementary school.
●• BOARD APPROVED the Middle School Enrichment Class's donation of chalk, chalkboard erasers, old soccer uniforms and soccer balls, to be delivered to children in Malawi by Mr. Tim Archer, along with donations of a flute and bottled water to the district.
Accessibility Concerns Highlighted as Albion Board Tackles Capital Projects, Staffing
●• Board approved Business Items A-F (Jan. 8, 2024 meeting minutes, November and December 2023 Treasurer's Reports, December 2023 Extra Classroom Activity Fund Report, CSE and CPSE recommendations, and Committee on Special Education referral information, plus a $10,000 budget transfer for elementary science field trips) and Items H-I (building-use and fundraiser requests); a separate $4,500 unemployment-insurance-premium transfer was presented for information only.
●• Kast, Board Member, reported for the Finance and Audit Committee that the district's NYCLASS investment returns brought in a $1.6 million return, aided by currently high interest rates that Rick Recckio cautioned would not necessarily continue; lower anticipated state aid will require a conservative approach to the 2024-2025 budget, now in development.
●• Board approved the 2022-2023 Single Audit Report (Mengel Metzger Barr & Co./Raymond F. Wager, CPA) and the 2023-2024 Internal Control Risk Assessment and Corrective Action Plan (EFPR Group).
●• Board approved the 2024-2025 school year calendar, a contract with Hilton Central School District, an amended Elizabeth J. Rawlings "Mrs. Wizard" Memorial Scholarship, and a list of surplus items for auction.
●• Board approved personnel actions including five staff resignations effective in January and February, the appointment of Margaret Stewart as Community School Public Relations Coordinator at a $60,000 salary (prorated $55,154), and other appointments, substitutes and extra-curricular coaching assignments.
●• Wadhams, Board President, was nominated and approved for another term on the Orleans Niagara BOCES board; he told the board Albion was omitted from the printed program at a recent Niagara Orleans School Boards Association breakfast despite fielding the largest attendance of any Orleans County district, and said the board may weigh whether to remain in NOSBA or join the Erie County School Boards Association.
●• Bennett, Board Member, urged the board to be more transparent with the community ahead of its vote in May.
●• Dates approved: Finance and Audit Committee meetings Feb. 13, March 12 and March 26; regular board meetings March 5 and April 9; and the BOCES budget vote and election April 23.
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