ALBANY -- No more falling through the cracks.

That's what Albany High School Principal David McCalla wants for the children who walk through his school's doors. He wants more to graduate in four years and to stem the number of ninth- and 10th-graders dropping out. And he's on a rapid time line to remake a school that has been singled out by state education officials as being in need of a transformation.

Next fall, the behemoth 2,200-student school is to be converted into four small learning communities. Each will have its own section of the building with its own administrators, learning themes and set of elective course offerings. In a few years, McCalla wants Albany High to overcome its dismal 53 percent graduation rate to become an institution that produces students who have all taken at least one college-level advanced placement course.

"I'm looking at a school that is top-to-bottom outstanding, not just in the higher end," he said, envisioning an Albany High of the near future. "Where everyone walking through our doors is receiving a degree in four years."

McCalla's job, and that of the dozens of community members, educators and parents who have been planning the specifics of the high school's reinvention for the last 18 months, will not be easy.

The state's designation of Albany High as a turnaround school in 2009 jump-started a time line for transformation that would be tough to accomplish under any circumstances, much less in a dismal economy that has seen dramatic cuts to education aid. The remaking of Albany High requires addressing a complex school culture with a diverse set of needs only found in an urban district. A statement in a recent school board presentation summed up the challenge: "The time line is short; the changes are monumental."

McCalla said one of the priorities is to break up the system under which Albany High is essentially two schools, one for motivated students and another for students who don't show up ready to learn. The state report blasted the school for this in 2009.

He said the economic pressures won't affect the changes, thanks to some $10 million in state and federal grants awarded to transform Albany High into a magnet school with smaller, and more manageable, learning communities.

In September, Albany High will have four magnet academies, including a citizenship academy that focuses on global studies; a discovery academy for the arts; an innovation academy that focuses on science, technology, engineering and math; and a leadership academy for civic and social responsibilities.

The district is now hosting a lottery for students to get into each of these four academies, which will each serve about 600 students. Students who do not apply will be randomly assigned.

All academies will include basic required classes in math, English, science and social studies. Electives will be centered around the academy's theme, and students will be able to take classes in other academies. Freshmen and sophomores will largely take classes in their academy, while juniors and seniors will move more frequently between the separate areas to take classes like adolescent psychology, carpentry or introduction to nanoscale science. District officials will attempt to place all students in their first- or second-choice academy.

The pending changes have some parents worried that classes could become watered down if all students, regardless of academic ability, are mixed in one room.

More Information Information Students can apply for the academy of their choosing until the end of the month and a lottery to determine placement will be held on Feb. 11. The district is hosting community forums for those interested in learning the specifics of the Albany high changes: 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Giffen Memorial Elementary School 6 to 7:30 p.m. Jan. 20, Stephen and Harriet Myers Middle School 6 to 9 p.m. Jan. 24, Albany High School, in conjunction with the annual Curriculum Fair 6 to 7:30 p.m. Jan. 25 William S. Hackett Middle School See More Collapse

Albany High has a significant number of poor students who receive little support or discipline at home and need remedial help in most courses.

And then there are students who need the challenge of advanced classes so that they will be prepared for the nation's top colleges. While this range of student exists in every school building, Albany has a much higher percentage of students in poverty than virtually every other area school district. Many studies have shown impoverished students to be harder to educate because of the significant issues many face at home.

School board member Alex Streznewski said she has heard from parents concerned about the school's plan to eliminate some honors courses because it will means that high-achieving students will not have their needs met. She said creating classrooms that serve the needs of high- and low-achieving students alike has become a contentious issue in the district and that she expects a continued revision of the plan.

"The things honors kids face is not being bored to tears and not being turned off to school," she said.

The board is expected to take up the issue of honors classes at an upcoming meeting.

Some aspects of the initial plan have already been changed as a result of community and parent input, including a ninth-grade academy concept that has now been scrapped after parents complained about isolation, McCalla said. He said some of the differences will be noticeable right away, including different color schemes for each academy and their central separate offices, which will be headquartered on the second and third floors of the school. Other changes, he said, will only be noticeable over time, including new outreach efforts to middle school students to get them prepared for success at the high school.

Reach Scott Waldman at 454-5080 or by e-mail at swaldman@timesunion.com