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✏️ Public schools teeter on enrollment cliff

Plus, our 🎟️ Top 5 Weekend Picks + 🐊 Weird News Wednesday

Author

Phat Chiem
July 24, 2024

Happy Wednesday, Capital District! Today, we’re taking a look at historic declines in enrollment at our public schools. Plus, get ready for the glorious weekend with our Top 5 Weekend Picks!

Let’s rumble…

—Phat X. Chiem & Karley Sullivan

In partnership with

Today in The 518

  • Public schools teeter on ‘enrollment cliff’ ✏️ 😱 

  • Troy’s crackdown on outdoor music hits sour note 🎸 

  • Saratoga County Fair is one of our Top 5 Weekend Picks 🎡 

  • Weird News Wednesday: NY man wants his pet gator back 🐊 

📣 TALK OF THE TOWN

Empty desks: Our public schools are enrolling fewer and fewer students

Our public schools are losing students and they’re not coming back

Enrollment in New York public schools this year dropped to their lowest level since the early 1950s.

The number of students in K-12 has been sinking steadily since the post-World War II baby boom, driven by declining birth rates, the rise of homeschooling, and residents migrating out of state for cheaper locales (see our story: “People leaving NYS in droves”). In fact, New York is second in the nation when it comes to the growth of homeschooled kids.

Education experts call it the “enrollment cliff” and it’s happening everywhere in the Capital Region. From the 2018-19 to 2023-24 school year, enrollment dropped 1.2% in Albany County, 4.6% in Saratoga County, 6.7% in Rensselaer County and 8.1% in Washington County. You can see the map for yourself here. Similar enrollment declines are happening in higher education, leading to existential threats to local colleges.

This trend has a number of worrisome implications, including exacerbating the existing labor shortage, fewer jobs for education workers, and fewer resources for current students as the tax base shrinks.

“It will mean less-qualified first-time job seeker candidates,” Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce President Todd Shimkus told The Daily Gazette in this week’s story, “Declining enrollment at Saratoga City schools could impact labor, economic future.”

So, what can be done? Besides having more babies, part of the solution should be: Add more affordable housing. But that’s a whole ‘nother story.

🌞 WEATHER WATCH

“I can feel a sunshine stealing into my soul and making it all summer, and every thorn, a rose.” —Emily Dickinson

Thunderstorms this week give way to a gorgeous summer weekend. Get out and soak up the sun 😎 

⛈️ Wednesday 82°/69° 💧 78%

⛈️ Thursday 83°/62° 💧 91%

☀️ Friday 85°/62° 💧 1%

🌤️ Saturday 86°/63° 💧 9%

🌤️ Sunday 88°/65° 💧11%

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🗞️ CAPITAL DISTRICT DIGEST

Troy cracking down on outdoor music

What the heck is happening in the Collar City? First, the city yanks out a resident’s “living fence,” citing violations of its weed ordinance. Now Troy is trying to enforce its outdoor music ordinance, to mixed reactions. “We need to be able to celebrate life beyond 9 pm,” said Troy restaurant owner Dan Frament at a meeting Monday where some business owners expressed frustration at the crackdown. [CBS6]

Farm Aid returns to SPAC

Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews will headline this year’s concert at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center on Sept. 21. This will be SPAC’s second year of hosting the iconic fundraiser for America’s farming families. Tickets start at $85 and will go on sale through LiveNation at 10 am Friday. [Times Union]

Capital Region restaurant roundup

After a half century in business, Italian eatery Parillo’s Armory Grill in Amsterdam has permanently closed. Two new restaurants have arrived on Upper Union Street in Schenectady: Chapli & Platters, which serves Afghan cuisine, opens Friday. Mr. & Mrs. Wing, which specializes in Korean chicken wings, has its grand opening on Tuesday at 1 pm. Speaking of wings, Wingstop is opening its second Capital District location in Brunswick. Fast-casual BBQ joint Meat & Company is now open in Niskayuna. And Mystic Momo is the first Nepalese restaurant in the Capital Region.

The Saratoga County Fair goes through Sunday 📷️ Phat X. Chiem

🎟️ TOP FIVE WEEKEND PICKS

⭐️ Caribbean Fest ‘24: 11a-6p, Sat, free. Over 2,000 people are expected to converge at Jennings Landing in Albany for this festival celebrating the food and culture of the Caribbean. There will be stilt walkers, children’s activities and plenty of dancing! It doesn’t stop until the wee hours at the Caribbean Bashment afterparty.

⭐️ Saratoga County Fair: The first of the Capital Region’s county fairs opened on Tuesday. Highlights this year include comedy juggler Neils Duinker, BMX bicycle stunt group Dialed Action Sports, the Wild West Show, Saratoga’s Got Talent, and the always-popular demolition derby. The fair closes on Sunday. $15 general admission; children under 12 are free; $30 for all rides. Be sure to check out our Complete Guide to the Capital Region’s Best County Fairs.

