On September 9, 2010 a comment published in the Troy Record’s Sound Off column (also known around town as the “Coward’s Corner”) stated that the Watervliet City School District emphasizes athletics over academics. The anonymous critic went on to challenge me to name “just one academic area where students have excelled, " and added, “we don’t mean the watered down exams put out by the state education department.”
Anyone who knows me knows I enjoy a good challenge, and while I don’t make it a habit of replying to critics who are too cowardly to attach their name to their criticism, I feel that I must respond to this “challenge” on behalf of the students, faculty and staff of the Watervliet City School District.
Our academic achievement is measured by both the State and Federal Education Departments using the results of these “watered down" exams. But there is a lot of other data and information I can use to illustrate our positive growth in my five years with the district.
Since our anonymous critic stated that we overemphasize athletics, I will start there. Research has shown that there is a definitive link between participation in extra-curricular activities, graduation rate and student achievement. Here in Watervliet, we require that our student-athletes be held to a higher standard and that academics are a top priority. This is evident in our athletic code of conduct and the academic requirements for participation in extra-curricular activities. Due to these requirements we saw ten of our varsity athletic teams recognized as scholar athlete teams by the New York State High School Athletics Association in both 2008-2009 and 2009-2010. ( To earn the award, a certain number of athletes on each team must average 90 or better in the classroom during a particular season.)
That piece of information alone could answer the challenge set forth by our anonymous critic however, there is a lot more for us to be proud of here at WCSD so I will continue.
The most rigorous diploma awarded in New York State is the Advanced Regents Diploma. This requires students to not only pass seven Regents Exams, but also to complete seven Regents courses during the student’s high school career. In 2006, only 3% of our graduates received this diploma. In 2010, 37% of our graduates received this level of diploma.
Another area that I would like to highlight is the increase in the number of students who are attending four-year colleges and universities. In 2006, only 18% of our graduates attended four year schools compared to 42% of the class of 2010. I’d say this is growth that our district should be very proud of.
As for our critic’s feelings about the “watered down New York State Tests,” we here at the Watervliet City School District (as most other school districts) use multiple assessments to measure our students’ growth. One example of this is the Watervliet Elementary School’s use of the Terra Nova Test, which was first implemented as part of our Reading First program. In 2005, only 33% of our students scored at the proficient level. In 2010, this percentage has more than doubled to 67%.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention our art and music programs. Our anonymous critic would simply have to attend one of our Grey or Garnet Band concerts, hear a performance by Delta Force or view our elementary school art show to see that our students also excel in the visual and performing arts. Last year, Watervliet had 20 students involved in the Colonial Council Music festival, including five from the elementary chorus, seven from the middle school band and eight from the high school band.
One last item that the sound off caller mentioned was, “we are building that new sports building.” The gymnasium is only a small part of a larger, comprehensive facilities overhaul that includes new state-of-the-art classroom additions to our academic areas at Watervliet Elementary and Watervliet Junior Senior High School as well as updates to existing rooms and the installation of new, energy efficient heating, cooling, electrical and ventilation systems.
I could go on and discuss many more areas where our students are experiencing sustained improvement and excelling, but instead I would like to invite the cowardly critic to stop in personally for a more thorough explanation of how we are living our mission: to inspire, educate and challenge every student, every day here in the Watervliet City School District.
