Superintendent outlines first-year progress, highlights student programs and warns of staffing and grant funding risks

Superintendent Dr. Cotto and district division leaders presented a broad "first-year" progress report to the Schenectady City School District Board of Education on July 9, reviewing curriculum changes, school redesign, student supports, personnel and financial considerations.

Major academic and program highlights - Freshman Leadership Academy and other high-school redesigns: District leaders described the new Simon's Freshman Leadership Academy (opening next school year) and the continuation of Big Picture and early-college pathways. The Freshman Leadership Academy was presented as a strategic, centralized ninth-grade program designed to support transition and graduation outcomes. - Curriculum and instruction: The Office of Teaching and Learning described full implementation of Ready Math (Kthrough8) and new world-language curriculum (Vista) for grades 6through12. The board heard that grading-for-equity training and a district instructional walk-through tool (Bullseye) are in regular use; new visual arts curriculum adoption was reported. - Expanded student supports: Student support services reported growth in restorative-practice specialists, attendance/engagement staff, and partnerships with behavioral health providers. The district added a substance-use counselor and increased referrals to virtual therapy platforms. - Human resources and recruitment: HR reported active recruitment (60+ recruiting events Marchthrough June), new orientation and mentorship programs, teacher residency and other grant-funded recruitment supports, and initiatives to recruit paraprofessionals and fill vacancies. The district added a recruitment-and-retention specialist. - Facilities and capital work: Facilities leaders reported completion and active oversight of significant capital projects, upgrades to multiple buildings and improvements to maintenance capacity; staff said they have completed thousands of work orders and overseen tens of millions in capital work tied to the districts multi-year plan. - Communications and community engagement: Communications reported increased social-media reach, creation of a strategic-plan awareness campaign, greater use of teacher-parent two-way tools (Rooms) and an expanded multimedia capacity.

Staffing and operational challenges identified Board members and administrators flagged several operational challenges the district plans to address: - Staffing shortages and hiring markets: HR and administrators said critical shortage areas include math, science, CTE and foreign languages. The district has used a board-approved exception to hire uncertified teachers in short-supply areas; that flexibility has helped but gaps remain. - Teacher and staff morale, chronic absenteeism: Administrators acknowledged morale and chronic absenteeism are persistent concerns. The district reported improvement efforts (wellness fairs, retention activities, professional-development and leadership support) but said sustained work is required. Chronic absenteeism rates remain well above ideal targets and were explicitly flagged as an area that "must improve." - School safety and weapons detection: The district implemented a weapons-detection system this year; administrators reported the system reduced weapons brought into buildings (from dozens in prior months to one incident in the period after system roll-out) but acknowledged an early-day logistical problem during rollout on a cold day that generated an outside-holding situation. The safety office reported expanded safety staffing across schools (the number of safety staff increased significantly over the past two years) and greater emphasis on communications around drills and incidents.

Program and fiscal risk: federal grant pause and afterschool funding During the business Q&A, district finance officials said they are monitoring a federal pause on some program payments, including 21st Century Community Learning Center grant funding used for afterschool programming. Board finance staff said the district received approximate figures for 21st Century funding: last year the program supported afterschool services with a grant in the neighborhood of $845,000; the department is evaluating contingency plans if federal payments are delayed or held and said the districts current finances provide some short-term flexibility.

Next steps and follow-ups requested by the board - Facilities to provide a districtwide inventory and timeline for achieving broader classroom air-conditioning coverage (linked to adopted heat policy). - HR and district leadership to continue work on recruitment for shortage areas, retention and steps to address morale and chronic absenteeism. - Finance to model potential impacts of any federal grant payment pauses and present contingency plans to preserve afterschool services where possible.

Nut graf: The superintendent's first-year presentation cataloged steady implementation of curriculum, support expansions and capital work, while also acknowledging continuing operational pressures: staff shortages in specific subject areas, staff morale and chronic absenteeism, and uncertainty over federal grant funding for afterschool programs.

Ending: Board members said they would follow up with specific, written requests to departments; several board members and staff agreed to use the summer to refine the district dashboard and present more detailed outcome data in August.