Superintendent Message to Families: Welcome Back!!

Dear FFCS Families:

I am excited to welcome our students back to school for the ‘22-’23 school year!  For the first time in three years we are looking forward to an exciting, traditional start to the school year and can’t wait to see everyone back on campus on Wednesday, September 7.  This is my 30th year in education and the first day of school is always my favorite day of the year.  It is exciting to greet all of our students as they arrive on campus, seeing them join up with their friends as they walk into the school excited and nervous about the endless possibilities this year may bring.

For the past two and a half years, together, as a school community, we have navigated some of the most challenging circumstances that education has experienced in almost a century. Through it all there have been many positive changes that we want to continue to move forward and others that we wish to never revisit again. The challenges we have faced have helped us to define what we truly value and served as a reminder that this community will always rally together to overcome any obstacles that are in front of us.   

As some might have noticed, construction has been taking place across the district this summer. New roofs were installed in specific areas of elementary and high school to remedy the damage from last summer’s wind and rain storm.  In addition, COVID federal funds were used to add air relief systems and climate control to high school classrooms.

For the 2022-23 school year, we have some new and exciting programs for our students. This year we have added an elementary school counselor to bolster our ability to support the social and emotional needs of our youngest students, a new computer science program in the middle school, and we are expanding extra-curricular offerings to ensure all students can find something that interests them. In addition, we will be introducing Wi-Fi accessibility on all of our buses for our students to utilize while traveling to and from school. This will provide additional connectivity for students, especially those that participate in after school activities and athletics. We are one of the first districts in the Capital Region to secure a grant that supports this cutting edge technology. Stay tuned for additional announcements related to this exciting rollout!

As always, we are excited to begin the new school year and continue to provide our students, faculty and staff with the resources to continue the great tradition of teaching and learning at FFCS. Whether it’s working with students to provide extra academic or emotional support, or pushing our students to achieve more than they think possible, the entire FFCS staff are here to help your children achieve a measure of success each and every day. 

I hope everyone enjoyed a safe and healthy summer. We are looking forward to seeing everyone on the first day of school on Wednesday, September 7.

Mr. Thomas Ciaccio
Superintendent of Schools