rah rah...go patriots  

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

The Schenectady City School Districts, despite its challenges, has ALWAYS produced great, well-educated men and woman.  It should be applauded for that and its graduates should be applauded as well for their achievements.

Yep, they grow up, and at 50+ years old the grads are not yet supporting themselves, not independent, living off family and/or living off the taxpayers


This year, 46% if the students will be on welfare, living off the taxpayers.      How many of the 54% that graduate this year will actually go to college?   That increase the percent living off the taxpayers.

Sure, every school will have one or two successful people but how about having 700 out of 733 be successful?

Quoted from RPEGCL

MAYBE BUT NOW ALMOST A THIRD ARE NOT GRADUATING AT ALL....

A sampling of Capital Region rates:
District/Graduation rate/Dropout rate
City of Albany 53.8% 20.8%
Schenectady 64.5% 19.7%
Troy 71.8% 6.8%
Niskayuna 95.9%  1.9%
Bethlehem 91.2% 4.3%
Duanesburg 96.1% 1.3%
Shenendehowa 91.2% 4.1%
Saratoga Springs 91.1%  5.1%

No one is ignoring the need to improve the graduation rate. However, we can not ignore that many fine people have graduated in the past and WILL graduate this year and in future years.  You are ignoring the many good things -- even great things -- that happen EVERYDAY in the Schenectady City School District ... and many folks are sick and tired of the mean-spirited losers who keep denigrating our community and our schools.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

...who keep denigrating our community... .

A community that YOU REFUSE to live in!   But you cheer for the leaders to tax people til they lose their homes, to give the money to their millionaires.  And then you claim the city is improving but you REFUSE to state what the homeowners and taxpayers are getting in return for paying for downtown.

unfortunately all the schools are becoming irrelevant.....if a kid knows they aren't going to be able to go to college they might as well
drop out and get a 'head start' on their entrepreneurial skills.....

it's up to the schools to become more than giant baby sitter warehouses.....

they need to be more relevant and less dogmatic.......

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

No one is ignoring the need to improve the graduation rate. However, we can not ignore that many fine people have graduated in the past and WILL graduate this year and in future years.  You are ignoring the many good things -- even great things -- that happen EVERYDAY in the Schenectady City School District ... and many folks are sick and tired of the mean-spirited losers who keep denigrating our community and our schools.

This is NOT your community and not your school.

You know what fine things were happening the other day at the school...kids where throwing balloons at other students that were filled with bleach, paint, and urine. Multiple fights broke out through out the school. Pretty much chaos from what students told me.  Fine behavior.  

I'm sick of the impotent school administrators and their failures denigrating our schools and community.

And I'm sick of you behaving as if you have any stake in this district. You are not a tax payor, and you are not a parent. You do not have to make the choice to send your child into a building knowing that they are not physically or emotionally safe. Your opinion is irrelevant when it comes this school district and the parents of this communities concerns.

Quoted from Parent

This is NOT your community and not your school.

You know what fine things were happening the other day at the school...kids where throwing balloons at other students that were filled with bleach, paint, and urine. Multiple fights broke out through out the school. Pretty much chaos from what students told me.  Fine behavior.  

I'm sick of the impotent school administrators and their failures denigrating our schools and community.

And I'm sick of you behaving as if you have any stake in this district. You are not a tax payor, and you are not a parent. You do not have to make the choice to send your child into a building knowing that they are not physically or emotionally safe. Your opinion is irrelevant when it comes this school district and the parents of this communities concerns.

I am sick of your lies.

Schenectady is most assuredly MY COMMUNITY.  I grew up in the city, am very involved in 2 parishes that are working very hard to make a difference in the city and as a resident of the county am aware that the overall well-being of the county is greatly impacted by the overall well-being of the city.

I am a graduate of Mont Pleasant High School and have every right to praise the accomplishments of the graduates of the City School District of Schenectady.

I am a tax payer.  Whether I am a parent or not, is none of your business and completely irrelevant to the subject of this thread.

If you think my opinion is irrelevant than don't read it and don't respond.

