Albany Students Get Jump Start on New Year More than 120 Students Attended Hornet Academy
ALBANY, La. – More than 120 students in the Albany School District received a jump start on the new school year by attending the local school district’s Hornet Academy, which was held July 11-22 at Albany Upper Elementary and Albany High School.
“This is the second year we’ve held this event, and the turnout has been tremendous,” School Board Member Devin Gregoire said.
Gregoire said the Hornet Academy is a community-wide summer remediation program that serves all students in Albany in grades 1-12. Students received reinforced learning in core subject areas and were introduced to more rigorous academic concepts through a fun “camp-like” atmosphere.
“We know that students who receive reinforcement in the summer are much better prepared for the start of the school year than those who don’t participate in some sort of learning program,” Superintendent Joe Murphy said. “I want to applaud the Albany education community for coming together to offer this program to their students.”
Gregoire agreed that the program gives students a “jump start” on the year. “Our hope is that by having our students ready to begin the new school, they will be better able to stay on task, giving them more opportunities to dive deeper into the curriculum,” he said.
Subjects offered to the high schoolers attending the Academy included ACT Prep; Robotics: STEM Sustainability & Forensics; Health, Cooking & the Arts; Film, Photoshop & Editing; and College, Career & Club Information.
Programs for the younger grade levels included remediation in math and English/Language Arts. Classes focused on improving reading and math fluency, reading comprehension, and reading and math essay/constructed response writing. Students also were able to participate in art lessons with a local painter, a book read and puppet show presented by the Albany-Springfield Branch Library, a visit from the book mobile, STEM activities, and visits from surprise guests who shared their interesting knowledge and expertise with the students.
“I really hope this is a program we can continue to offer our students, and grow it in the years to come,” Gregoire said. “If we’re going to expect our students to achieve success in a more rigorous academic setting, then we as leadership, must provide the appropriate opportunities for them to reach their potential. I believe the Hornet Academy helps to do that.”
Lead Image:
Albany School Board Member Devin
Gregoire helps Christopher Collins (9th Grade) clean out the
container he used to mix paints for his bubble art project. The art project was used to teach important science
research concepts. Students had to make
hypotheses about bubbles, then blow bubbles and record their observations to
determine if the “test” confirmed or changed their hypotheses.
Local Author Amy Galofaro of Independence, La., shared a reading of her book “Huxley, the Opry House Mouse” with students in Grades 1-8 who attended the Hornet Academy. She was joined by “Huxley,” who is a mouse with big dreams to become a country music superstar. “Huxley” also made rounds to visit the children during their lunch break.