Staff Updates

Thank you to all the teachers who hosted educators from 10 school districts and NYSED during our Apple Site Visit this week. Shout out to Junait Shah , Allison Leonardo and tech services for organizing the day.

Digital conversion is one of C-A’s five anchor strategies: Enabling every student and teacher with technology to unite them with the world—giving them access to the information they need, when they need it, and connecting them with the people who will help them grow.

Technology at C-A is used to:

• Redefine learning by blending traditional and digital experiences

• Create authentic learning opportunities through multimedia, creation tools, and real-world applications

• Support students in moving beyond simply consuming information

• Encourage ownership, exploration, and inquiry

• Provide access to state-of-the-art tools that expand students’ understanding of the world. At C-A, technology is a tool for learning, not the focus of learning. The true distinction lies in the creativity, professionalism, and vision of the educators who make this work possible.

It is this work by our teaching staff that has transformed C-A to become one of 18 districts world wide recognized by Apple as a distinquished school. This reflects:

• A district-wide commitment to innovation and student empowerment

• High-quality instructional practices that leverage technology meaningfully

• A learning environment where students become creators, collaborators, and problem-solvers

• The dedication of teachers who continuously refine and elevate their practice

When it comes to which tools we use in the classroom; since 2017 C-A’s 1:1 iPad program has proven to be a more strategic and cost-effective long-term investment than purchasing Chromebooks. Beyond cost, iPads offer greater instructional flexibility, stronger accessibility features, and creative learning tools that enhance students’ ability to design, build, and publish their work.

Edward Everett was the main orator at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg on November 19, 1863. Everett had been a U.S. sentator and member of the House of Representatives. His speech lasted two hours, in line with the longer orations that were common at the time. Everett had memorized his speech.

President Lincoln followed. His speech was two minutes; 272 words.

Everett wrote to Lincoln the day after the Gettysburg Address and commented that while his own speech took two hours, Lincoln's two-minute speech came closer to the central idea of the occasion. Everett humbly stated, "I should be glad, if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion in two hours, as you did in two minutes,"

Shout out to our grounds crew, Ethan and Claude. Many compliements from visiting coaches and spectators on the condition of our playing fields. I appreciate the work that goes into maintaining the many acres of fields we have. Thank you for having our fields and outdoor equipment ready for winter.

Every state should launch an effort, perhaps via a commission, to start over with its course mandates. The zero-based approach means starting from scratch. READ MORE

Good luck to Marisa Oringer whose last day is today. We wish her well with the upcoming birth of her first child.

At the July 2025 Board of Regents meeting, the Board formally adopted the New York State Portrait of a Graduate, a critical milestone in NY Inspires, the Department’s implementation plan for transformative education. The Portrait offers a unifying vision of what it means to be a graduate in New York State, describing the essential skills and dispositions that all students should develop to succeed in college, careers, and civic life.

To ensure clarity and support stakeholders’ shared understanding of the Portrait, the Department developed “Need-to-Know” documents for students, parents, educators, administrators, and school board members.

These documents provide role-specific guidance on the Portrait and serve as foundational tools for stakeholder engagement, professional learning, and strategic planning.

Effective work in teaching happens in layers. First, we learn to protect our attention—managing interruptions so we can stay focused on what matters most: our students. Next, we look for ways to strengthen our practice and accomplish tasks that once felt beyond reach. Finally, we aim for meaningful results that improve student learning and contribute to our school’s goals.

This guide, by Perplexity an AI tool approaches AI as a tool to support each of these layers—not as a quick fix, but as a practical way to manage your workload, extend your effectiveness, and focus more of your energy on teaching and learning. The guide includes some good examples of prompts.

An interesting article from the Hechinger Report: Schools Cannot Teach AI Literacy Without a Way to Measure It https://hechingerreport.org/opinion-schools-cannot-teach-ai-literacy-without-a-way-to-me asure-it/

MIT published “A Guide to AI in Schools: Perspectives for the Perplexed.” I sent out a special shoutout to Meredith Dutra, who served on the advisory panel for this report. https://tsl.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/GuideToAIInSchools.pdf

Since 2012 the Coxsackie-Athens Foundation for Education has awarded over $170,000 in grants to support programming in the C-A Schools.

Grants will be awarded during three grant cycles:

• October 1st, January 1st, and April 1st.

  
  

Innovation Grants: The Coxsackie Athens Foundation for Education was formed to raise, manage and distribute financial and non-financial resources for educational enrichment. We have three grant cycles annually and you are invited to apply for funds by completing the attached application form.

Priorities will be given to projects that address the Foundation’s mission and are educationally enriching, innovative, creative and include a plan for continuation beyond Foundation support.

Mini- Grants: The Coxsackie Athens Foundation for Education (C.A.F.E.) is excited to announce that mini-grant applications will now be accepted. Mini-grants are in addition to the existing innovation grant program and C.A.F.E. will award up to 10 mini-grants in the amount of $200 (or less) on an annual basis. The purpose of the mini-grant is to provide opportunities to purchase smaller items that will have a big impact on our students. Examples might include books, supplies for a special art project, a speaking honorarium, subscriptions, or software tools.