Bottomline --- this thread is about 2 distinguished graduates of the Schenectady School system.  The fact that you and your nayboob buddies do not have the common decency to say something positive about persons who used their education to make a positive difference in the world -- says a lot about the type of people you are.  I pity your children for not having better examples in their lives.  I hope to God that none of you are teachers  contaminating hundreds of children with your bigotry and vile negativity.

statistics don't lie.....graduates of the old Nott Terrace High School .....have gone on to bigger and better things....many of these grads
have moved out of state and country and are very successful.......nowadays ....college is the priority and many students can't achieve the
grades necessary to enroll in college let alone graduate....many seek GED's...the curriculum today is not an easy journey.....

back in the day......one had a choice of REGENTS or NON_REGENTS.....and that makes all the difference......also TRADES were available ...

simplicity ....discipline...interest.....

nowadays curriculum has changed and most parents cannot help their children...that makes all the difference too..

so what do u have?????????......teachers who have to prepare for SAT's and testing that gives an indication where the student is education

wise...with the emphasis on that....the three R's are not a priority.....history is not a priority....with these changes....it's made it even harder

for a challenge to even comprehend.....READING, RITING< RITHMETIC........if you can't do all three.....then..................failure....

Quoted from Patches

statistics don't lie.....graduates of the old Nott Terrace High School .....have gone on to bigger and better things....many of these grads
have moved out of state and country and are very successful.......nowadays ....college is the priority and many students can't achieve the
grades necessary to enroll in college let alone graduate....many seek GED's...the curriculum today is not an easy journey.....

back in the day......one had a choice of REGENTS or NON_REGENTS.....and that makes all the difference......also TRADES were available ...

simplicity ....discipline...interest.....

nowadays curriculum has changed and most parents cannot help their children...that makes all the difference too..

so what do u have?????????......teachers who have to prepare for SAT's and testing that gives an indication where the student is education

wise...with the emphasis on that....the three R's are not a priority.....history is not a priority....with these changes....it's made it even harder

for a challenge to even comprehend.....READING, RITING< RITHMETIC........if you can't do all three.....then..................failure....

And the city school district is so into all the "art classes" (painting fingernails, sculpting hair), a huge number of dance classes (but they can't read or write),  assorted theater classes (ah, helps King Philip get richer probably), a large assortment of singing and voice classes, music, quite an assortment of "culinary" classes (to learn how to flip burgers?), sports and entertainment marketing, journalism, clothing and textiles, "Teaching Pre-School Children"  (does that mean teaching the kids to act up so they get diagnoses with various behaviors to get government money for the teachers?).  You really have to laugh at the gym classes that are included -- yoga!  Snorkeling!   ROFL   Forensics, sociology, university sociology, criminal justice (aka, how to get out of jail free), electricity, architecture, so many languages like Arabic (is that to make nice nice with ISIS?), "Creativity, Action, Service" (WTH is that?), "Corporate Overview,"  Medical Office Assistant, Global Fashion Studies, Gaming, (wow, teach them how to gamble before they are even of legal age, gamble away the taxpayers' money), floral design, nursing assistant,  patient care services, welding, etc.


Welding?  And how much do homeowners pay in extra taxes for liability for doing this stuff?   Did anyone ever hear of "Modern Welding School (after graduation from high school).


All these cooking classes, then why do we have SCCC?

All the cosmetology classes, WTF?   What happened to going to Orlo, Paul Mitchell, Austin,  to name a FEW.

Dance?  What about Merritts, Pigliaventos, Myers, Ferrarra, Ramsey, to name a FEW

Music lessons, come on, there's Drome Sound, Hermies, the store over in Colonie Center, and God knows how many other means of taking music lessons.

Did anyone ever hear of Julliard for acting?  Music, etc?   Colleges have art classes, music, acting, etc.

Journalism?  Really?  Does the district think that having that class means the kid is going to get out of school after 12th grade and start working as a reporter?   There are college majors for this.

Nursing?  What about Ellis Nursing School?  The nursing classes at SCCC, and colleges that offer nursing degrees for the good paying jobs.

Medical Office Assistant?   Did anyone hear of Mildred Elly, Bryant and Stratton?  Oh yeah Branford Hall (I think DV needs to go to this one)

So many trades but then there are trade schools.

Far too many computer classes, leave that to the computer majors in college, who wants to hire someone without a degree?

How about Fashion Institute of Technology?



Seems like the school district is saying that (with few exceptions) the kids are not going to want to go school after getting done with high school, so they are trying to squeeze it all into high school at homeowners' expense.  But then the students come out of high school unable to write, unable to read, can't even do arithmetic (which poses a problem if one is in the contruction trades, auto mechanics etc).


Get back to the three R's, basic sciences, history, and exercise (there is NO NEED for taxpayers to pay for snorkeling!!!!).


And then remember, the homeowners are paying for breakfast and lunch, the dental care, the social workers, the psychologists, the pill and condoms, and God knows what else!

And the emphasis in sports?  Can anyone state what NBA team that Willie Deane is playing on?

