Watervliet superintendent featured on regional blog

Feb. 15, 2012

Education Speaks, a Capital Region BOCES blog devoted to thoughtful discussion of the issues shaping public education in New York’s Greater Capital Region and beyond, is carrying a guest post by Watervliet Superintendent of Schools Dr. Lori S. Caplan.

Dr. Caplan recently launched her own blog, the Cannoneer Connection as a way to connect and communicate with parents, staff, students and the Watervliet community. Dr. Caplan’s Education Speaks article is cross posted to her own blog.

    In the post, the superintendent discusses the inequitable distribution of state aid and what that means Watervliet.

“It saddens me that students in needier districts may not be afforded the same educational opportunities students from more affluent districts are, simply because of their zip code,” Dr. Caplan writes. “I find it difficult to look into the eyes of students who are in Advanced Placement classes or College in the High School courses, knowing that next year—and in years to follow—there is a strong possibility we will not have the funds to offer these accelerated programs.”
   

Dr. Caplan says she’s concerned a community divide will develop between students with special needs receiving costly services they are entitled to under state and federal mandates and mainstream students being denied other programs.
   

“Cuts have to come from somewhere. And the reality is, there is no money flowing from anywhere,” Dr. Caplan’s post says.
While the fiscal crisis facing Watervliet and other small city and urban school districts today is daunting, the superintendent says she will not give up.
   

“I will exhaust all possibilities and opportunities to help level the playing field and fight for the students in this district, because they all deserve a top-notch education, complete with 21st-century technology that will prepare them with the skills they need to be college- and career-ready. My fight has only just begun,” Dr. Caplan says.
   

Since its launch in September, Education Speaks has achieved regional and even national recognition. A link to Education Speaks can be found on the lower right side of the school district homepage. Reading and subscribing to the blog and connecting with its social media pages are just some of the ways Watervliet residents can help move the local education dialogue forward.