We are grateful that the Albany community comes together in so many ways to support our students. This survey is to gather input from parents regarding program priorities for the 2017-2018 school year at Albany Middle School. The survey is drafted by SchoolCARE with support and input from AUSD, the AMS Principal and AMS Site Council.

SchoolCARE is an all volunteer, non-profit organization founded by concerned parents and community members in 2001 and is one of the primary non-profit organizations that raises funds to pay for additional programs on our school sites.  Since it’s inception in 2001, SchoolCARE has provided just under $4 million to equitably support all of Albany’s schools, including over $260,000 for the current school year (2016-2017). Uniquely, SchoolCARE is the only external fundraising group that is funding staff at school sites.

While we will not be able to support every program, your input is extremely valuable as we continue to fundraise and plan. The information you provide is shared with AUSD and school PTAs as well as with our community funding partners:

 - The Albany Education Foundation which funds grants for individual classroom teachers, specialists, whole schools, and district-wide programs.
-The Albany Music Fund which is dedicated to music education excellence and equity in Albany schools.
- The AMS PTA funds Chromebook carts for the classrooms, Writer Coach Connection,  helps coordinate and fund assemblies and parent education nights as well as other community building events.  

Please complete by March 31st. Thank you!

Brief descriptions of programs that may be funded with SchoolCARE dollars are listed below. Please review each description and then rank your funding priorities in last section.


COUNSELORS:  Counselors provide critical services to support students and school programs. They help provide individual and group counseling sessions, meet with parents, address the various needs of the whole child, and develop master schedules. Albany Unified School District supports 2 full time counselors (1.5 regular counselors and 0.5 intervention counselor) for our approximate 900 students. In 2016-17, SchoolCARE provided enough funding to add 0.6 (60%). This resulted in our ability to employ 2.6 full-time counselors.  For the coming year, staff recommends having one counselor per grade.  The total estimated cost of one additional counselor (in addition to the two that the district provides) is $100,000.  

LIBRARY TECHNICIAN: The Library Technician supports students and staff in order to implement a variety of programs. The position provides direct services to students in the use of the library resources. They support curriculum in the classrooms and they assist in keeping the library open and functioning. In 2016-17, SchoolCARE provided enough funding to supplement district funds to employ a full-time library technician. This has enabled us to have the library open more hours for students and to better support students in their use of the library. (estimated cost: $60,000)

WRITER COACH CONNECTION: This program provides one-on-one writing support to all Eighth Grade Students during the 3rd quarter I-SEARCH project. Coaches are highly trained, adult volunteers who work with individual students on campus under the supervision of the Writer's Coach Connection and the AMS Staff. In 2016-17, SchoolCARE and the AMS PTA have funded the program.  (estimated cost: $22,000)