⭐️ Summer Art Fest: 2-7p, Sat, free. Quackenbush Square. Albany Center Gallery’s inaugural Summer Art Fest features live painters, popup art gallery, kids art corner, food and music. You won’t want to miss this interactive, immersive all-ages arts festival!

⭐️ Enchanting Threads: The Art of Salley Mavor: 5:30-7:30p, Fri. Tickets: $25 for members, $35 for non-members. Join opening night for the newest exhibition at the Albany Institute of Art & History, featuring 80 stunning embroidered, fabric relief pieces and three-dimensional sculptures crafted by award-winning artist Salley Mavor. Meet the artist and immerse yourself in her whimsical world of wee folk and blossom fairies.

⭐️ G. Love & Special Sauce: 7-8:30, Sun. Tickets start at $39.50. The laidback Philly rockers bring their signature blend of blues, hip hop, rock, and soul to Schenectady’s Frog Alley Brewing Company—with special guest Brett Dennen. Details and tix here.

✈️ MORE NOTABLE EVENTS

‘Top Gun’ Extravaganza | $15, 5:30p, Fri. The Empire State Aerosciences Museum celebrates its 40th year with free admission all day on Wednesday. On Friday, join an engaging presentation from F-4 Phantom pilot, Lt. Col. Dan Petkunas, followed by a screening of “Top Gun” in the hangar by the F-5 aircraft.

Midsummer Madness: A Shakesperience | 4-6p, Sat, free. Lionheart on the Green, 952 Broadway, Albany. Will Kempe's Players brings its fresh take on ‘A Midsummer Night's Dream’ to Albany. In Midsummer Madness, the WKP cast and audience collaboratively create a unique show each performance, first by selecting that performance’s role assignments a bare 5 minutes before the performance begins!

Pond Exploration at Wilton Wildlife | 11a-noon, Fri, free. Wilton Wildlife Preserve & Park, 90 Scout Rd, Gansevoort. Join experts in identifying insects, amphibians, and other wildlife in this cute outdoor excursion. Using dipnets, you will get to search for a variety of critters, including frogs, tadpoles, salamanders, and crayfish, while learning about their lifecycles and adaptations.

Trae Crowder @ Albany Funny Bone | 6p, Wed, $32, Crossgates Mall. Trae entered the public consciousness in a series of viral videos called “The Liberal Redneck” in 2016. Since then, Trae has published his award-winning book, “The Liberal Redneck Manifesto: Draggin Dixie Outta The Dark.”

🐊 WEIRD NEWS WEDNESDAY

Tony Cavallaro says his pet gator is a ‘gentle giant’ 📷️ via AP

Free Albert! Upstate NY man wants his pet gator back

Hamburg, NY, resident Tony Cavallaro says his pet alligator of 30 years is a gentle giant—all 750 pounds of him. New York's Department of Environmental Conservation seized Albert in March, claiming that Cavallaro lacked a permit to keep the animal. Last week, Cavallaro sued the agency in an attempt to get the license—and his beloved gator back home. He’s had the American alligator, purchased at an Ohio reptile store, since it was just two months old.

“He’s just a big baby,” Cavallaro said in an interview with the Associated Press. He considers the 12-foot beast “an emotional support animal.”

🎸 LIVE MUSIC ROUNDUP

Wednesday 7/24

MisterWives & lovelytheband | Empire State Plaza

Winger | The Strand Theatre

Regina Spektor | The Egg

Train and REO Speedwagon | Bethel Woods

Beartooth: Summer Tour | Empire Live

Blues for Breakfast | Rocking on the River Troy Concert Series

I Draw Slow | Caffe Lena

Thursday 7/25

Rock Night: The Record Company | Albany’s Alive at Five

Stella Katherine Cole | The Mansion of Saratoga

Jane Monheit | Caffe Lena

Hank Williams Jr. | Bethel Woods

Heard: Barker Park Kids Summer Series | Troy Savings Bank Music Hall

Donny Elvis | Watervliet Summer Concert Series

Skeeter Creek | Rock the Block Cohoes

Friday 7/26

The Crane Wives | Levon Helm Studios, Woodstock

Kids Bop | SPAC

Saturday 7/27

The Mountain Goats | Bearsville Theater, Woodstock

Hozier | Bethel Woods

Triskele | Troy Savings Bank Music Hall

*Moonbow #7 | Shaker Meeting House

Sunday 7/28

G. Love & Special Sauce with Brett Dennen | Frog Alley Brewing Co. Summer Stage

The Head And The Heart | Palace Theatre

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