The Shenendehowa Central School District, often shortened to Shen, is a public

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, wh ...

located in New York's

Capital District A capital district, capital region or capital territory is normally a specially designated administrative division where a country's seat of government is located. As such, in a federal model of government, no state or territory has any politica ...

. The district's main campus is located off

NY 146 New York State Route 146 (NY 146) is a state highway in the Capital District of New York in the United States. It extends for from Gallupville at NY 443 to near Mechanicville at U.S. Route 4 (US 4) and NY 32. NY ...

in Clifton Park, and is home to eight of the district's 12 schools, in five buildings. The remaining four schools are called "neighborhood elementary schools" and are located throughout the district in three buildings. The district serves approximately 9,800 students in grades K-12 from throughout its territory which includes the towns of Clifton Park,

Halfmoon The halfmoon (''Medialuna californiensis''), also known as the blue perch, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sea chub from the subfamily Scorpidinae, part of the family Kyphosidae. It is native to the coasts of the eastern Pacific Ocean ...

Ballston Lake Ballston Lake is a lake that is located in the hamlet of Ballston Lake, New York in the town of Ballston. Fish species present in the lake include northern pike, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, yellow perch, carp, pumpkinseed sunfish, walley ...

, Round Lake,

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

and parts of

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

, Rexford,

Mechanicville Mechanicville is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 5,196 at the time of the 2010 census. It is the smallest city by area in the state. The name is derived from the occupations of early residents. The city is lo ...

and Stillwater. Shenendehowa is the largest School District in

Saratoga County Saratoga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York, and is the fastest-growing county in Upstate New York. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was enumerated at 235,509, representing a 7.2% increase from the 2010 popul ...

, and the largest in student population in the Suburban Council, an interscholastic athletic consortium of 11 area school with a districts.About Shenendehowa Central Schools

Schools

Today, Shenendehowa is a district of 13 schools: 8 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, and 2 high schools.

Elementary schools

Four elementary schools are located on the main campus (Skano, Tesago, Orenda, and Karigon). The other four are neighborhood elementary schools including Okte, located on CR-92 Crescent Road off Exit 8 of the

Adirondack Northway Interstate 87 (I-87) is a north–south Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of New York. It is most of the main highway between New York City and Montreal. The highway begins at exit 47 off I-278 in the New York ...

(I-87); Chango, located off CR-80 Round Lake Road at Exit 11 of the Adirondack Northway (I-87); and Arongen and Shatekon, both located just off the main campus. These schools are for students in grades K-5, with AM and PM kindergartens.

Principals

*Andrew Hills - Arongen *Michelle Rawson - Chango *Malik Jones - Karigon *Kathleen Strangis - Okte *Todd Giagni - Orenda *Erica J. Ryan - Shatekon *Jill Florio - Skano *Gregory Pace - Tesago

Middle schools

The district's three middle school buildings share one large complex on the main campus. The schools share areas such as gyms and libraries, but function as separate schools. One section of the middle school complex is the oldest building on campus, but has undergone extensive renovations and reconfigurations over the 63 years since it was built. The building now is home to Acadia, Koda, and Gowana Middle Schools, which together house all students in grades 6 through 8, divided by geographical region. Koda is the newest school and opened in 1999.

Principals

*Jonathan Burns - Acadia *Robin Gawrys - Gowana *Sean Gnat - Koda

Shenendehowa High School

Shenendehowa High School is divided into two buildings, designated East and West by their respective geographical locations on the district's main campus. The West Building houses Grade 9, while the East Building houses Grades 10-12 Since the opening of the new wing of the East building in September 2004, that building has housed all of the district's sophomores, juniors, and seniors, while the West building has housed only the district's freshmen. The current principal is Ron Agostini.

District governance

Board of education

At the district level, Shenendehowa is governed by a

Board of Education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

made up of seven unsalaried citizens who serve three-year terms, and who are elected on a rotating basis. The current members of the board of education are:Shenendehowa Board of Education Website
*Deanna Stephenson - President *Gusta Miller - Vice President *Jason Digianni *Todd Gilbert *Naomi Hoffman *Stacey Pfolmm *Robert Pressly

Superintendent

The board of education also employs a district

superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

who oversees the day-to-day operation of the district and who is responsible for the administration of board policies. The current superintendent is Dr L. Oliver Robinson, who received his bachelor's degree from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

and his master's degree and doctorate from

SUNY Albany The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a public research university with campuses in Albany, Rensselaer, and Guilderland, New York. Founded in 1844, it is one ...

