Staff Updates

I want to acknowledge that our current staffing levels do not fully meet the needs we have in our schools. Since September, we have been actively searching for a long-term substitute for elementary RTI without success. We also need to fill a high school math position to bridge the time until our new teacher begins in December. In addition, we have five paraprofessional vacancies due to new students requiring support services, a school psychologist vacancy, and soon an administrative vacancy. On top of this, we continue to struggle with a shortage of daily substitutes.

I know it offers little comfort to recognize that districts across our region and state are facing similar challenges. However, it’s important to acknowledge that these staffing shortages are part of a larger dilemma—one that stems from a shrinking pipeline of candidates entering teacher preparation programs. For instance, I recently learned that UAlbany currently has zero teacher candidates in both its living science and earth science tracks.

These vacancies have a very real impact on you and your work each day. I appreciate the effort each of you gives to make what you can control a little better—your commitment to students, your collaboration with one another, and your willingness to adapt. Thank you for extending grace to your colleagues and principals as you work together to move forward and do what’s necessary to support all students.

We remain committed to finding creative ways to fill these positions and to ensuring you have the support needed to be successful. We will continue to take action to meet our mission for students.

Yesterday, I attended an open house regarding the reconfiguration of I-787 in Albany. As I signed in I was greeted by a familiar face. C-A 2018 graduate Courtney Sherman was there as a member of an engineering firm working on design elements of this proposed project.

Courtney is a 2022 graduate from Clarkson University and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering.

It was wonderful to see another example of C-A grads finding success in their chosen career paths that was sparked by their experiences here at C-A.

When a child is not proficient in the fundamentals, the calculator may help them complete one computational step, but it will not help them construct the problem steps, track whether the solution is moving in the right direction given the problem details, and adjust their construction of the problem-solving steps for maximal ease and the precision they need in their answer. READ MORE from our friend Amanda VanDerHeyden

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.

Red Ribbon Week (October 23–31) is a great opportunity to help students make smart choices that shape their futures. EVERFI’s free, ready-to-use digital lessons, Prescription Drug Safety, Understanding Mental Wellness, and Vaping: Know the Truth, make it easy to spark meaningful classroom conversations about physical + mental health, decision-making, and resilience.

Each mini-lesson helps students see how positive choices fit into the bigger picture of a healthy, drug-free life.

Contact Stacey Hopkins in tech services if you need help accessing this through Clever.

There is a lot in this slide deck. Updates from all areas of instruction and assessment. Links to resource guides for many subjects, grades, SWD, ENL. Please take some time to look over this presentation.

This year's CAFE Gala will be NOVEMBER 8. Join us in celebrating our 7 honorees. This year we are inducting: Jean Cardany, Leslie Copleston, Raymond Magee, Darlene Mergendahl, Michael Rausch, Lewis Swyer, and James Warren. Tickets go on sale Sept 15th- Please reach out to Julie in the District Office to purchase tickets.

Betting on Brighter Futures on Nov 8th at 5pm down at the Wire Event Center. Food, drinks and dancing and help us to raise money for future grants at C-A.

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.

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.

10/25: Big Apple Crunch

10/30: BOE Workshop

11/5: EJA Veterans DayAssembly

11/7: CE Veterans Day Assembly

11/8: CAFE Gala

11/10: Conference Day

11/11: Veterans Day

11/20: BOE Meeting

11/24: Parent Community Council

11/26: Conference Day

11/17-11/18: 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!