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.

The school board has set aside, for now, school-closure recommendations from a consultant's building capacity report following months of protests from those who want to keep Altamont Elementary School open.

Before the roar that reached the rafters, before the caps of red and white were tossed with abandon and fell to the floor, before the beach balls surfed the crowd — there was Pomp and Circumstance, there were parents taking pictures, there were carefully chosen words spoken from the heart.