|
Schenectady To
Kick-Off 150th
Anniversary Celebration Wednesday
Students Will
Re-Enact the Board Meeting of April
15, 1854 at City Hall
Minutes of
1854
||
Commissioners
The Schenectady City
School District will kick-off the
district’s 150th Anniversary
Celebration at the September 3, 2003
Board of Education Meeting when high
school students present a
reenactment of the district’s first
board meeting which was held April
15, 1854. The meeting is scheduled
for 8pm in Schenectady’s City Hall.
Mayor Al Jurczynski will present the
district with an official
proclamation celebrating 150 years
of excellence in public education in
Schenectady.
“Our research has led
us to volumes of information on our
district and its initiation,
including the minutes of these first
meetings,” said Dr. John Falco,
Superintendent of Schools. “This
re-enactment is an exciting way of
sharing that history and leading
into the year long celebration.”
Eight Schenectady
High School students of the Fine
Arts studied a set of hand-written
minutes of the 1854 board meeting.
Under the direction of Bill Ziskin,
the group scripted a short play
which will be showcased prior to the
board of education meeting. The
play, including the students in
period costume, depicts the first
board members as they conduct the
business of the initial board
meeting 150 years ago.
The September 3
showcase will lead into an exciting
year of activities and events which
will take place in the district
schools and throughout the city.
“We are one of the
oldest public school systems in the
nation,” said Falco. The
establishment of the public school
system in 1854 included 1100
students in one school at the corner
of Union and College Streets. Over
the last 150 years, the Schenectady
City School District has grown to
include 9000 students within
seventeen schools.
###
|