September 2024

Dear Colleagues,

As we embark on the 2024-2025 school year, I would like to take a moment to express my deep appreciation for the dedication and commitment of New York’s educators and students. With your hard work and passion, we can ensure that every child has the opportunity to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

Here are some key messages and resources to guide us through this exciting new school year:

Welcome Back Video Messages:

Please take a few moments to watch my welcome back message for all educators, students, and families. The video is part of our Welcome Back Video Series, in which senior staff at the New York State Education Department (NYSED) share their goals for the new school year.

Focus on Student Well-being:

This year, more than ever, we are prioritizing the mental health, wellness, and resilience of our students. NYSED is committed to providing resources to help you in this essential work, including:

• The New York State Center for School Safety: A vital resource for training, technical assistance, and support around creating safe and healthy school environments.
• Mental Health Resources: Explore comprehensive resources on our School Mental Health Education webpage.

Strengthening Partnerships and Collaboration:

We are also dedicated to building and maintaining strong partnerships with families, communities, and state agencies, including the Office of Mental Health, the Department of Health, and the Department of Labor, to harness additional resources for our districts, schools, and students. Your leadership and dedication will be crucial in fostering positive, impactful relationships that enhance the learning experience for all.

In this edition of News and Notes, I am thrilled to introduce the 2025 New York State Teacher of the Year, Colleen Keough, a second grade teacher at Hamilton Elementary School in Schenectady. Ms. Keough is a tireless advocate for the students in her classroom and for all students and families in the Hamilton Elementary School community. I am proud to honor Ms. Keough as our Teacher of the Year. Congratulations!

Best wishes for a healthy and happy school year.

Sincerely,

Betty A. Rosa

Commissioner

Congratulations to Colleen Keough, a second grade teacher at Hamilton Elementary School in Schenectady, the 2025 New York State Teacher of the Year.

Each year, New York awards this honor to an educator whose extraordinary passion for teaching, engagement with the community, and positive impact on their students’ lives deserves special recognition. As Teacher of the Year, Ms. Keough will serve as an ambassador for New York’s teachers, and as the State’s nominee for the National Teacher of the Year Program, whose winner is announced each Spring.

Ms. Keough has spent the entirety of her 16-year teaching career at schools within the Schenectady City School District. Starting as a first grade teacher at Paige Elementary School, she went on to teach fourth grade at Hamilton Elementary School before moving to second grade at Hamilton. Ms. Keough is heavily involved in school committees; works with volunteer programs such as Reading is Fun and the Foster Grandparent Program; and has won several awards, including the 2024 Schenectady City School District Teacher of the Year Award and the 2023 Schenectady City School District Passionate Educator Award. She is highly respected among her colleagues for her ongoing efforts to hone her pedagogical skills, to incorporate best practices in her classroom, and to always integrate literacy into all subject areas she teaches.

Outside the classroom, Ms. Keough has led several initiatives to connect the school with the community, including creating a Parent Teacher Organization at the school, which has focused on literacy by building a Little Free Library; running book fairs; opening a school store where students can purchase supplies; and bringing back the school’s beloved mascot, Hammy, who has had a tremendously positive impact on the school environment. She has also helped students and their families during emergencies and in times of need through fundraising, donation drives, health and safety initiatives, and by connecting parents with critical resources.

Watch this inspiring video from New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) to learn more about 2025 New York State Teacher of the Year Colleen Keough!

Congratulations to the finalists for the 2025 New York State Teacher of the Year who were also honored:

• Nicole Hesari - Todd Elementary School, Briarcliff Manor Union Free School District
• Joshua Levitt - Freeport High School, Freeport School District

The New York State Museum announced the opening of a new exhibit, Sadako’s Crane, in The World Trade Center: Rescue, Recovery, Response Gallery on Tuesday, September 10th. On display until October 6, 2024, the new exhibit will showcase an important artifact that connects the tragedies of the 1945 Hiroshima, Japan atomic bombing and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 through the story of a young Japanese girl named Sadako Sasaki. In 1955, Sadako created the tiny origami crane using the red wrapper from a container of the medicine she was taking to treat the leukemia she had developed as a result of her exposure to radiation. In 2010, Sadako’s brother, Mashiro Sasaki, donated the crane, one of only seven remaining worldwide, to the 9/11 Tribute Museum in New York City. This significant artifact was transferred to the State Museum from the 9/11 Tribute Museum in 2022.

On September 11th, Commissioner Rosa and her senior staff visited the World Trade Center Gallery at the New York State Museum, where Sadako's Crane is on display.

The Dyslexia and Dysgraphia Task Force will host three public hearings on the following dates: 

Monday, September 16, 2024 

New York State Education Building

Chancellor’s Hall 

89 Washington Ave Albany, NY 12234

6:00 pm – 9:00 pm 

Monday, September 23, 2024

Zoom (Virtual) 

6:00 pm – 9:00 pm 

Tuesday, October 1, 2024

The Windward School 

212 E 93rd Street 

New York, NY 10128 

6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

To register to attend the hearings and/or provide written or oral testimony, please visit NYSED's Dyslexia and Dysgraphia Hearings webpage.

For questions about the Dyslexia and Dysgraphia Task Force, please email dyslexiataskforce@nysed.gov.

The Albert Shanker grant was established to defray the costs of National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification to eligible New York State public school teachers. NYSED makes funding available through the Albert Shanker grant to support eligible New York State public school teachers in the following order:

• Candidates seeking their first National Board Certification.
• Candidates seeking to retake one component.
• Candidates seeking to maintain their certification.

The application deadline is February 7, 2025. Funding is limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis to eligible candidates in the priority order of funding.

Resources are available on NYSED's Albert Shanker Grant webpage and in the candidate FAQ. Questions may be directed to shankergrant@nysed.gov.

The Board of Regents and NYSED recognized the winner of the 2024 Marge A. Tierney Memorial Scholarship, which provides a $1,000 scholarship to a student enrolled in a graduate program in vocational rehabilitation counseling.

Congratulations to Samantha Stevens, a graduate student in the Rehabilitation Counseling program at the University at Buffalo, for receiving the 2024 Marge A. Tierney Memorial Scholarship!

The New York State Museum recently celebrated the success of its collaboration with the City of Albany’s LIGHT Summer Youth Employment Program and Girls Inc. Eureka! in a landmark year for its summer programming. The Museum proudly expanded its initiative to include Girls Inc. Eureka!, which provided young women with immersive STEM experiences.

Over the course of the four-week program, students from each organization made a significant impact by engaging with nearly 2,000 Museum patrons through their public programming initiatives.