All articles filed in Street Academy – Harriet Gibbons High School

The Street Academy of Albany operated from 1974 to approximately 1986 in a building at 165 Clinton Avenue in Albany’s Arbor Hill neighborhood. Ninety years prior to the Street Academy claiming tenancy in that structure, the building was originally constructed as Public School No. 7 to serve the neighborhood residents. After Street Academy left the…

Pernell Michael was a good friend of mine from high school. We took several of the same classes together, hung out after school, just two kids having a great time. And then, in the middle of our senior year, Pernell joined the Army and left school. And that was the last time the two of…

Last night came the horrifying news. The campus of the old Doane Stuart parochial school burned to the ground. Absolutely devastating news. Although the school itself moved out of that location a decade ago, there were hopes that the facility could be rehabbed into new housing or new living accommodations. Those hopes are now sadly…

I swear, there are people in this world who are completely freaked out over things that they don’t even know. And, honestly, it’s shameful. I’m talking about “critical race theory.” This is the big bad buzzword that has conservatives up in arms. “Oh, they’re going to teach kids to be ashamed of the history of…

From 1979 to 1981, I attended school at the Street Academy of Albany. It was an alternative high school, a place originally created in 1970 to help provide a way out for the disaffected and marginalized teens in Albany’s inner-city neighborhoods. By 1974, it had moved into the former School No. 7 on Clinton Avenue…

During my time in high school, it was not unusual for my classmates to have very dedicated familial forces that kept students in school under every possible method. You knew these mothers as much as you knew their sons and daughters. One such mother was Ruby Hughes. She was mother to one of my classmates,…

Kenneth DeWitt, who departed this life on October 20, 2020 at 90 years old, was the son of the late Theodore and Emma DeWitt.  Born on August 2, 1930, he was the oldest of nine siblings. He was educated in the public school system of Goshen, NY, where he excelled academically. He received an Honorable…

On September 20, 1970, a new type of public high school opened its doors for the first time.  For on this very week, the Street Academy of Albany became the city’s newest public education center. The following is a history of the Street Academy of Albany (1970-1992) and Harriet Gibbons High School (1992-2006 HS, 2005-2010…

Back in high school, Alfreda Tillman and I were best buddies.  We still are today.  So when she posted some news on her Facebook page, I felt it was important enough to share on my blog. Alfreda’s niece Nakia Tillman just authored a new children’s book, The Adventures of Lil’ Margie, a book about Nakia’s…

I remember Principal Tony Clement as the final administrator of Harriet Gibbons High School, back when the Albany City School District converted the beloved high school into a 9th grade preparatory academy.  He worked with the students and the faculty and the administration, he cared about them as if they were his family. That’s part…