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 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 eleven 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. Even though our meetings and events need to be virtual, I still encourage your participation.

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 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

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AAPA Meeting Schedule

The AAPA holds monthly meetings, generally on the first Wednesday of the month.
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

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Room Parents

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.

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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.

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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.