'back in the day' people didn't necessarily have to go to college...they could work up the industrial ladder....but now there are only
service jobs....

everyone has to go to college to be a 'good talker' or shall I say---texter....

Judge D. Vincent Cerrito

Cerrito, Judge D. Vincent NISKAYUNA Judge D. Vincent Cerrito, 98, of Covington Court, died Sunday morning surrounded by his beloved wife and daughter. Judge Cerrito was born in Schenectady on October 24, 1910, a son of the late John and Mary Gisondi Cerrito. He graduated from the former Schenectady High School, class of 1928, then attending Union College, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa, class of 1932. He continued his education at Albany Law School, where he received a bachelors of law degree, class of 1935. In 1936, Judge Cerrito began a distinguished private law practice in the city of Schenectady. He faithfully served his Country in the United States Army from 1943 to 1946. After World War II, he returned to his private law practice in Schenectady where he continued to serve his community. He was a Schenectady County Assistant District Attorney from 1948 to 1957. In 1961 he was elected to serve as the Schenectady County District Attorney until 1967, when he was elected to the New York State Supreme Court, retiring from the bench in 1985, but he continued to hear mediation and arbitration cases until late 2004. Judge Cerrito generously contributed his time and expertise as a 20 year member of the board of directors of St. Clare's Hospital. He served several terms on the Schenectady Senior Citizens Board of Directors. He was the first ever chairman of the Schenectady County Board of Ethics. He received an honorary doctorate of law degree from Siena College and Union College. He was an honorary life member of both of the Montgomery and Fulton Counties Bar Associations. He was a life member of the American Legion Post #1005. In 1967 Judge Cerrito was named Schenectady Patroon. He was also the first receiptant of the Life Achievement Award, given by the Schenectady Bar Association. He had lifelong interests and made many contributions to the community, civic and professional causes. He was a wonderful role model who always inspired others to follow his excellent example. Judge Cerrito was a lifelong communicant of St. John the Evangelist Church. He was predeceased by his parents, John and Mary Gisondi Cerrito; his first wife, Catherine Welsh, MD; a sister, Madeline 'Madge' Strong; and his brother, August 'Gus' Cerrito, Ph.D. He is survived by his beloved wife, Dr. Fe Teresa McCarthy; two loving children, Dr. Amour and her husband Dr. Jason Johnson, of Virginia Beach, Va. and Vida Cerrito, JD, of Schenectady; two grandchildren, Ben and Leah Johnson; his devoted sisters, Jesse Vacca, of Schenectady, Anna Marie Cirincione, of Niskayuna and Jeanne Hoag, of Alexandria, Md.; and numerous loving nieces and nephews. Services will be held Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the Rossi & Ditoro Funeral Home, Union at N. Jay Streets, then to St. John the Evangelist Church, Union Street, where a Mass will be con-celebrated at 11 a.m. Interment will follow in Sts. Cyril & Method Cemetery Rotterdam. Relatives and friends are invited and may call at the Rossi & Ditoro Funeral Home, Tuesday from 4 to 8 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made in Judge Cerrito's memory to Community Hospice of Schenectady, 1411 Union Street, Schenectady, NY 12308 or a charity of one's choice.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

Judge D. Vincent Cerrito

Cerrito, Judge D. Vincent NISKAYUNA Judge D. Vincent Cerrito, 98, of Covington Court, died Sunday morning surrounded by his beloved wife and daughter. Judge Cerrito was born in Schenectady on October 24, 1910, a son of the late John and Mary Gisondi Cerrito. He graduated from the former Schenectady High School, class of 1928,

Big whoop dV.  
  

It was a different day


Why do ou REFUSE to address the paltry 54% graduation rate for the class of 2014????????????    Well?????    Speak about the school district TODAY.

Tell us DV, what are homeowners getting in return for paying for fingernail painting classes??????:    What are homeowners getting in return for snorkeling classes?


Yep, now go back and copy and paste something out of the days of WW1

Carey-Butler eager to connect with students as assistant Vice Chancellor for the Academic Support of Inclusive Excellence

Pictures were yet to be hung. The furniture was sparse. She was still moving in. But among the things well in place and front and center on Dr. Sylvia Carey-Butler’s office desk in the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Center for Equity and Diversity office was a small slip of paper with a few names written down.

Carey-Butler’s Post-It note contained a growing list of students — the people who, in her first few days as assistant vice chancellor for the academic support of inclusive excellence, she had an opportunity to bump into at student event or two, to personally meet and to say hello to – students like the hundreds and hundreds of others she is eager to help succeed in her critical UW Oshkosh leadership position.

