Superintendent's Message
Greetings, and thank you for your interest in the Citizenship & Science Academy of Syracuse Charter School (CSASCS)!
With great enthusiasm, I wish to thank all of you who have worked tirelessly and continuously to make our mission of educating students in the City of Syracuse a reality and a model of success. After careful consideration, the State Education Department staff and the Regents approved the opening of CSASCS in September 2017.
After much thorough research and scrutiny among more than 20 different charter school applicants, the New York State Department of Education Board of Regents chose two new charter schools and us from NYC during the July cycle. We were chosen based on our 14-year record of sound financial stability and accountability, academic success in state testing, over 90 % cohort graduation rates, instructional practices, and overall parent and student satisfaction rates.
We believe low-income, urban families should have choices in their children’s education, just as families with financial means do. Our waiting list shows that we are offering an option that many families want. We are fulfilling the promises we made in our charter and to the community when we started our current school 14 years ago, and the state has now shown enough confidence in us to approve our new school.
Our decision to start another charter school in Syracuse five years ago was prompted by the need expressed by the community from the families of the more than 1,400 students we could not accept because our charter was within its total capacity. Despite many inevitable obstacles, we heard their pleas for help and acted to help them. With your support, we can continue to educate students who will not only graduate from high school but also pursue higher education and professions that will enable them to be productive members of the Syracuse community and society. Serving the children of today will help build a prosperous future for everyone.
It is an honor and privilege for me to work side by side with such dedicated and passionate staff at Citizenship & Science Academy of Syracuse who cares, go the extra mile, and make the school such a tremendous positive conducive learning environment for our inner city Syracuse children.
Dr. Tolga Hayali, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Science Academies of New York | SANY
