About

Albany Academies Parents Association

The Mission of the Albany Academies Parents’ Association is to support our school by advocating for the education of our children, fostering a strong sense of community, and promoting a collaborative relationship between parents, faculty, and staff. Our objective is to help fulfill the Academies’ general goals and purposes and to assist in its continued growth.
Hello Albany Academies Families,

My name is Gail Rawson. I am excited to be the president of the AAPA for this upcoming school year. 

For those of you that don’t know me, I live in Slingerlands, with my husband John, our daughter Jillian, and our son John (Johnny).  Jillian will be entering ninth grade at Albany Academy for Girls, and Johnny will be going into sixth grade at The Albany Academy . Our family has been a part of The Albany Academies’ community for the past ten years.  We have encountered many wonderful families, and look forward to meeting even more as our journey at the Academies continues.

The mission of the Albany Academy Parents’ Association is to support our school by advocating for the education of our children, fostering a strong sense of community, and promoting a collaborative relationship between parents, faculty, and staff.  Our objective is to help fulfill the Academies’ general goals and purpose and to assist in its continued growth.

As outlined in our mission statement, the AAPA board has a few goals we would like to focus on over the next year.

First, to continue to strengthen our community, by involving as many families as possible (current & new) in AAPA events.  We will be mentioning this goal at our monthly meetings, and hope that over the course of the year, we see some fresh faces volunteering. 

Secondly, the AAPA will be working alongside the AAG/AA administration, Office of Institutional Advancement & Board of Trustees, to foster a positive relationship, with open communication.  

We need your help in achieving these goals.  Please make every effort to volunteer for at least one event, and invite a friend to join you!  You will have the opportunity to meet great parents from both AA & AAG while having fun at the same time.

You are invited to bring feedback, comments, or questions directly to me, or a board member.  We will be happy to take information to those that can make change. If it seems to be a more individualized issue, you will be directed to the person that can help.
 
On behalf of our Board, WE promise to  work hard to make the AAPA something we are all proud of, and something you will want to be a part of. 

Thank you for your support!

Best,
Gail
 

December 2020 AAPA Meeting

List of 2 items.

  • AAPA Meeting Schedule

    The AAPA holds monthly meetings, generally on the first Wednesday of the month. Please check back for future meeting dates for the upcoming school year.

     

  • AAPA Athletic Council

    Co-Chairs: Jennifer Riitano Levy '93, P'28 and Andy Safranko '91, '23, '26

    Please check back for meeting dates for the new school year.

    Read More

Uniform Exchange Request Forms

List of 1 items.

  • Room Parents

    At least one Room Parent per grade on each campus facilitates communication via email between The Albany Academies, the AAPA, and families to relay important information to parents. The Room Parent also coordinates and communicates with the Teacher or Division Representative about class/grade specific activities (field trips, holiday parties, etc.) throughout the school year and shares information with parents.  They also help organize classroom, division, or school community-building events and assist the Teacher or Division Representative with class-specific questions.

    2020/2021 AA Division Reps:
    Lower School DR -Alexis Clement
    Middle School DR -Demetra Vann
    Upper School DR -Linda Reynolds
     
    2020/2021 AAG Division Reps:
    Lower School DR - Leo Pulcher
    Middle School DR - Teresa Halverson
    Upper School DR - Carrie Graziano

                                AA Room Parents                                                  AAG Room Parents  
    Preschool  
    Pre-K
    Jessica Kotlow
    		 
    Layla Carnahan
    K
    Kristen Stevenson
    Loren Roberts
    1st 
    Matt Clement
    Laura Braunstein &
    Kristan Pelletier
    2nd
    Lynne Kimball
    Haritha Challapalli &
    Melissa Goodwill
    3rd
    Cindy Prior
    Colleen Chase
    4th
    Emily Casale
    Danielle Stokely
    5th
    Christa Ventosa
    Lisa Leduke
    6th
    Tammy Pelkey
    Malinka Gutierrez
    Form I / 7th
    Allison Lupinetti
    Karen Williams
    Form II / 8th
    Christine Rutigliano &
    Kela Papa
    Charlene Ellis
    Form III / 9th
    Kate Gagliardi
    Mary Kate Young
    Form IV / 10th
    Anna Flik &
    Jessica Brennan
    Kaari Stannard
    Form V / 11th
    Mae (Ayco)Cavoli
    Courtney Goyer
    Form VI / 12th
    Stephanie McCauley
    Mary Burgess

AAPA Positions & Descriptions

The AAPA is comprised entirely of parent volunteers. By assuming a leadership role with the Albany Academies Parents’ Association (AAPA), parents help to foster community among all parents at The Albany Academies for the enrichment of our students’ school experience.  Please see the position descriptions and responsibilities below as well as the current contact information.

List of 8 items.

  • AAPA President - Gail Rawson P'24, '27

    The President presides at both AAPA Board and AAPA general meetings and works closely with the school administrators, Room Parents, and committee chairs.  

