Curriculum division details classroom visits, mentoring, grow‑your‑own initiatives and professional development
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Summary
The district’s curriculum and instruction leader reported on classroom visits, a mentoring program for new teachers, nearly 70 student‑teacher placements this year, and ongoing work to align curriculum, standards and professional development to school goals.
The Albany City School District Curriculum & Instruction division presented a year‑end update highlighting classroom visit activity, mentoring and certification supports, partnerships with local colleges for student‑teacher placements, and plans to revise the district professional development plan.
Why it matters: The division’s work shapes classroom practice across the district. The presentation quantified visits and walk‑throughs, summarized mentoring and certification pathways, and described investments intended to improve instruction and diversify the teaching workforce.
Key points from the presentation: - Leadership and classroom presence: The director said supervisors and curriculum staff conducted a substantial number of classroom visits and walk‑throughs this year to observe implementation of the district instructional framework and SEP (school improvement) goals. - Mentoring and certification: Jen Justice, the district mentor coordinator, manages mentor matches and compliance with state mentoring requirements. The division reported roughly 200 mentee placements this year (with fewer mentors, indicating some mentors support multiple mentees) and emphasized non‑traditional certification pathways for teaching assistants and career changers. - Student‑teacher placements and partnerships: The division reported 69 student‑teacher placements this year through partnerships with local colleges and teacher‑preparation programs (Sage, Clarkson, SUNY Albany, SUNY Empire, Saint Rose, Molloy University, Ithaca and others). The presentation noted the district converted several student‑teacher placements into hires. - Professional development and conferences: The district ran multiple professional development days and reported higher out‑of‑district conference participation this year than last (the presenter gave a raw figure for 'conference attendees' and said it was up from the prior year). Staff said some mandated regulatory PD consumes roughly 3–4 hours of required time, and the division will renew a three‑year PD plan that is expiring this year. - Programs and curricular work: The division highlighted work on ELA, science and new standards, mathematics initiatives (Illustrative Mathematics), STEM enrichment and expansion of fine arts and PE programming (including plans to restore student swimming at Albany High next year and introduce a middle‑level swim unit by January).
Questions from board members focused on which PD is mandated versus elective, the mechanics of conference approval and follow‑through after staff attend conferences, and tracking who participates in grow‑your‑own and certification pathways. The presenter agreed to provide more detailed reports on conference attendance metadata and on the demographics and placement outcomes for student‑teacher and grow‑your‑own cohorts.
Ending: The director said the division will write a new professional development plan for next year, continue curriculum reviews on a five‑year cycle and pursue strategies to retain and certify district candidates seeking teacher certification.