Welcome to the new school year! This year I have been more excited than ever to return to all of you. After five years at AOS, I continue to be inspired by those around me, both the staff and students, and want to be the best principal and leader I can for all of you.
Last year we finished off the school year with 75 students graduating, and 45 receiving their GED. AOS has never experienced such high numbers, and it is truly a testament to the hard work and motivation of the students, and the wonderful things happening at this school.
Over the summer the teaching staff flew down to San Francisco for the week to attend the Quality Teaching for English Learners (QTEL) academy. Our teachers completely embraced the opportunity to learn new strategies to better serve all of our students, and continue to work hard on implementing QTEL into their classes.
We have also been very fortunate to welcome Ms. Bellando as our new English Language Arts teacher. A few weeks into the year and it is like she has always been part of the AOS family. We are very grateful to have her on our team.
This year we are celebrating our legacy. In 2009 AOS had just 10 graduates. Ten years later, the class of 2019 was 75. That growth is a testament to the many great principals, teachers, staff, students, families, and community partners we’ve had over the last decade who have continued to make AOS a better and better place to be. We want to strive to continue to build off of that legacy so that we can keep better serving the youth of our Albany community. You can watch our short video about the AOS legacy here.
September 17th we hosted our annual Fall Open House. It was wonderful to be able to meet and visit with so many of our families. I hope that you, and those of you who were unable to make it, are all able to return for Parent Conferences later this month. We love having the opportunity to share with you how great your student is doing and the progress they are making towards reaching their educational goal.
I am confident that the 2019-2020 school year is going to be a great one. Students, I hope this is the year you push yourself to have better attendance, better grades, and positive experiences. Parents and guardians, support your student by encouraging them to come to school and do their best, and by always communicating with the school so that we can work together.
Wishing you all a wonderful school year,
John Hunter