Shared Values and Beliefs

Last week I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to meet with every elementary school student and discuss our new mission statement. During these meetings we discussed the shared values and beliefs of our school district. Over the coming weeks, I will be sharing my personal insights on these shared beliefs, through a series of blog articles. Today, we’ll be discussing the first point:

Success of All Students

All staff members are focused on student success. Students have many avenues and opportunities to learn, achieve and celebrate academic, personal and employment success. All students will leave the Watervliet City School District prepared for college, career and citizenship.

The shared value of success for all students is one that I feel very strongly about. This statement makes it very clear to everyone that our job as a school district is to ensure that every student who attends school at Watervliet and walks across the stage to graduate at the end of their senior year will be prepared for a happy and productive life.

So, what exactly is “happy and productive?” How will we determine if we are successful in this endeavor? We all define success differently but I define it in one word: choices. The staff, teachers, administrators and Board of Education of the Watervliet City School District have fulfilled their mission if every student who graduates from our school has choices.

We want our students to have myriad choices. Students could choose to attend college and will be academically prepared to do so. Students could also choose to attend a vocational school, join the military or enter the job market. We will have done our job if they leave here prepared to excel in the complex world of the twenty first century through their ability to think, problem solve, and work collaboratively and cooperatively.

The key is that our students will not only have all of these options open to them, but they will have the confidence and readiness to make important decisions about their future. Possessing the skills and abilities to choose to do what we want in life is the ultimate success.

Watervliet City Schools has a new mission for 2008-09!

Welcome Back!

The start of a new school year is always very exciting. Although we’re forced to say goodbye to the hot weather and freedom of summer, we gain the opportunity to see friends that we’ve missed and get back into the swing of things here at school.

While school has been out for the summer, things have been hopping at Watervliet City Schools. Our construction project at Waterlviet Elementary school is on-going and we are beginning the preliminary steps toward the renovations at Watervliet Junior – Senior High School. Although construction projects can be unpredictable and sometimes inconvenient, the pay-off will come when these projects are complete - we will have two newly renovated school buildings to be very proud of. I am pleased to report that the projects are on schedule moving forward as they should.

Also this summer, the Watervliet City School District Board of Education has adopted a new mission statement for the district. This mission statement is the result of a great deal of hard work by our Mission Statement Committee. The committee is made up of teachers, support staff, administrators and community members.

We will spend a lot of time this fall promoting and discussing this new mission statement with our students, staff and community. We hope that the entire school community will support us as we seek to fufill this new vision and mission for our district.

The mission of the Watervliet City School District is to inspire, educate and challenge every student, every day!

Please visit our website to read about the shared beliefs and values that will support this new mission

I hope that the summer was enjoyable and relaxing for everyone and I look forward to spending the next ten months continuing our efforts to achieve excellence for every student, every day!

There's no reason to be bored...

There are many things you remember that, at the time, seem unimportant. Sometimes you don’t even know that they stick with you, but they do. One of these things for me is the advice that was given to my ninth grade English class on the last day of school by our particularly large and intimidating teacher.

He very simply said, “You have ten weeks off of school, and there is no reason for any of you to find yourselves bored during that time."

He did not elaborate; he left it to us to figure out what he meant. I still think about that teacher and that statement every year when the calendar gets to June.

As a student, I thought he wanted us to do extra homework and keep up our studies over the summer - but as I got older I realized that maybe that is not what he meant. Maybe he meant that we had freedom and free time that we should not waste or take lightly. Maybe he meant that we should be outside playing ball or exploring, hiking or going to museums. Maybe he meant we should spend this time with our families and friends. He purposely left it open to interpretation for us to figure it out. He hit so many New York State learning standards with that one statement it is amazing. (Pretty much every ELA standard... view here)

So, as we head toward the last day of school I want to encourage all of our students to use the next ten weeks wisely. Be sure to go and do something that you have always wanted to do but didn’t have the time. Read a book or two, go to a museum, make a new friend and enjoy yourselves. In the words of my ninth grade English teacher, there is no reason for you to be bored this summer.

Thank you for your support!!

On May 20, Watervliet City School District residents voted by a margin of 237 to 86 to pass the proposed $21,299,784 budget for the 2008-09 school year. I am pleased that over 73% of the voters felt they could support this budget. I want to thank all of those who came out to vote.

Don't forget to vote on your school budget!

Our public schools play a vital role in the lives of children and families. School budgets are up for vote today, Tuesday, May 20. I just want to remind you all how important it is to make sure your voice is heard in your district.

I encourage you to be an informed voter. Most districts provide detailed budget newsletters and/or budget information on their school Web sites. Take the time to get the facts. Find out about this year's school budget proposal and the board of education candidates seeking office in the school district where you live. If you don't know where to vote or the times that polls open and close, visit your school Web site or call the district office for details.

