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.
