As another school year comes to a close, we say goodbye to our graduates and wish them the best as they pursue their future. The members of the Class of 2011 are a unique class in Watervliet’s long history, as they will be the last students to experience many things considered a rite of passage in recent years here in the Watervliet City School District.
Let me illustrate what I mean by talking to you about the future Class of 2017. The students entering 7th grade this fall will be the first class to go through a completely renovated WJSHS building. And aside from the changes in our building, education itself is changing, and these students will have a very different overall educational experience than our graduating seniors.
The Class of 2017 will never play or watch a game in the old Harry Tucker Gymnasium. They will never eat lunch in the basement cafeteria or use the dusty basement weight room. They will never participate in the annual “march of the desks” or take final exams in the gymnasium. None of these students will ever take January Regents exams.
The class of 2017 will enter the Junior Senior High School prepared for the integration of technology into their classrooms. They will be well versed in the use of PC’s, Macs, Smartboards, Elmos and Senteos. They will have the opportunity to take advantage of the regions’ only middle school nanotechnology curriculum, hopefully gaining a substantive understanding of the future of this amazing new technology and the opportunities it brings.
Unfortunately, if things do not change, the Class of 2017 will also know the devastating effects of the loss of state aid to small city schools and the compounding effect of a tax cap that will strangle our ability to maintain the great programs we have built here in Watervliet.
But, back to this year’s graduating seniors. I wish all of the members of the Class of 2011 the best of luck in their future endeavors. As you head out into the world confident, ready and able to handle whatever comes next for you, I hope you feel that your experiences here at WCSD have prepared you well for the future.
Furthermore, I want to assure the students and parents who are still a part of the WCSD educational community that despite the changes and challenges facing Watervliet, and public education as a whole, we are committed to staying true to our mission of inspiring, educating and challenging every student, every day.
