Girls: He made me 'nervous' and 'anxious'

John Metallo, after three months as an interim administrator at Berne-Knox-Westerlo’s secondary school, has resigned. A group of girls and their mothers want people to know why.

Metallo: I'm shifting back into retirement

The former interim assistant principal and athletic director noted he was a disciplinary figure, denying flatly that he would hurt any student or parent. 

One of only two parents to come to a forum on what to look for in a new Berne-Knox-Westerlo superintendent said he was "desperate for consistency" as the district has high turnover in leadership roles.

Local school leaders are in the throes of figuring out how to put new graduation options into place for current high school seniors. They see both advantages and drawbacks to the plan adopted this month by the state’s Board of Regents, which governs education in New York.

Local school administrators weigh in on proposition No. 3 on the Nov. 4 ballot, which asks voters whether the state should use a large bond to invest in new technology used in school districts.

By doing away with the pre- and post-assessment tests for evaluations, the Guilderland teachers' union took a bold step for students' welfare that other districts should follow.

In the elementary school, teachers are embracing the math modules set out by the state as guides for curricula. Throughout the district, administrators are hoping hires of teaching assistants and teaching coaches will set BKW on the right track with the Common Core standards.

Berne-Knox-Westerlo sixth-grader Kyla Creamer was a finalst in the Invention Convention, held every year by the Museum of Innovation and Science in Schenectady.

Berne-Knox-Westerlo elementary-school children touched and studied objects and pictures related to local lives more than a century ago.

Interim Superintendent Lonnie Palmer recommended the school board make cuts and share services to reduce non-instructional costs at Berne-Knox-Westerlo and offset spending on training for teachers and additional instructors.