    To contact Gail, please email gailrawson@hotmail.com

  • AAPA Vice President - Jennifer Levy '93 P'28

    Acts on the President's behalf in the President's absence and assists the President in the daily activities of the Parents’ Association.


  • Treasurer - Renee Hohensheldt P'25

    Prepares the financial statements of the Parents' Association. Keeps track of all revenues and expenditures, and presents a report at monthly meetings.


  • Recording Secretary - Jen Saleem P'21, '24

    Takes attendance and writes and distributes the minutes for the AAPA monthly meetings and the AAPA Board meetings.


  • Volunteer Coordinator - Laurel Dunn P'24

    Helps Room Parents and committee chairs to coordinate volunteers for events and to set up volunteer sign ups using SignUp.com.


  • New Parent Liaisons - Kristen Stevenson P'21

    Works with the Director of Admissions, Division Heads of School, Deans, and Room Parents to create and implement plans for a new family’s transition into the Academies community. Fields questions from new families and answers or directs them to the best source of information.


  • Arts Council Chair - TBD

    Works with a committee and the Albany Academies Arts Faculty to support arts at the Academies.  The Council assists with Splash! A Taste of the Arts, an evening parent-only fund-raiser for the Arts, and Celebration of the Arts (COTA), a school-wide celebration of all the arts offered at the Academies (this event is held on a Saturday in April).


  • Athletic Council Chairs - Jennifer Riitano Levy '93, P'28 and Andrew Safranko '91, P'23, '26

    Works with a committee and the Athletic Directors to communicate information to parents, assist athletes, and help organize Legacy of Dreams, an evening parent-only fundraiser for athletics at the Academies.


List of 8 items.

  • Communications Chair - Dolly Patel P'31

    Sends out monthly emails to the Academies community from the President, as well as other timely information; monitors emails incoming to AAPA.

  • AAPA Lower, Middle, Upper School Division Representatives

    A parent with a student in the divisions he/she represents (AA/AAG Lower, Middle, and Upper School) will serve as the Division Rep for that division and oversee Room Parents in that Division.  Division Reps meet monthly with Division Heads to communicate parent/Room Parent concerns. They also forward any division-specific communications from AAPA or the School to parents in their Division or disseminate information through Room Parents. 

    Lower School
    • AAG - Leo Pulcher P'27, '30
    • AA - Alexis Clement P'27, '29, '32
    Middle School
    • AAG - Teresa Halverson P'25, '29
    • AA - Demetra Vann P'27
    Upper School
    • AAG - Carrie Graziano P'22
    • AA - Linda Reynolds P'19, '21

  • Faculty/Staff Appreciation Luncheon Chairs

    Faculty/Staff Appreciation Luncheon Chairs organize the holiday and end-of-year lunches at AA and AAG.  There is one chair for each side of the School.  Responsibilities include preparing the SignUp.com list of volunteers, food, and other items needed, and being present during the event.  These events are typically held in December and May.

    Chairs TBA

  • Regional Parent Reps. - Rahel Hahn P'23 & Tracy McRoberts P'14, '20

    A parent from a regional location will lead a committee of parents from the various regions represented at the Academies. The committee will communicate concerns of regional parents to the Administration. 




  • Senior Class Representatives

    A parent of a Senior student will act as Room Parent and, in addition, facilitate communication between the School/Associate Head of School and Senior parents and dissemination of information to Senior parents for the many Senior-specific events.

    AAG: Mary Burgess P'14, '17, '21
    AA: Stephanie McCauley P'21, '24


  • Social/Appreciation & Recognition Chair - Carrie Graziano P'22 & Tammy Pelkey P'27

    The Chair will organize gifts from the AAPA for any retiring faculty member.  These gifts are often hand-made artworks by Academies’ students or other student-created tokens.

  • Sunshine Committee Chair - Kristen Stevenson P'21 and Lisa Henkel P'21, '23

    Throughout the year, some families may need a helping hand. Should times of need arise in our community (e.g., injured or ill student, faculty/staff in hospital, new baby, etc.), the Sunshine Committee will volunteer support (physical, emotional, or otherwise) to the family. The Chair of the committee may be called upon to help arrange carpools, meal deliveries, visits, play dates, floral arrangements, family gatherings, etc. 


  • Uniform Exchange Chairs

    Organize donations and sales of used uniforms at the annual summer sale and throughout the school year.  There is one chair for AA and one for AAG.

    Contact Uniform Exchange Chairs:
         AA - Marci Murphy P'21, '23, '25
         AAG -  Karen Williams P '26

    If you are interested in any gently worn uniforms for the upcoming school year, please contact AAPA President Gail Rawson at gailrawson@hotmail.com.

The Albany Academy

135 Academy Road - Albany, NY 12208
518.429.2300 Fax: 518.427.7016

Albany Academy for Girls

140 Academy Road - Albany, NY 12208
518.429.2300 Fax: 518.463.5096

Schellenberger Alumni/ae Center

93 Academy Road - Albany, NY 12208
518.429.2414 Fax: 518.429.2380
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