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Albany
Albany’s newest middle school will have two leaders when it opens this fall, the city school district announced Friday.
Longtime educators Malik Jones and Kandie Antonetti were named co-principals of the temporary middle school at 50 North Lark St., which will open this fall to accommodate growing enrollment in the Albany City School District. The district hopes to open a permanent middle school within three to five years.
“It is critical that we have strong leadership at 50 North Lark from the beginning to ensure our goal of providing an equitable learning environment for our students,” said Interim Superintendent Kimberly Wilkins. “These are two uniquely qualified administrators with experience at all levels in our district. They know what it takes to build and support a program that will prepare students for success in high school.”
Jones is in his fourth year as principal at Montessori Magnet School, which serves district students in prekindergarten through fifth grade. His previous roles included six years teaching fifth and sixth grade at North Albany Academy, a prekindergarten through eighth grade school, and an administrative stint at the high school.
Antonetti, principal at West Hill Middle School, has been with the district since 1999. She spent a decade teaching sixth grade at the former Philip Schuyler Elementary School, Philip Livingston Magnet Academy and Myers Middle School.
She also has experience running a temporary school. Antonetti was tapped to open West Hill on short notice in 2015 after the district was forced to absorb several hundred charter school students from the failed Brighter Choice middle schools. The building that houses those schools, at 395 Elk St., was unsuitable for long-term occupation due to space constraints, district officials said.
No decision has been announced for filling the looming openings at Montessori Magnet and West Hill.
The district received voter approval last month to move forward with $6.5 million in renovations at the 50 North Lark building, which the board approved last year as the new temporary middle school. It will enroll an estimated 340 students in 2017-18, but is expected to eventually serve 600 by the 2019-20 school year.
Students in the following grades and schools should prepare to attend the new school this fall: Arbor Hill Elementary School (current grades 5-6), North Albany (current grades 5-7), Philip J. Schuyler Achievement Academy (current grade 5), Sheridan Preparatory Academy (current grade 5) and West Hill (current grade 7).
bbump@timesunion.com • 518-454-5387 • @bethanybump
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