2018 Graduation: One for the books!

Graduation week celebrations typically include the graduate parade through administration and school hallways with staff stepping away from their desks and work areas to applaud the accomplishments of the year’s graduates. This year was no different!

At 11:00AM on June 21st, the procession took place followed by the first summer Field Day and Picnic! The next day, June 22nd, the 5:00PM graduation ceremony was held for friends and family in the Hanner Center for Excellence and Lasallian Mission. LaSalle Home and Careers Teacher Lorraine Williams-Clarke was one of two staff to address graduates. Donning her apron and a funny hat typical of her everyday ‘uniform,’ she focused her attentions on the unique growth of each individual graduate and their missteps along the way. Later, she removed her hat and apron to get serious. Lovingly, she told graduates they had come a long way but life would not be easy. It would demand more from them than each might think he was prepared to give. When that happened, and it most certainly would, she urged them to remember what they had learned at laSalle, be confident in the knowledge they possessed the tools to overcome any challenge!

Armed with high school diplomas, they were on their way to new beginnings and fresh starts, and always, always LaSalle School would be here for them.

A highlight was Daniel, a former LaSalle youth, and community musician Ruth Pelham performing Pelham’s song ‘Stand Up and Be Counted.’ The two sang the same song together at the 2018 Albany Rotary Youth Awards luncheon in May – Pelham on guitar and Daniel on mandolin. In 2013, Pelham received LaSalle Albany’s Mary G. Breslin Volunteer Service Award.

A graduation dinner was served to the graduates, family and friends after the ceremony concluded.

LaSalle School is a leader in programs and services for youth and families in crisis offering a variety of programs designed to meet their needs including specialized residential placement, day service education, and alternative to detention services. The Counseling Center at LaSalle is an OMH and OASAS licensed outpatient behavioral health clinic located at LaSalle School, and currently implementing ACE treatment practices with youth and families. LaSalle is accredited by the national Council on Accreditation (COA), and affiliated with the Council on Families and Child Caring Agencies (COFCCA), and the national Alliance for Strong Families and Communities. LaSalle is a member of The New York State Coalition of 853 Schools.