A school that serves its community.

Parent and Community Involvement

In our school, we envision the parents and community members as active participants within the educational experience, rather than individuals who are only involved when special events occur. Parent involvement will go way beyond traditional rules by creating consistent opportunities for communication, collaboration, and participation throughout the conversation of what school life is like. For example, families will be invited to attend student exhibitions, open house, slides, show in the students work, and the school community, as well as inquiry days where the students get to present projects connected to community issues, allowing their parents to be able to see an engage engaged with authentic learning that is occurring; in addition, we would additionally push out the invite to parents being able to come in and are invited as classroom guest speakers to share their cultural background, knowledge, careers, or their live experiences, which would help reach the gap between the school community and home community for all. Through this approach, this reflects well on Noddings' belief. Their relationships and care are the foundational features of education, building strong connections between the school and the families, which helped a lot of the students feel more supported, valued, and understood. Not only would we love for the parents to have a voice and decision-making through surveys, forums, and family advisory groups, but we would also like to do this monthly, which would help ensure that the school remains as responsive and collaborative as possible.

Furthermore, community members who aren't just parents will also play a meaningful role throughout the school community as we aim to position the school as a space that is deeply connected to the surrounding environment out here in Albany. For instance, we have bought over the campus of College of Saint Rose, in Albany, New York, and we will utilize local organizations and community leaders to come out and collaborate with the student events like farmers markets that may occur throughout the weekend as well as college and career fairs with surrounding colleges like Hudson Valley Community College, Sage College, Maria College, The University at Albany, and etc.) or "Albany Inquiry Days," where the students will get to investigate real local issues such as food access from food drives to transportation around the city or housing opportunities. Through these experiences, this will create opportunities for the students to get to interact with professionals, ask questions, and apply what they've learned throughout the school in a real-world context. And this closely aligns with Freire's idea that education should move beyond the idea of passive learning and instead connect the students to be able to explore the world around them through conversation and critical engagement. Additionally, incorporating community voices into the curriculum deeply reflects culturally sustaining practices by valuing the diverse funds of knowledge that the students and their communities bring. Overall, we believe that when parents and community members are involved through active interactions and share experiences. This may strengthen our mission to create a collaborative yet inclusive environment, where the students would feel connected and empowered both inside and outside of the school environment.

School as Community Hub

When designing our high school on the former campus of Saint Rose, we intentionally thought about the school functioning as a community hub that would serve the students and the surrounding communities around Albany. Because of the school's location, we have the unique opportunity to work with nearby institutions like Albany Medical Center, University at Albany, and NYS departments to provide real and accessible resources. For example, Albany Medical Center is collaborating with our school to offer on-site health clinics, CPR trainings, as well as mental health workshops, as well as wellness programs that would be offered for the students and their families, with UAlbany can support college readiness programs, mentorship opportunities, and even dual-enrollment courses for students who are completing the senior year of high school. In addition, local churches, community centers, and small businesses within the Albany area can utilize our school buildings as a shared space for meetings, workshops, and events, after school, or throughout the weekend, to help position the school as a welcoming and accessible center for the community.

Beyond the idea of partnerships, the school itself would offer resources such as adult literacy classes and parenting workshops throughout the events. This approach would reflect Noddings' idea that care and relationships are all essential parts of one's education, even supporting families directly strengthens the student's ability to succeed. Therefore, these kinds of partnerships could also open further opportunities for funding grants, sponsorships, and collaborative initiatives with organizations that are invested in community development. At the same time, this idea closely aligns with Freire's idea that education should be connected in real-world contexts, as the students aren't just isolated from their environment, but they're actively engaged in it.

Lastly, students will play a critical role within these partnerships by participating in internships and community-based inquiry work. For example, the students might collaborate with local organizations during "Albany Inquiry Days" to research and bring up issues like possible food insecurity for the community, public transportation issues, or even access to healthcare, then present solutions to real stakeholders, with research and plans when presenting. This would tie into Vygotsky's idea that learning is something that should be social and develops through interaction and real-world engagement. Overall, with the school located in such a hub spot in Downtown Albany and utilizing the resources that are around the old Saint Rose campus, we ensure that our school isn't only about educating the students academically, but also empowering them every day to become active, engaged members of their own community.

Extracurriculars

In our school, extracurricular activities are a central part of the students' overall experience at this school. They were created and built amongst the theories of our mission in creating an inclusive, student-centered environment that values collaboration, self-identity, and meaningful engagement. Our team has curated a wide range of extracurricular options to ensure that every student would be able to find a space where they feel a sense of belonging and purpose. For athletics, we offer seasonal sports including tennis, football, outdoor track in the fall; swimming, basketball, indoor track in the winter; soccer, softball, baseball, flag football, and outdoor track in the spring. In addition to sports, students can participate in student government, board-game clubs, drama club, STEM and engineering clubs, cultural clubs, service-based organizations, and academic clubs, as well as inclusive programs like Best Buddies. We wanted to create a space for student creativity, so that the students would be encouraged to also start their own clubs, as long as they have a faculty advisor and 15 members to start a club, which reinforces student ownership and initiative.

All the extracurricular activities would be taking place after school, which would allow all the students to engage fully without interrupted academic time throughout the day, while still providing structure and consistency. Not only is participation strongly encouraged, but ultimately optional to the students, because we believe that students should have autonomy with choosing how they engage with their school community. This also connects to Freire's belief that students should have voice and agency within their learning experiences, rather than being directed. Not only students will students also have a high level of leadership within these activities, as well, as they will be taking the primary role in organizing, leading, and shaping the clubs, while the school faculty would be serving as facilitators who provide guidance and ensure access to all resources. This reflects Vygotsky's idea that learning is social and something that is developed through collaboration, as well as tying into Noddings' emphasis on relationships and belonging. Ultimately, we designed extracurriculars to do something much more than fill time, but they are meant to build community, promote inclusion, and allow the students to develop a sense of leadership skills and connect to real-world skills, ensuring that our school culture is supportive, engaging, and aligned with the broader vision in education.