. He was previously the superintendent of

Mohonasen Central School District The Mohonasen Central School District (also known as the ''Rotterdam-Mohonasen Central School District'') is a public school district in New York State. Located in Schenectady County and services 2,850 students mostly from the town of Rotterda ...

, and received '' The Business Review's'' Best and Brightest Under 40 Award in 2004. Past superintendents include: *John O'Rourke (''interim superintendent'' 2005) *Dr. Robert McClure (1998-2005) *Dr. Richard O'Rourke (''interim superintendent'' 1997-1998) *John Yagielski (1992-1997) *Edward McHale (1985-1992) *Dr. Edwin Dunmire (1968-1985) *Richard Zeller (1968) *Charles Fryer (1961-1968) *Rodney Winans (1950-1961)

District statistics

In the 2005-06 school year, 4463 students were enrolled in grades K-5, 2269 were enrolled in grades 6-8, and 2858 were enrolled in grades 9-12. The district employed 676 teachers, 12 principals, 10 assistant principals, 85 professional staff, and 36 paraprofessionals during the same school year.New York State School Report Card for Shenendehowa Central School District
In the 2012-13 school year, a total of 8,745 students were enrolled in the district at the end of the year. The district employed 662 teachers, 12 principals, 11 assistant principals, and 85 professional staff.

History

Shenendehowa Central School district was established on January 14, 1950, under the name of "Central Schools District No. 2, of the Towns of Clifton Park, Halfmoon, Malta, Waterford, Ballston and Stillwater, County of Saratoga, New York." The name Shenendehowa was decided later and accredited to old Dutch maps which designated the area as such. The school board says the word "Shenendahowe" comes from an

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

word meaning "Great Plains". All of the schools, with the exception of the high schools, have names derived from the Iroquois language. After construction, kindergarten students and students of grades 8 through 12 were allowed to move into the main building (now Gowana and Acadia) in 1953. The following year, students of grades 1 through 7 would enter the same building. Grades K-6 moved to Tesago and Skano in 1966, while grades 9-12 moved to

Shenendehowa High School Shenendehowa High School (often shortened to Shen High School) is a public high school in Clifton Park, New York, United States. It is part of the Shenendehowa Central School District. Students are separated between two buildings (East and West) ...

after it was built in 1970. Shenendehowa Central School District continued to expand with Orenda and Karigon (1968); Okte (1973); Chango (1974); Koda Middle School (1976) (now High School West); Arongen (1992); High School West (1999); and Shatekon (2007).

Alma Mater

Shenendehowa's alma mater, written in 1962, is as follows:

Shenendehowa Central out on the plain so clear; Her Carillon bells are standing a symbol we hold dear; And through the years she'll guide us and help us on our way; We never will forget her but with honour will repay; Alma Mater, Alma Mater; to thee we sang our praise; Shenendehowa Central; Our standard our guide always

Athletic teams

Shenendehowa's athletic teams are called the Plainsmen, and their mascot is the stallion. Until 1995, the district used two different caricatures of a Native American as a mascot; they were phased out due to concerns that it depicted Native Americans in a demeaning and prejudicial fashion. The Plainsmen participate in 34 varsity sports over all seasons, as well as competing at junior varsity, freshman, and modified levels in many of these sports. Fall varsity sports include boys' cross country,

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

, as well as girls' cross country running,

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

, soccer,

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

and

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

, volleyball,

color guard In Military, military organizations, a colour guard (or color guard) is a detachment of soldiers assigned to the protection of Colours, standards and guidons, regimental colours and the national flag. This duty is so prestigious that the militar ...

, and

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

. In the winter season, the Plainsmen compete in boys' and girls'

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

and

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

bowling club Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

winter guard Winter guard (sometimes spelled "winterguard") is an indoor color guard sport and performance art derived from military ceremonies. Modern winter guard is a competitive, performance-based activity which incorporates choreographed staging, dance, a ...

, and

indoor track Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping event ...

, as well as boys'

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

and

, and

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

, and girls'

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...

and cheerleading. The spring season includes boys' and girls'

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

and

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

, as well as

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

and

for boys, and

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

for girls. Although not officially associated with Shenendehowa athletics, Friends of Shenendehowa Crew, Inc. sponsors

crew A crew is a body or a class of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard. The word has nautical resonances: the tasks involve ...

teams at the modified, freshmen, and varsity levels which are open to Shenendehowa students.)

References

External links

* {{Authority control School districts in New York (state) Education in Saratoga County, New York School districts established in 1950

Schools

Elementary schools

Principals

Middle schools

Principals

Shenendehowa High School

District governance

Board of education

Superintendent

District statistics

History

Alma Mater

Athletic teams

See also

References

External links