Prometheus Educational Services

Hamilton Hill/Vale Communities; Schenectady, NY

The Hamilton Hill/Vale neighborhoods are centrally located in the City of Schenectady and is one of Schenectady's smallest neighborhoods in land area. Hamilton Hill/Vale is physically separated from the adjacent Mont Pleasant neighborhood by a large ravine, from the Downtown neighborhood by a substantial hill, and from the North side of the city by the Vale Park ravine. While the area is primarily residential, there is a concentrated commercial district on Albany and State Streets. The Schenectady City School District serves the Hamilton Hill/Vale area; children from this neighborhood attend a total of seven of the district's eleven elementary schools, including all three magnet schools.

The Hamilton Hill/Vale neighborhood is notorious for high incidence of crime, drug abuse, prostitution, unemployment, and welfare. Through such programs as Latimer, young people can be given the education, training, and guidance necessary to prevent them from one day falling into the categories aforementioned.

A majority of the youth of the Hamilton Hill/Vale community come from families experiencing one or more indicators of family dysfunction. According to the NYS Dept. of Health, the average teenage pregnancy rate during the years 1989-1991 for the zip code 12307 (Hamilton Hill) was 244.3/1,000 whereas the NYS rate (excluding New York City) was 70/1,000 in 1991.

Poverty and the need for public asistance are two primary factors the Education Department utilizes in determining youths whose education is at risk. According to the 1990 census, 28.2% of the households in Hamilton Hill and Vale live in poverty which is significantly higher than the New York State rate of 13%; whereas 10.6% of the households in Schenectady received public assistance, 20.4% of the households in Hamilton Hill and Vale are on public assistance.

That a large number of youth in the City of Schenectady are involved in drugs and drug activity is a cause for grave concern. Unfortunately a number of these youth are in the primary service area of Carver Community Center. Positive activities that decrease idle time and provide impetus to enhance self esteem and self image are very necessary, as a deterrent against the use and abuse of alcohol and drugs. This is especially important for youth within this area.

In reviewing the Schenectady City Schools Comprehensive Assessment Report (C.A.R.) for 1995, the following figures were obtained: 1149 youths were suspended district-wide (a 39% increase in an already high rate in the past two years). Another 114 left high school and dropped out. This was from a student base enrollment of 3092 in the secondary system and 4995 in the elementary system; yielding a district-wide enrollment of 8087. The drop out rate of 5.9% during this time period rated Schenectady Schools with the 25% most at-risk districts in the state with respect to this vital youth statistic.

The Socioeconomic Indicator (SEI) for Sch'dy City Schools in 1995 (obtained by dividing the total number of children in families who are below the poverty level who are 5 - 17 years of age by the total number of children in the district who are 5 - 17 years of age using the 1990 census) was 21%; though the schools who serve our targeted neighborhoods have an SEI of an alarming 51-60%! The 1995 Student Stability Indicator (presented as the percent of students in the highest grade in each school who also enrolled in that school during the pervious year) in most of the buildings which serve our targeted youth is appr. 70% (i.e. a 30% turnover rate!) as compared with 91-100% in several of the other schools in other areas of the city.