Every single vote -- pro or con -- carries an enormous impact. I know we are all extremely busy, but please make time to vote -- and encourage your friends and family members to do the same.

OK, Mr. Superintendent, what do you actually do?

A lot of people ask me, “OK, Mr. Superintendent, what do you actually do?” The simple answer is that I oversee the running of the entire district from top to bottom.

The more complicated answer is that I hold myself personally responsible for helping our district reach two main goals each school year: increasing academic achievement and managing the costs of providing a quality education to our students — costs that are largely funded by our community’s taxpayers.

I am going to focus on my second goal in this post, since the school budget vote is just around the corner.

The Watervliet Board of Education recently adopted a $21,299,784 proposed budget for the 2008-09 school year. The plan represents a 9 percent increase in spending over the current year’s budget and would result in an estimated 1.5 percent tax rate increase if approved by voters on May 20.

The spending increase is higher than some area districts, due to about $1 million in increased state aid we will receive. Under the New York’s Contract for Excellence (C4E) program, we are required to spend these state revenues in very specific ways as prescribed by the state.

C4E provides an infusion of money to help us support our most important goal as a district: improving student achievement. Programs funded by this money will benefit our students with the greatest educational needs, and serve to strengthen our academic program district wide. To learn more about C4E and what it means for Watervliet, please see the resources listed at the end of this post.

Again, we can only use C4E funds for school improvement initiatives — and the state picks up the tab! That also means that these funds cannot be used to reduce local school taxes. However, we have sought other ways to reduce the impact of the proposed budget on our local taxpayers. Translated into real dollars, the proposed 1.5 percent tax rate increase would mean a tax increase of approximately $28 for the average homeowner in Watervliet and $31 for Mannsville homeowners. Keep in mind: these figures are based on a home assessed at $100,000. Your number may be different depending on your property assessment.

The Empire Center for New York State Policy recently came out with their “2008-09 School Budget Spotlight,” which focuses on proposed tax and spending changes measured on a per-pupil basis for the 634 school districts that have submitted data compiled for the State Education Department’s annual school property tax report cards. The state average in “per-pupil tax levy change” is 4.2 percent. Our “per-pupil tax levy change” is -2.2 percent. Our budget proposal ranks 16^th lowest in the state, meaning that out of the 634 districts that submitted information to State Ed, 618 of them have a larger increase in what their proposed budget will cost taxpayers per student.

I am pleased that the budget proposal includes no cuts to staff or programs and, in fact, adds many new initiatives. Our administrative team has worked very hard to develop a budget that really targets our resources to the students and the areas where we need the most improvement and continues our forward momentum in reading and literacy districtwide. We are also focusing on making improvements to our mathematics curriculum and our special education services.

I hope you will all learn as much about this year's proposed budget as you can before the vote on May 20. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

For more information:

Budget hearing: May 13, 7 pm, Watervliet Jr./ Sr. HS Auditorium

Budget section of watervlietcityschools.org

Contract for Excellence public hearing: May 27, 7 pm, Watervliet Jr./ Sr. HS Media Center

C4E section of watervlietcityschools.org

Watervliet will always be the Garnet and Grey, but our facilities are going green!

Today is Earth Day and I thought this was great time to talk about the use of environmentally friendly technologies that we are utilizing as part of our construction and renovation projects. Watervliet will always be the Garnet and Grey, but our facilities are going green!

As many of you know, we are doing a great deal of construction and renovation to our schools here in Watervliet. These renovations have been well thought out and meticulously planned to enhance the learning environment for our students. In addition, we’ve also made a conscious effort to be environmentally friendly.

At the Watervliet Elementary School we have included many green systems that will help us conserve energy and shrink our “carbon footprint.”

Dedicated Outdoor Air Supply (DOAS) with Heat Recovery: This green technology delivers 100% fresh, outdoor air in a continuous stream to every area in our elementary school. More than 60% of the energy required to heat this air is recovered through the use of filtered exhaust which saves energy and reduces emissions.

Thermal Energy Storage: Watervliet Elementary School’s new air conditioning system utilizes an ice storage system that reduces demand during peak usage, translating to a 50% reduction in the energy needed to maintain comfortable temperatures in our classrooms. This system also reduces the humidity in the building reducing the risks of mold and dampness.

Chemical-Free Condenser Water Treatment System: Chemical Free water treatment reduces the environmental “foot print” of the school by eliminating toxic water treatment chemicals and utilizing an energy efficient, pulse powered system to treat condensed water. This system also saves water and reduces cost by eliminating the need for system purges or “blow downs.”

These efforts are just the start in making Watervliet City School District a greener district. The use of environmentally friendly systems and materials will also be a focus of the work that will begin this fall at the Jr./Sr. High School.

Keep an eye on our web site’s construction area for more on green technologies in our buildings.