Welcome Back to AWB
2024-2025
Opening Day Information
Dear A.W. Becker Community,
I hope this letter finds you well, that your summer has been peaceful and relaxing, and you are able to cherish the remaining time with family and friends. On behalf of the staff at A. W. Becker Elementary, I’d like to welcome you back for the 2024-25 school year. We’re so excited to see our students in a few short weeks.
My name is Steve Doran, and as the new principal of A.W. Becker Elementary, I'm thrilled to be working with your children for this school year and beyond. I spent the last two years as the Assistant Principal of RCS Middle School, and I've become dedicated to this community.
This letter has some important information for the start of the school year.
Our first full day of school is on Thursday, September 5th. As a reminder, regular school hours are as follows:
Monday - Thursday 9:00 a.m - 3:30 p.m
Friday 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
At A.W. Becker, we pride ourselves in meeting every child’s needs and creating targeted action plans for continuous improvement. As a building, targets/goals are created annually and reviewed consistently to increase the number of students reading on grade level, to increase the number of students with mastery of math concepts, and to support our students’ social emotional needs through various programs, such as our school-wide positive behavioral student support system (PBIS). We will work with every student, help them to track their progress, and watch them shine as they grow. Our mission is your child’s safety and success.
Happenings at AWB
New Faces in AWB Positions: Laura Jones (Grade 4), Danielle Larlee (Speech and Language Pathologist), Jennifer Mapes (Grade 5 Integrated Co-Teach), Tiffany Valentin (Special Education)
Back to School Night (Grades 1-5) - Tuesday, September 17th; More details will be shared as we get closer to this date.
School meals (breakfast and lunch) will be provided at no charge this year as our school has qualified under the USDA and State Education Department guidelines for Community Eligibility Provision (CEP).
As always, you will find the latest updates, important school events, and links to newsletters on our official school website, www.rcscsd.org. You are encouraged to sign up for the RCS App and be sure to check your email frequently. We will again practice being environmentally friendly and reduce paper this year. Thus, our A.W. Becker Handbook which contains the Code of Conduct, as well as pertinent other forms, resources and points of reference will be posted on our website. If you do not have internet access, a copy of the handbook will be available in the main office in September.
About Mr. Doran
The New AWB Principal
I am both very excited and grateful to be part of the AWB Community. I wanted to give you all the opportunity to learn some things about me.
Teaching Career:
- I spent 18 years in South Colonie. During that time, I taught fifth grade then moved to first grade. This is when I knew that I loved working with the elementary level students. I then spent one year as an administrative intern at Colonie Central High School.
- In 2022 I became the Assistant Principal at RCS Middle School.
Outside of School
- My family has a summer home on Sacandaga Lake where we love spending time out on the water.
- It's been a long few years, but I am a die hard New York Giants fan. I also love to be out on the golf course.
- I played college basketball for The College of Saint Rose and now I coach my son's travel team for North Colonie and AAU.
My Family
- My wife, Erica, is an elementary music teacher in South Colonie.
- We have 2 kids; Cameron is going into 8th grade at Shaker Middle School and Stella is going into 3rd grade at Southgate Elementary.
Elementary Family Walk Through
On Wednesday, September 4th, from 8:00 - 8:30 am, we welcome families for a walk through of the building and individual classrooms. This visit is to alleviate any first day jitters and anxiety in hopes that you may show your child their classroom and most direct route. Please rest assured that we will have plenty of available staff to assist all students on the opening days, so this is an additional support. Please note that our teachers and staff must be at required meetings by 8:30 am, so this is not a time to conference with teachers. If you have any individual concerns, please reach out to the teacher via email. Teacher contacts can be found here: Contact Us
Important September Dates
August 29th: Pre-K & Kindergarten Welcome Start
September 5th: First day of School
September 10th: PTA Meeting - 6:00 pm at AWB
September 11th: Board of Education Meeting, 6:00pm at RCS High School
September 13th: PTA Ice Cream Social; Playground, 6:00 pm at AWB
September 17th: Open House
September 25th: Board of Education Meeting, 6:00pm at RCS High School
September 27th: AWB Apple Run
PTA
Please consider joining AWB PTA as our students can greatly benefit from your involvement and contributions to the school’s program and its operations. To start the school year, the class with the highest membership percentage by Friday, September 13th, will win a class pizza party. The recent PTA flyer sent out can be found here.
AWB PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION
President: Diana Buffa
1st Vice President: Terry Bylsma
2nd Vice President: Kate Lundquist
Secretary: Sarah Marino
Treasurer: Debra Renga
Code of Conduct
The RCS Code of Conduct has been revised and the latest version can be found here.
Contact Me
If I can help with anything throughout the school year, please don't hesitate to contact me:
518-756-5200 Ext 5000