District Overview: 2007-2008
Board of Education:
Francis G. Palumbo,
President
Willard L. Martin,
Vice President
Ernest J. Gailor
Regina Gapczynski
Mia Pfitzer
Jeffrey W. Piro
Charles Phillips
Jay Rifenbary
Stephen T. Rodriguez
Administration
3 Blue Streak Boulevard
Saratoga Springs, New York 12866
518-583-4700
Janice White, Superintendent: 583-4709
Thomas C. Mele, Assistant
Superintendent for Elementary Education, 583-4474
Michael Piccirillo,
Assistant Superintendent
for Secondary Education, 583-4714
Kurt Jaeger, Assistant Superintendent for Business:
583-4703
Karen L. Stanley, Director for Human Resource Services:
583-4713
Noreen M. Walker, Director for Pupil Services,: 583-4715
David L'Hommedieu, Director for Information Technology,
584-3228
Stephanie Lang, Director for District Assessment and
Staff Development, 583-4725
25 Duplainville Road
Saratoga Springs, New York, 12866
Thomas Clark, Director of Facilities and Operations,
587-6365
Our Mission . . .
The goal of the Saratoga Springs City School District is to
provide every student with the best possible education by
providing within our resources for individual needs in all
developmental areas: intellectual, creative, social, emotional,
physical and ethical.
Power
Standards...
The school district has adopted "power
standards" that, once mastered, give a student the ability
to use reasoning and thinking skills to learn and understand
other curriculum objectives. The standards include: literacy
development; development and support of ideas, interpretation of
charts, graphs and tables; critical thinking; mathematics;
organizational skills; character education/citizenship; and
personal health and fitness.
Our School District . . .
The Saratoga Springs City School District serves approximately
7,000 students from the city of Saratoga Springs and the
Saratoga County towns of Milton, Wilton, Malta, Greenfield and
Saratoga.
Our Board of Education . . .
The Saratoga Springs City School District is governed by a Board
of Education composed of nine unsalaried citizens elected to
serve overlapping terms of three years each. At the end of a
term, a Board member wishing to continue public service must be
reelected to another term. New York State law does not limit the
number of terms a member may serve.
The Board meets twice a month during most months of the year, on
the second Tuesday and last Thursday.
The schedule of regular meetings is established and published
prior to the beginning of each school year. Copies of the
meeting date calendar are available at the Central
Administration offices, located at 3 Blue Streak Boulevard on
the high school campus. The six elementary schools and the
middle school each host one meeting during the school year. Most
other meetings are held in the Meade Auditorium at the high
school. Board meetings begin at 7:30 p.m. and are open to the
public.
The meeting schedule for 2007-08 is available
here.
The administration is directed by the Superintendent of Schools.
Our Size . . .
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: The
Saratoga Springs City School District has approximately 1,100
employees.
NUMBER OF PUPILS: The
enrollment in the school district is approximately 7,000
students.
NUMBER OF SCHOOLS: The
district has six elementary schools serving grades kindergarten
through five; a middle school for grades six through eight; and
a high school for grades 9 through 12.
Our Credentials . . .
ACCREDITATION: All
Saratoga Springs schools meet state requirements. The high
school program is registered by the state Education Department
every five years.
TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS:
All teachers must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited
college or university and initial or provisional certification.
A teacher who was certified prior to Feb. 1, 2004, must obtain a
permanent teaching certificate from the state Education
Department within five to ten years of beginning teaching. This
requires earning a master's degree and successfully completing
two years of teaching. Teachers are eligible for tenure after a
minimum of one to three years of satisfactory teaching in the
Saratoga Springs schools.
Over 90% of Saratoga Springs' teachers have advanced degrees.
STAFFING: Saratoga Springs
has maintained teachers' salary schedules at or above the
average paid by school systems in the Capital District. This has
helped attract and retain well-qualified teaching personnel.
Enrolling Your Child . . .
AGE ELIGIBILITY FOR ADMISSION:
Children entering kindergarten must be five years old by Dec. 1
of the year they begin school. Registration for kindergarten is
held in the spring of the year prior to entrance.
ENROLLING: All other
registration is handled by the Central Registrar at 3 Blue
Streak Boulevard. Appointments are not necessary, but parents
are encouraged to call first. Parents must accompany new pupils.
Information required at registration includes: birth
certificate, health record, previous school information and
two proofs of residency.
For more information, please call 583-4789.
REPORT CARDS: Reports of
pupil progress are issued to parents of all elementary and
secondary students four times each year. At least one
parent-teacher conference is scheduled per year for each student
in the elementary schools. Additional conferences may be
scheduled at the request of the parent or teacher.
