Sally Shields is being inducted into the Hall of Fame for her career acheivements with the school district, her dedication to the students and families of the city, and her support of the Alumni Association.

Sally graduated from Cardinal McCloskey High School in Albany. She has a B.S.in Elementary Education from the College of St. Rose and a M.S. in Remedial Reading Literacy from SUNYA. She has an additional degree in Educational Administration also from St. Rose. She holds permanent NYS certifications in Nursery, Kindergarten and Grades 1-6; School Administration and Supervision, and as a School District Administrator.

Prior to coming to Rensselaer, Sally taught in Parocial schools in Albany and South Carolina, then worked for the Albany City School District as an Elementary and Jr. High School teacher, then as an Administrator for several years. Sally came to the Rensselaer School System in 1996 as Principal of Van Rensselaer Elementary School. During her tenure there, she garnered a $600,000 Literacy Grant from the Charitable Leadership Foundation for Improvement of the Elementary Literacy Program. The school was also recognzed by the NYS Education Department for 2 yrs. as a high-performing, gap-closing school for state assessments. She was an innovator for implementing a full-day literacy-based, pre-K program as well. Other programs started by Sally were the Principal’s Favoite Book, several field trips, and merit programs such as the Bucket Fillers and Star Students.

Sally was the first female to be appointed Superintendent of the Rensselaer School District in 2010 and will be retiring this year. Amoung her achievements while superintendent are : the Distant Learning Program at the high school and a Career Technical Education Program in Solar Technology. Students completing this progam will receive a certificate of Technical Endorsement from the NYS Education Department and Engineering credits from Hudson Valley Community College. Sally doesn’t just stop at her job description. She goes over and above, contributing to city programs such as Concerns-U, Circles of Mercy, and St. Paul’s Shelter in the name of the faculty and staff of RCSD. She plants flowers in front of school and helps out needy students. Since the inception of the Alumni Association in 2011, Sally has given her full support of our programs, meeting with us yearly and as needed, approving our goals and initiatives. She has attended as many of the alumni association’s events as possible.

Sally was nominated by alumna and 2015 Hall of Fame inductee, Alumni Association President, Lynne Beiermeister. She and her husband Sam have two daughters and live in Delmar.