Dear North Colonie Families,
I am writing to let you know some important information about a newly revised calendar for the 2022-23 school year. The purpose for the calendar revision is to allow district personnel to participate in important and timely training.
WHAT’S CHANGING
We are moving all four teacher professional development days to the first week in September (September 6-9) as we did in the 2019–2020 school year to complete construction throughout the district. As a result of this change, we will eliminate the stand-alone Superintendent’s conference days that are typically held in November and March and those two days will become attendance days for students.
As such, the first day of school for students will now be Monday, September 12.
ABOUT THE TRAINING
District safety and security is always paramount, and we know that school employees need to be well trained and alert to needs in the community. School safety is partially the work that we can do with physical changes to our buildings, drills, and protocols, but it is also the work that we do to address the needs of our students to ensure a climate of safety and belonging where all students feel they have a place to go to share concerns and get assistance.
This summer the administrative team is working with the Colonie Police Department to strengthen our crisis training, roles, and responses. One afternoon of our September professional development days will be solely dedicated to safety training for the entire faculty and administration with the Colonie Police Department. In light of the events of the last months, we believe this training is timely and necessary.
The other professional development days in September will not only be devoted to typical activities to get the school year started, but also to training for our entire district instructional staff on practices to support our students and each other during challenging and stressful times. The BARR (Building Assets, Reducing Risks) organization will conduct two-day intensive training in each of our eight buildings, allowing us to focus on building the climate of care and concern for every child in our district and every adult who serves them. The BARR work will continue throughout the school year allowing us to better meet the needs of all our students to ensure that they are successful.
Below please find a recap of these dates as well as a link to our website with important district dates.
I wish you a restful and enjoyable summer.
Sincerely,
D. Joseph Corr
Superintendent
RECAP OF DATES
Tuesday – Friday, September 6 – 9
Professional development days for district personnel; no student attendance
Monday, September 12
First day of school for all students