Grants are open for this school year. Please go to the website and scroll down toward the bottom for the grant links. If you have any questions please feel free to ask!

https://www.cacsd.org/page/coxsackie-athens-foundation-for-education-cafe

Whether you’re teaching content and want to integrate career exploration, entrepreneurship, or workforce preparedness skills, EVERFI’s digital lessons help students plan for and practice these skills. LEARN MORE HERE reach out to Stacey Hopkins our Career ambassador for support.

Prepare students for their financial future

Financial education is more than dollars and cents. It’s about establishing better spending habits, instilling confidence, and equipping the next generation with the real-world skills to manage financial goals and milestones.

EVERFI’s online financial education curriculum, training, and support are completely free to K-12 educators. reach out to Stacey Hopkins our Career ambassador for support.

Financial literacy instruction will be required in 26-27 by NYS and is already included as one of our life readiness indicators. At C-A we will be itegrating more financial literacy including assessing student proficiency into our content this year.

Purpose

Our anchor strategy, PATHWAYS TO SUCCESS states, “Students with Purpose are inspired to learn. The world has changed and a vision for college, career and citizenship readiness has emerged. Centered on the concept that each student will have a purpose and PATHWAY TO SUCCESS, we will have an uncompromising and relentless commitment to preparing students for college, career and citizenship; in other words, preparing students for their future. This will be accomplished by creating relevant learning environments, and interacting with the people working in the ecosystems of the career paths students are working towards.”

Therefore, we will inspire and prepare students for college, career, and citizenship readiness through comprehensive career exploration and pathway development. The program will help students discover their interests, skills, and preferences, and provide them with real-world experiences and guidance to prepare for their future careers.

READ MORE INCLUDING BUILDING LEVEL EXPECTATIONS for 2025-2026.

11/20: BOE Meeting

11/24: Parent Community Council

11/26: Conference Day

11/27-11/28: Thanksgiving Holiday

The LINKS team have established draft goals for 2028. They are below.

2028

Student Performance Goals

In order for all students to graduate ready for their post-secondary lives, our performance goals for 2028 are:

Reading: 78% of students K-8 will be reading at or above grade level by 2028. This will be a 17% improvement from 2025.

Math: 78% of students K-9 will demonstrate grade level proficiency in math by 2028. This will be a 19% improvement from 2025.

Life Readiness:

1. 100% of students in grades 4, 8 and 12 will demonstrate readiness in a majority of the Life and career ready indicators;
2. The district will see a 11% improvement in the number of students with >=90% attendance by 2028.
3. A 10% improvement in the number of students who often or consistently demonstrate competence in a majority of the personal dispositions.

-Fred Rogers

We all learn in a variety of ways. Students should be able to demonstrate readiness in a variety of ways.

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Below are several resources that highlight the opportunities we offer ALL students. WE truly are a small school with BIG Opportunities!

1. Did you know that every student at C-A HS can have one early college course paid for in full by the district? The reduced tuition rates for all college courses allows many students to graduate with over 20 credits. Many of our alum are able to enter college as sophomores or graduate from a college a semester early saving thousands of dollars.
2. Our parternship with Questar III BOCES provides 23 offerings in career technical education pathways. Our students who complete these programs are ready to enter the workforce in a varirty of occupations and fields.

We believe ALL students CAn be life, career and college ready when they graduate from C-A. I very muhc apprecait the collaborative work taking place in all classrooms to ensure ALL students are self-directed and prepared to succeed in our global society.

• READINESS INDICATORS 2.0 2025
• READINESS INDICATORS K-12 BOOKLET 2020 :
• EARLY COLLEGE PAMPHLET
• COLLEGE IN THE H.S. OFFERINGS
• CAREER TECH ED OFFERINGS

Like planning a road trip our 2030 DESTINATION, TIMELINE may change as detours pop up or new adventures present themselves.

Take a look. Our road trip will have some exciting mile markers that sustains and enhances the work we have started and will lead us to our 2030 Destination.

• Professional Learning Communities
• Growth Mindset
• Student Centered/Directed Learning
• Digital Conversion
• Pathways to Success

It is with gratitude and humility that we acknowledge that we are learning, speaking and gathering on the ancestral homelands of the Muhheaconneok (Muhhekunneuw) or Mohican people and the Munsee Lenape people, who are the indigenous peoples of this land. Despite tremendous hardship in being forced from here, they now reside in Wisconsin and are known as the Stockbridge-Munsee Community. We pay honor and respect to their ancestors past and present as we commit to building a more inclusive and equitable space for all.

Email: squierr@cacsd.org
Website: www.cacsd.org
Location: 24 Sunset Boulevard, Coxsackie, NY, USA
Phone: 518-731-1700
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100043677108930&mibextid=LQQJ4d
Twitter: @coxathschools

Our new app is now available for download from the Apple Store and the Google Play Store. Keep up to date on all things C-A, right from your device. This app is designed to create easy access to Sports Schedules, Live Feed, Alerts, our Staff Directory and more!