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 the next two years. 
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 is in eighth grade at Albany Academy for Girls, and Johnny is in fifth grade at The Albany Academy . Our family has been a part of The Albany Academies’ community for the past nine 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 two years.
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
 

OTHER IMPORTANT DATES:
 
 
9/18/19 - AA/AAG Middle School Parent Night

9/26/19 - Keynote Speaker: Dr. Michael Gurian
 
12/11/19 - TEACHER APPRECIATION LUNCHEON - Trustees Room, AA/Drawing Room, AAG (Time/info to follow)
 
5/1/20 - TEACHER APPRECIATION LUNCHEON - Trustees Room, AA/ Drawing Room, AAG (Time/info to follow)
 
5/8/20 - Flower Sale (Time & info to follow)

List of 2 items.

  • AAPA Meeting Schedule

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

    Also, if we could ask those participating in the meetings to park in the Temple that would be wonderful, our students are not allowed to park there so if parents do that will allow more spots for student parking in the school lot. 

    AAPA Parent Open Meetings (OPEN TO ALL PARENTS) 

    September 11, 2019 at 8:15 a.m. | The Stevens Center, AAG (Dining and Events Center)
    October 16, 2019 at 8:15 a.m. | The Stevens Center, AAG
    November 13, 2019 at 8:15 a.m.| The Stevens Center, AAG
    January 15, 2019 at 8:15 a.m.| The Stevens Center, AAG
    April 15, 2020 at 8:15 a.m. | The Stevens Center, AAG
    May 13, 2020 at 8:15 a.m. | The Stevens Center, AAG


    AAPA Board Meeting  (ROOM PARENTS, DIVISION REPS, & ALL BOARD MEMBERS should attend.)

    September 9, 2019 at 8:15 a.m. | The Stevens Center, AAG
    December 4, 2019 at 8:15 a.m. | Trustees Room, AA
    March 4, 2020 at 8:15 a.m. | Drawing Room, AAG 
    April 8, 2020 at 8:15 a.m. | Trustees Room, AA



  • AAPA Athletic Council

    Co-Chairs: Jennifer Riitano Levy '93, P'28 and Julie Koenig P'17, 20, '23

    Meeting Dates:
    • TBA
    Read More

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.


                                AA Room Parents                                                  AAG Room Parents  
    PreschoolMorgan Ruthman '97, P'32, '34  
    Pre-K  Loren Roberts P'33
    Kari Roberts P'33
    K Kristan Pelletier P'32
    1st Stacey Goldstein P'31Annette Dorfman
    2nd Sarah Quraishi P'29, '30Leo Pulcher P'27, '30
    3rdEmily Casale P'29
    Lynne Kimball '97, P'29
    4th
    Haritha Challapalli P'28, '31
    Kristen Dinkels P'28, '28
    5thTammy Pelkey P'27
    		Priyanka Gandhi P'27, '31
    6thPam Jackson P'24, '26
    		Jennifer Redinger P'26
    Form I / 7thYumi Nagata P'25
    Kela Papa 
    		Anne Barba P'25, '28
    Form II / 8thAmy Drucker P'22, '24Amy Cantanucci P'24, '25, '28
    Form III / 9thRachel Dott P'23Kate Sundwall P'20, '23
    Form IV / 10th
    Li Zhang
    		Shelly Fiebich P'19, '22
    Form V / 11thLinda Lucey P'21
    John Robinson P'21
    		Sybil Laraway P'21
    Form VI / 12thJean Maloy P'08, '09, '14, '20
    Kathy Kelley P'20
    		Tracy McRoberts P'14, '20


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 - Lisa Fitzgerald P'20

    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 - Courtney Goyer P'22

    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 - Kristin Lauricella P'20, '22

    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 Julie Koenig P'17, 20, '23

    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 - GiGi (Virgina) Tracey P'32
    • 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: Tracy McRoberts P'14, 20
    AA: Jean Maloy and Kathy Kelley


  • Social/Appreciation & Recognition Chair - Stephanie McCauley P'21, '24

    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

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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