Overview
Delaware Community School is a public elementary school in Albany, New York, serving students in prekindergarten through grade 5 (PK-5) [1]. Its campus address is 43 Bertha St., Albany, NY 12209, and its main telephone number is (518) 475-6750 [1][2]. The school day begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 3:30 p.m. [1]. The school operates within the Albany public school district, which publishes its school pages at albanyschools.org [1][3], and it is one of the district’s designated community schools, a model in which the building also functions as a neighborhood center that provides additional support and services to students and families during and beyond the regular school day [1][3].
This profile summarizes what the school district’s own pages and the New York State Education Department (NYSED) school data profile document. It separates verified operational details from questions the available sources do not answer, and it identifies the official sources readers should consult for current requirements.
Location and School Identity
Delaware Community School is located in Albany, the seat of Albany County in New York State’s Capital Region [1]. In state records the school’s legal name is Delaware Community School, and its state identifiers are a BEDS code of 010100010018 and an NYSED institution ID of 800000055732 [2]. The principal listed on the NYSED profile is Stacy Dobbs [2]; the district’s own school page lists Stacy J. Dobbs, Ph.D. [1].
Readers searching for this school should note that it is in Albany, New York, and that the word Delaware in its name does not indicate a location in the state of Delaware. Similarly named schools elsewhere are separate institutions with separate records and should not be confused with this one.
Three different things are often conflated when families research a school: the physical campus location, the district affiliation, and the attendance boundary that determines assignment. The sources consulted here confirm the campus address and the district affiliation, but they do not publish an attendance boundary map for this school [1][2][3]. A street address inside Albany therefore does not by itself establish that a student is assigned to Delaware Community School; families should confirm assignment and eligibility with the district.
Grades and Academic Programs
Delaware Community School serves grades PK through 5 [1]. According to the district’s school page, students who attend the school are enrolled in Stephen and Harriet Myers Middle School for grades 6 through 8 [1].
At the elementary level in New York State, common branch classes are self-contained classes in grades 1 through 6 that are taught by teachers certified to teach all subjects typically included in elementary school, as NYSED’s data site explains [2]. The sources consulted for this profile do not describe a specialized academic theme, magnet program, dual-language track, or other distinctive curricular offering at Delaware Community School; the district’s published material about the school emphasizes its community school services rather than a specialized academic program [1][3]. Readers who need a current list of courses, instructional programs, or enrichment offerings should check the school’s page on the district website.
The community school model is the school’s most clearly documented programmatic feature. The district describes a community school as both a place and a set of partnerships between the school and other community resources, with an integrated focus on academics, services, supports, and opportunities that is intended to support student learning, stronger families, and healthier communities [3]. Programs and services at the district’s community schools are organized around six pillars: health and wellness; educator support; academic enrichment; extended learning time; parent and family engagement; and community engagement [3]. Each community school has its own coordinator, who creates an advisory board that assesses the school’s unique needs and who works to connect the school and its families to community organizations and programs that fill gaps and remove barriers to learning [3]. Jada Schmidt is listed as the community school site coordinator for Delaware Community School [3].
Enrollment and School Data
The NYSED data site profile for Delaware Community School lists a total of 276 students [2]. The retrieved excerpt of that page did not state the reporting year for the figure, so it should be treated as an undated state-reported count rather than as a current enrollment number. Enrollment changes from year to year, and the live state profile should be checked for the most recent reporting period [2].
The NYSED profile also includes sections on school climate and accountability. Its school climate material addresses measures such as the percentage of students who attended school on the days the school was open, the student suspension rate, and the percentage of students who were absent 10 percent or more of the days they were enrolled [2]. The retrieved excerpt did not include the values for those measures, and the page also carries a Local Support and Improvement heading, which corresponds to a state accountability category [2]. Because the excerpt did not include the underlying measures or their reporting period, this profile neither reports nor interprets them.
Several cautions apply when reading school data of this kind. Enrollment counts and climate measures describe a specific reporting period and a specific population; they are not a summary judgment about a school’s quality, and a single indicator does not establish cause and effect. State data pages sometimes suppress values to protect student privacy, and a missing value is not the same as zero. Readers comparing schools should compare the same measure for the same reporting year and should read the definitions NYSED publishes alongside each measure [2].
Admissions and Enrollment
The sources consulted for this profile do not describe Delaware Community School’s registration procedure, application timeline, or attendance boundaries [1][2][3]. Because those details are set by the district and can change, families should treat the district as the authoritative source for them.
As general context, New York State public school districts enroll students who live within the district, and the district determines which school within the district a student attends; a school’s street address is not itself evidence that a particular student is eligible to enroll there. Families who want to know whether a specific address is assigned to Delaware Community School, or how to register a child, should contact the Albany public school district using the contact information published on its website [1][3]. This profile does not state or imply that attendance at the school is guaranteed for any particular address.
Student Services and Family Information
As a community school, Delaware Community School is described by the district as a neighborhood center that offers additional support and services to students and families during and beyond the regular school day [1]. The district’s community schools page lists the school among the district’s community school sites and identifies a site coordinator, Jada Schmidt, as the contact for connecting the school and families with community organizations and programs [3]. The district’s general contact line for community school information is 518-475-6000, with a mailing address of 1 Academy Park, Albany, NY 12207 [1][3]. The district’s community schools page also names Micaela Townsend as district improvement director [3].
For questions related to special education, the district’s school page directs families to the district Special Education Office at (518) 475-6150 x14309 [1]. The same page lists a Sub-CSE (Subcommittee on Special Education) chairperson contact for prekindergarten and a separate Sub-CSE chairperson contact for grades K-5 at a group of schools that includes Delaware Community School, alongside Arbor Hill, Giffen, Montessori, and New Scotland, among others [1].
The district’s school page also lists a school nurse for the building (Ayanna Hunter) [1]. The sources consulted do not describe language support services, transportation eligibility, before- and after-school care, meals, or accessibility features at this school, so this profile does not state whether those services are available; families should ask the school or district directly.
Community Context
Delaware Community School is one of several Albany public schools that the district identifies as community schools. The district’s published list also includes Arbor Hill Elementary School, Giffen Memorial Elementary School, North Albany Middle School, Roots Academy at West Hill, Sheridan Preparatory Academy, and Stephen and Harriet Myers Middle School [3]. As the district describes it, the community school approach is a partnership model rather than a separate curriculum or admissions pathway: it brings together health and wellness supports, academic enrichment, extended learning time, and family and community engagement, coordinated by a site coordinator and guided by an advisory board that assesses local needs [3].
The sources consulted for this profile do not provide a founding date, a history of the building, or documented milestones for Delaware Community School. Those details are therefore omitted rather than estimated.
How to Verify Current Information
Because school staffing, bell schedules, programs, and enrollment procedures can change, readers should confirm details with official sources:
- The school’s page on the Albany public school district website, which lists the address, telephone number, grades served, school day times, and middle school pathway: https://www.albanyschools.org/schools/delaware [1]
- The NYSED Data Site school profile, which carries state identifiers and state-reported enrollment, climate, and accountability information: https://data.nysed.gov/profile.php?instid=800000055732 [2]
- The district’s community schools page, which explains the community school model and lists site coordinators: https://www.albanyschools.org/community-schools [3]
For questions about registration, school assignment, special education, transportation, or student services, contact the district or the school office directly rather than relying on third-party summaries, including this one.