An honor and a privilege to serve the Watervliet school community

 On Tuesday, Sept. 7, I will greet students for my “last” first day of school as Superintendent of the Watervliet City Schools.

This past year and a half has been the most challenging of all my 30 years as an educator, 16 serving as Watervliet High School principal and then Superintendent of Schools. Our teachers and staff have been strong, courageous and compassionate throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We have been and continue to remain focused on our mission to inspire, challenge and education every student, every day. This year especially, as we return to full in-person teaching and learning, we are committed to building relationships with our students, supporting their social, emotional and mental well-being, and providing a safe and healthy learning environment for all. 

At the close of the last school year, we believed that the worst was behind us. With the vaccine available and COVID infections on the decline, we were hopeful for a return to normalcy in the 2021-22 school year. Instead, we are again dealing with high infection and transmission rates in Albany County and surrounding areas due to the Delta variant of COVID-19. This means that we will begin another school year with masks and other health and safety protocols in effect for the foreseeable future. I am not here to debate the efficacy of masking and other safety measures meant to protect the health of students and staff. What I do know is that last year, we were able to keep our schools open for teaching and learning with minimal disruption mainly because of the protocols we had in place. This year, as we return to in-person instruction, there is no debate: we will continue to do what is best for the health and safety of children. I thank our parents, families and the community for putting your faith in us and for your support of our decisions.

In approximately eight weeks, I will hand over the leadership baton to current assistant superintendent Donald Stevens, Jr.  I am more than confident in Mr. Stevens’ abilities to lead the district forward in these still uncertain times. He has served our school community in several capacities during his tenure here, from his start as a sixth-grade teacher to earning his administrative certification and becoming the district’s director of UPK and Literacy, then moving to the role of Director of Curriculum and Instruction before being named Assistant Superintendent in 2019. Last year, he juggled his role of Assistant Superintendent and all that comes with it while serving as the district’s COVID-19 Safety Coordinator, which was no small feat. Mr. Stevens accomplished this while successfully pursuing his doctorate in education. His passion is education and he has proven himself time and again to be an advocate for the city’s children, our teachers, staff and families. When our Board of Education unanimously appointed Mr. Stevens as superintendent in August – they knew there was no better candidate for the job!

My tenure in the district will draw to a close at the end of October. I want to thank our teachers, staff, students, families and the Watervliet community for allowing me to be a part of your lives for the past 16 years. It has been an honor and privilege to lead the Watervliet City Schools, and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the opportunity to serve this wonderful small city school district and community. 

My deepest gratitude and warm regards!  

Dr. Lori S. Caplan

Reflecting on 16 years of leadership and service to Watervliet students, families, educators and staff

Dr. Caplan has announced her intent to retire and shared this letter with the Board of Education during the April 22, 2021 meeting: 

It is with deep regret and joyous anticipation that I let you know I intend to retire on October 31, 2021 as the proud Superintendent of the Watervliet City School District.

I have spent nine years as the Superintendent of Schools and another six and a half as the Principal of the Watervliet Jr.–Sr. High School and I am extremely proud of all that we have accomplished in my 16 years here.

During my tenure as Superintendent, we have completely revised and rebuilt a standards-based curriculum; created by our teachers and facilitated by the Assistant Superintendent Donald Stevens.

We have restructured our special education programs to fit the needs of all of our students.  Sensory integration rooms have been created as well as expanding our social and emotional programs for children including social workers, itinerant services as well as adding a grant-funded family outreach coordinator.

Our Early Pre-Kindergarten (EPK) and Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) programs have continued to expand in an effort to educate our youngest learners.

In the Watervliet City School District, college and career opportunities for students have increased.  Students can take up to 20 college courses, earning a total of 67 college credits.

We have continuously increased slots for students interested in BOCES Career and Technical Education classes and created a Pathways to Technology Program where students from economically challenging backgrounds can earn a two year college degree at no cost.

Under my leadership, graduation rate has risen from 73% to almost 90% in 2020. 

I have successfully led this district through two building projects at little to no cost for tax payers.

By partnering with the Capital Region BOCES grant writing service, the district has secured over $15 million in grants that have expanded programs and opportunities for our students and their families.

I have worked hard to establish a partnership between the school district and community.  One of the greatest partnerships that has been established is with Whitney Young Health.  Through this partnership, a school-based health clinic was created at the Watervliet Jr.–Sr. High School that serves many of our students’ physical and mental health needs as well as offering health screenings and vaccinations.  

We have partnered with community organizations such as the Red Cross to offer multiple blood drives every year, as well The Northeast Regional Food Bank to provide students and their families with food throughout the year.  

The Watervliet Civic Center is one of our strongest partnerships.  We are able to offer before/after care for children at the elementary school, as well as sending backpacks of food home on weekends to our most economically disadvantaged children through the Food is Fuel Program.

In my time as Superintendent, we have presented a balanced budget that stayed under the statutory tax cap every year, while preserving people and programs that children need and remained fiscally responsible to the tax payers of the city.   We have created eight successful budgets, thus far, and moved the district from the #1 most fiscally stressed school district in all of NYS, per the NYS Comptroller, to having a healthy fund balance with no designation from the Comptroller.

I have negotiated multi-year contracts for every union in the WCSD that are fair and balanced for all employees as well as fiscally responsible to tax payers.

During the last year, under my leadership, we successfully navigated an unprecedented pandemic that entailed feeding children, securing one-to-one devices for instruction, performing safety checks on children and their families, as well as providing childcare for working parents/guardians. 

Lastly, with the help of the administrative team, as well as the teachers and support staff, the Watervliet City School District was able to open our doors to welcome children to in-person learning from day one in September, being one of only two regions in all of NYS to accomplish this.

I am extremely grateful for the support of the Board of Education, as well as the community, during my tenure as Superintendent of Schools.  It has been an honor and a privilege to work with the most dedicated educators in all of NYS and I know that I will leave the students in the Watervliet City School District in good hands with the administrators, teachers and support staff who love and support the children of this city.  

When I leave on October 31, 2021, I will take with me fond memories of 16 plus years in this district and I will cherish the friendships and relationships I have built over the years.

Thank you all for the opportunity to serve this community and school district and I wish you the best as I move to the next stage of my life.