Monday, October 2nd, 2023: Harry Potter, Captain Underpants, A Wrinkle in Time, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Bridge to Terabithia. What do these book titles have in common? They are all censored or challenged books. 

October 1-7 is Banned Books Week. This year’s theme is Let Freedom Read. We are taking the time to recognize censorship and how it can be reversed so students like ours can still access these books and others considered “banned.” It is important for scholars to have free and open access to information and to support the freedom to express ideas.

Tuesday, September 26th, 2023: Check out our fantastic writing strokes and shapes! Citizenship & Science Academy of Science Kindergarteners got out the Play-Doh and practiced making squares, triangles, and circles. While doing this, students discovered they could put together writing strokes to make something new, like a shape. This will be important to remember when it comes time to write letters.

Thursday, September 28th, 2023: Introducing the Citizenship & Science Academy of Syracuse Elementary School Distinguished Atomic Educator for the 22-23 school year... Ms. Claire Fagan! Ms. Fagan is a fourth-grade teacher who goes above and beyond every day. Her loving demeanor and strong teaching skills resulted in Ms. Fagan having the highest reading and math STAR student growth percentile in the entire school! Way to go, Ms. Fagan!!

Wednesday, September 27th, 2023: Thank you to Onondaga Community College President Dr. Hilton for visiting the Citizenship & Science Academy of Syracuse Middle School and giving such an inspirational speech this morning. 

Dr. Hilton discussed what it means to have an “opportunity” and debated good vs. bad opportunities. Bad opportunities don’t always look bad; young, impressionable minds must understand the difference. Dr. Hilton told Atoms about growing up in the inner city of Philadelphia and how he had to work hard in school to be a successful adult. He stressed the importance of taking advantage of the dual college credit program in High School. And he kept the talk fun and enlightening for students while giving away some free OCC swag!

Thursday, September 21st, 2023: Citizenship & Science Academy of Syracuse fourth graders participated in their first team-building science investigation. We first studied the blueprints of the Eiffel Tower and talked about what we see, think, and wonder about how towers are constructed. Students then put their design skills to the test by using a shared grappling tool to make cup towers! They had to use their knowledge of the Eiffel Tower’s design, teamwork, communication, and perseverance to build a tower with their group!

Monday, September 25th, 2023: Do you hear what I hear?

Citizenship & Science Academy of Syracuse Elementary School Atoms came to their senses with bread explorations! Ms. Youker's class used their five senses to imitate animals' ability to explore their environment. Students made observations about the sight, taste, touch, sound, and smell of the bread! The Positivity Project helped inspire Atoms to ask questions like a scientist!

Friday, September 15th, 2023: We love reading in 2C! It's only the second full week of school, and these second graders are reading book after book! We love partner reading, reading independently, and getting comfy around the room while we read. Excited to see all the books we read this year!

Wednesday, September 6th, 2023: Citizenship & Science Academy of Syracuse Middle Schoolers have been back at school for almost a week now. Take a look at some of the precious moments captured on the first day.

Welcome back, Atoms. Good luck this year!

Tuesday, September 5th, 2023: Citizenship & Science Academy of Syracuse Middle School held its new student orientation. New students got a walkthrough of the school and met their teachers. Welcome to the Citizenship family! Let's get ready to have some fun and make this an unforgettable experience!

Greetings Citizenship & Science Academy of Syracuse Families and Staff, 

With great pleasure, I welcome you to another exciting year at the Science Academies of New York. Serving SANY Charter Schools with nearly 3,000 students in grades K-12 in Syracuse, Utica, and Rochester as the Superintendent for the 2023-24 school year is a privilege. I look forward to working with you. I hope you had a safe and enjoyable summer and are ready to tackle anything the new school year brings. 

SANY Scholars completed 2022-23, including graduating with an associate degree, completing many college-level courses for free, receiving nationwide known micro-credentials through cybersecurity, regional championships in robotics, Gold and Silver Medals from the Congressional Award Program, science fairs, and many more. I hope that the list will grow this year. We pride ourselves on offering high-quality public education with a college preparatory STEM-based curriculum. Incredible things take place in our classrooms thanks to our outstanding teachers and staff, as well as the hard work and dedication of our Atoms. From volunteering and serving the community, music, and art to sports and extracurricular activities, our scholars are well-rounded in and out of the classroom. 

Almost one-third of  SANY High School graduating scholars completed most college-level courses needed to earn a two-year associate's degree, and a few even graduated with both a High School and Associate’s Degree Diploma. Through this program, SANY Charter Schools cover the cost of classes, books, technology fees, and lunch. Last school year, SANY celebrated its first student in history to graduate high school with an associate's degree. Our philosophy is the money SANY receives from the New York State per-pupil funding belongs to each student and will be spent for whatever helps make them successful. It is a beautiful feeling building a village through partnerships with higher education institutions like OCC, MVCC, SUNY ESF, LeMoyne College, Utica University, and D'Youville University and partnering with community business leaders. The saying "it takes a village to raise a child" comes from an African proverb and conveys that it takes a large group of people to provide a safe, healthy, loving environment. I am grateful to our community for working together and looking forward to seeing caring, contributing citizens from our beautiful Syracuse, Utica, and Rochester communities. 

Safety remains the top priority of our school. Our teachers and staff received safety and crisis management training over the summer, and I am confident we will have a safe and healthy year with the implementation of our safety protocols. Seeing the recent events in the news can be highly upsetting, but with our vigorous efforts, I know we can continue to keep violence out of our school. While we succeeded in our efforts last year, we must always be active regarding safety. Your efforts in assisting with this are highly appreciated. While looking ahead to this year, please take the time to go over our emergency and safety plan: https://www.csasyracuse.org/about-us/required-notifications/emergency-and-safety-plan.

Our faculty and staff care significantly about every student who walks through the door. I admire how teachers diligently plan their lessons while catering to each student’s ability. This year, I will continue my school visits and special events like Breakfast and Lunch with the Superintendent. I cherish the days that I get to spend with our bright students. They always teach me something new!

Thank you for all you do, and I look forward to working with you for the 2023-24 school year. 

Warmest Regards,

Dr. Tolga Hayali, Ed.D
Superintendent
SANY Charter Schools