STUDENT AND PARENT RIGHTS:
Parents have the right to examine their children's official
records including grades and achievement test scores. Parents
also may limit access to their child's records by non-school
personnel. This right is transferred to the student at the age
of 18. Principals will provide information regarding the process
for obtaining student records.
Basic Information . . .
LENGTH OF SCHOOL DAY:
Starting and closing times in the Saratoga Springs City School
District are staggered to permit efficient use of school buses.
Students at the high school attend school from 7:49 a.m. until
2:30 p.m., while hours for middle school students are 7:48 a.m.
until 2:20 p.m. The schedules at the six elementary schools are
as follows: Geyser Road, 8:50 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and Division,
Dorothy Nolan, Caroline, Lake and Greenfield, 9:20 a.m. to 3:30
p.m.
LENGTH OF SCHOOL YEAR: The
school year consists of 180 days, as required by state law.
CAFETERIA: Hot and cold
lunches are served in all schools. Breakfast is also available
in all schools. The school district provides free and reduced
price meals to children from eligible families. If you have
questions or require further assistance, please call (518)
583-4704.
GUIDANCE:
Guidance
services are available at the high school and the middle school.
Counselors help to personalize educational experiences for
students by assisting them individually and in small groups. The
counselors help students understand themselves, recognize and
diagnose their problems, and make realistic decisions.
SECONDARY COURSE OFFERINGS:
Approximately 200 courses are available to students at the
secondary level, ranging from those for college preparation to
those that prepare students for jobs after graduation.
Special program features include advanced placement courses in
English, economics, history, math, chemistry, physics, biology, music and
art. College credit is available in French, Spanish, Latin,
music, accounting, business law, principles of business, and
Project Lead the Way.
High school courses are offered on a "block schedule," built on
four eighty-minute blocks (or teaching periods) per day. Most
classes meet on an every-other-day basis.
Honors students in their senior year are also offered the
opportunity to earn college credit by attending Skidmore College
or other area colleges during a senior semester.
The high school offers the Alternative School Program with
individualized study for students having difficulty attending
regular school.
The Saratoga Vo-Tec Center, operated by the
Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex Counties BOCES, offers
vocational and technical programs that prepare students for
entry level jobs in such fields as food service, building
trades, automotive trades, cosmetology, agriculture, and health
care.
TESTING: Standardized
tests of academic aptitude and achievement are administered to
students in the Saratoga Springs district throughout their
school careers. Testing provides information that helps
individualize the instructional program and identify students in
need of remediation services.
ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT SERVICES (AIS):
The district provides Academic Intervention Services for
students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The AIS program is
designed to supplement the regular classroom instruction by
providing individual and small group instruction to students
falling below state/local criteria on select assessments.
GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS:
The Saratoga Springs High School Diploma requires students to
complete 22 credits. Students must meet all New York State
requirements and pass appropriate Regents exams. An
Individualized Education Plan Diploma is available to students
who are enrolled in special education classes.
Special Programs . . .
SPECIAL EDUCATION:
The Saratoga Springs City School District provides comprehensive
special education programs and services for all students with
educational disabling conditions between the ages of three and
21. Both in-district and out-of-district programs are made
available to students depending on their individual needs,
as determined by the Committee on Special Education. Students
with disabilities aged birth to five are eligible for enrollment
in county programs in conjunction with the district's Committee
on Preschool Education.
For more information, please visit the
Special Education web
site.
DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES:
Special education teachers, speech/language, physical and
occupational therapists, nurses and school psychologists are
among the specialists who serve all the schools to ensure that
special needs of students are met. In addition, the middle
school and high school have student advocates who work directly
with students to address their concerns.
The school psychologist's main function is to assist children
having learning and/or behavior difficulties. The psychologist
works with students, teachers and parents in determining the
cause of the difficulty, and recommends ways to assist school
adjustment and the learning process.
ENRICHMENT PROGRAM: The school district offers a variety of programs to enrich the educational experience of students seeking expanded academic challenges. The district screens students at specified grade levels to identify those with high potential for academic excellence. Among the enrichment programs, most of which are available to the general school population, are the following:
- A teacher consultant providing direct/indirect support for identified students.
- After-school enrichment courses.
- Saturday Scholars program for second- through seventh-graders who score at or above the 95th percentile on standardized tests.
- Participation in the Academic Enrichment Program.
- Advanced placement courses at the secondary level in a variety of subject areas.
- Staff and parent workshops on issues surrounding academically
advanced students.
For more information, please call the Director for District Assessment and Staff Development, 583-4725.
