Posted September 6, 2011

Top to Bottom: Superintendent D. Joseph Corr; Staff and faculty arriving at Opening Day; Board President Mary Nardolillo; Fifth and Sixth Grade elementary chorus students singing this year's Opening Day song, "Each of Us Has a Light".

North Colonie Superintendent D. Joseph Corr welcomed all North Colonie faculty and staff members to the 2011-12 school year with an inspirational speech that highlighed the importance of having a true vision in education.

The challenges educators face on a national, state and local level are daunting. Education is facing unprecedented intervention by both the state and federal government at a time when districts have a substantially diminished capacity to raise revenue and supply the resources necessary to accomplish such a difficuly task.

Among the mandates the district must address as dictated by the state include:

• Implementation of Common Core Learning Standards

• Dignity for All Students Act

• Response to Intervention

• Implementation of the Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR)

"Although the challenges are vast and may seem overwhelming, we possess the collective skills and expertise not merely to survive but also thrive in the midst of tumult, unpredictably and discontinuity," Corr said.

Corr explained to the near-capacity Shaker High School auditorium that the district's ability to meet and surmount challenges is enhanced by the fact that North Colonie educates its students in a supportive and collaborative community.

"If not allowed to share or to collaborate and assist one another, we will be less likely to feel the confidence, persistence and resilience we need for sustained improvement," he said.

Many of the mandates that have been handed down from the state coincide with district goals and beliefs. For example, the Dignity for All Students Act will reinforce North Colonie's strong existing programs to counter bullying while developing character.

"These mandates are more than challenges," Corr said. "They are opportunities congruent with our goals and beliefs. They are inherent in our mission and it is our collective task and responsibility to make them meaningful for us and for our students."

Mr. Corr was also joined by Board of Education President Mary Nardolillo who also addressed the staff and faculty. She took the time to thank the educators for the dedication and care they show to their profession and to the students of North Colonie.

"There is a reason you are all in this profession," she said. "You receive the chance each day to work hand-in-hand with the future. This is the time to reach and inspire them."

In Mr. Corr's closing remarks, he connected back to his main point of the morning - having a true vision.

"Our lives are a series of choices," he said. "We can choose to be overwhelmed by what others mandate us to do or we can take what we have been directed to do, examine it based on our principles and beliefs and shape it into something good and noble - a true vision."