“I was missing students,” said Carey-Butler, explaining her motivation and excitement in accepting the UW Oshkosh post and adding to an impressive career of achievement in higher education.

“At the end of the day, when I think of inclusive excellence, I think of it as a partnership — a contract, if you will — between the student and the institution,” she said. “We’re going to help each student, no matter their color, race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation to reach his or her full potential… If I did not feel that my student centered leadership style would be something that would be embraced, I wouldn’t have accepted the position.”

Carey-Butler joins UW Oshkosh as its first permanent assistant vice chancellor for the academic support of inclusive excellence in nearly five years. She was preceded by Muriel Ann Hawkins, who retired from the post in spring 2009. Irma Burgos, director of the center of Academic Support and Diversity, had served in the role on an interim basis.

Carey-Butler brings to campus 30 years of experience in higher education, most recently marked by her dual-positions as interim director of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) Institute for Capacity Building and UNCF’s Director of the Enrollment Management program, in which she worked with 38 private, historically black colleges, focused on strengthening curriculum, building enrollment.

“I believe in the field of dreams… If you build it, they will come,” Carey-Butler said. “I’m not concerned about the recruitment of students of color. I’m concerned about the retention and graduation of students of color because reputation will speak for itself.”

Carey-Butler knows challenge on multiple fronts. Aside from working to increase the success rates for students of color at institutions in throughout New York state and in Pennslyvania, she has also served as assistant provost and dean of honors at Dillard University in New Orleans, LA., in both calm and storm. She coordinated student programs and worked to increase faculty engagement in the wake of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of the campus.

Her published research has involved examinations of the experiences of black males at not-for-profit colleges and universities and successful student engagement inside and outside the classroom. She has been deeply involved in community service and civic engagement in each of the campus and broader communities she has served in, working with Boys and Girls Clubs in Pennslyvania to faith community strategic planning groups to the Red Cross – an agency she has personal connection to, having received aid from it when, as a child, her family of 11 was displaced by a house fire.

“My whole notion of civic engagement goes beyond the work I do,” Carey-Butler said. “I don’t see myself in this work as just a part of the campus. I’m going to look for ways to be engaged in this community.”

Carey-Butler moved to Oshkosh with her husband, who retired from the military after a 30-year-career that involved service around the globe. They have an 18-year-old son who is attending college out of state. She said when the position at UW Oshkosh opened up and caught her attention, with her family’s support, she gravitated toward it given the state higher educational system’s national reputation for inclusivity.

“The University of Wisconsin System is known for its work around inclusive excellence throughout the country,” she said.

Carey-Butler said she plans to be intentional and focused as she moves into her new role.

“I’m going to take my time,” she said, stressing her commitment to forging new strategic partnerships. “I want to learn the community. I want to know what’s worked and what hasn’t. I’m developing my 90-day plan. I want to be very thoughtful in how I enter the community and in my approach. I want people to know that, yes, things are going to happen, but they aren’t going to be immediate.”

She also said she hopes opportunities to teach at UW Oshkosh develop, as she has, in some way, been at the head of the class on every campus she has ever served. Carey-Butler has taught freshman seminars and honors student courses on research methodologies.

“I will create time specific for students, but I also plan to go to the students,” she said. “I will be at sporting events, different programs, theatre events — I will get out there and be a part of this community.”

A family member was a teacher in the Schenectady City school district for 20 years. That family member has since moved on to teach in a suburban school district.

What they were able to tell me is the main problem in the school district are the parents...or lack thereof, of the students. When you have a high school student whose mother is still in her 20's... you've got kids raising kids... Add to that, the neighborhoods that they are forced to grow up in...many of them want to get out and improve themselves, but they either get sucked back into the "hood" culture, or for the girls, get pregnant and have to take care of the baby(s). You can have the best school in the world with unlimited funds, but you are doomed to failure if you have a student body that is handicapped to being with.

'back in the day' a 20 year old was considered an ADULT....choices choices choices......unfortunately the system is rigged to
force humans to pay into the ponzi to even be able to exist in a half human way.....

a MOTHER is NOT the reason.....

society made social security and welfare and food stamps for MOTHERS because society considers MOTHERS at the bottom of
the food chain, next to the human baby...and society thought and maybe still thinks it's chivalrous and virtuous to have these
systems to support the MOTHER VICTIM.....

I'm sure every MOTHER out there would like to give a giant thanks to the system

abortion IS a choice
chemical birth control IS a choice
having kids IS a choice

and these are all choices for the MOTHER

AGAIN, I'm sure all the women out there would like to give a great big heart felt thank you

WHO IS LEFT OUT OF THIS STORY?