CONTINUING EDUCATION: The school district offers a broad range of leisure time craft, aerobic, recreational and technical courses for adults through its Continuing Education program. Thousands of area residents are enrolled in these evening classes during the regular school year. Courses begin in September and February. Most classes meet for two hours in the evening once or twice a week for one to seven weeks. For more information, call the Continuing Education Office at 583-4782, or check out the online continuing education brochure by clicking here.
Our Budget . . .
FINANCES:
The school
district's fiscal year is from July 1 to June 30. Budget
preparation begins as early as November and the final budget is
voted upon on the third Tuesday in May. The Saratoga Springs
City School District's "major line items" in the budget are
instruction, operations and maintenance, employee fringe
benefits and repayment of debt, transportation services, and
district management. Approximately 80% of the $104.3 million
budget provides for the instructional programs and
transportation. State monies account for approximately
29% of
district revenues. The remainder of the income comes from local
taxpayers, the STAR Program (the School TAx Relief program
enacted by the state Legislature) and various miscellaneous
sources. Federal money is used to support compensatory education
programs and staff development.
EXPENDITURE COMPARISONS:
The Saratoga Springs City School District compares favorably in
instructional expense per pupil when compared to other similar
districts. According to the New York State School Report Card
Fiscal Accountability Supplement, the Saratoga Springs City
School District spent $8,008 in instructional expense per pupil
in 2004-05.
This is comparable to the average $8,006 for similar
districts. The data is the most recent available at this time.
Transportation . . .
POLICY: Students attending
the Saratoga Springs schools are eligible for transportation if
they live more than three-tenths of a mile from school in
kindergarten through third-grade, one-half mile from school in
grades four through eight, or one mile from school in grades
nine through 12. Students attending private or parochial schools
are eligible for transportation if they live within 15 miles of
the school they are attending. Specific information on bus
schedules can be obtained from the respective school principals
or by calling the transportation department at 587-4545.
BUS SAFETY: Buses in the
Saratoga Springs City School District are equipped with safety
devices including back-up alarms, crossing arms, flashing stop
signs, flashing red lights front and rear, inside speakers, and
seat belts. All buses are inspected regularly.
Bus drivers are required to have a physical examination at least
annually and undergo periodic in-service training.
To help ensure a safe ride to and from school,
elementary students in the
district participate in a bus safety program that includes
procedures for arriving and waiting at the bus stop, boarding
and exiting the bus and crossing the street, and emergency
evacuation and safe riding rules.
Parent Support . . .
ATTENDANCE: Education law
and Board of Education policy require students between the ages
of six and 16 to attend school during school hours for a minimum
of 180 days per year unless excluded by provisions of the law.
The attendance policy is built on the belief that regular
attendance increases student achievement, reduces dropout
levels, provides appropriate early interventions to address
individual attendance problems, and develops positive attitudes
toward school and learning.
Parents are required to provide a written excuse indicating the
reason for any absence, tardiness, or early
dismissal.
Parents are asked to call the attendance office of the school
whenever a child is going to be absent. Parents are phoned by
the attendance office if a child is absent and the school has
not received prior notice by the parent.
Parent Participation . . .
HOW YOU CAN HELP: Parents
are urged to participate in school activities by encouraging
their children, visiting the classroom and keeping in touch with
their children's teachers. All schools in the district offer
parent-teacher or home-school associations which provide many
opportunities to become involved in school life. Volunteers are
always welcomed to help with special school events.
About Saratoga Springs . . .
This resort city of 26,000 is located 35 miles north of the
state Capitol of Albany, New York.
Perhaps best known for the thoroughbreds that race at the
Saratoga Race Track each August, Saratoga Springs is also a
center of culture and the arts.
The Saratoga Performing Arts Center is the summer home of the
New York City Ballet and the Philadelphia Orchestra, and also
hosts dozens of internationally known rock stars and other
popular artists each summer. The National Museum of Dance, the
National Museum of Racing, and the New York State Military
Museum are also located in the city.
The city's sparkling mineral waters and elegant Victorian
setting have attracted visitors for centuries. The city boasts
outstanding restaurants and specialty shops, and its historic
homes and public buildings reflect local pride in Saratoga's
architecture and rich heritage.
Saratoga Springs and its environs offer opportunities for a wide
variety of outdoor sports, including swimming, tennis, golf,
skiing, boating and fishing. Among the more popular spectator
sports are harness racing at Saratoga Gaming and Raceway, and,
during the summer, thoroughbred racing and polo.
Saratoga Springs is located within a four-hour drive of New York
City, Boston and Montreal.