A Welcome Back Message from the Superintendent and the Board of Education

Dear Waterford-Halfmoon Families and Community Members,

Welcome to the 2026–27 school year. We hope you had a wonderful summer and are looking forward to the year ahead.

As we start the new school year, we have a lot to be proud of. Our students and staff made important progress during 2025–26, and our families and community continued to play an important role in that work. We also know where we need to improve, and we are ready to keep moving forward.

Highlights from 2025–26 include:

• Celebrating the Class of 2026. All 59 graduates earned a high school diploma. Forty-six percent earned an Advanced Regents Diploma, and 19% completed a business and technology or career and technical education sequence. Seventy-five percent planned to attend a two-year or four-year college. Other graduates entered the workforce, trade school, or military service.
• Strong academic growth at the secondary level. Across nine Regents examinations, our average passing rate increased from 76.4% to 88.9%. The percentage of students earning an 85 or higher increased from 22.8% to 31.3%. Students made particularly strong gains in Physics, Geometry, Global History, Living Environment, Chemistry, and Algebra II.
• More academic and career opportunities. Approximately 40 students took college-level courses at no cost during the second semester. Students also participated in career exploration, advanced courses, athletics, clubs, Unified Sports, student-led activities, and other opportunities that help prepare them for life after graduation.
• A safer and more supportive school environment. Formal DASA, bullying, and cyberbullying incidents decreased from 35 to 13, a reduction of nearly 63%. We also strengthened emergency preparedness, campus safety, cybersecurity, and infrastructure. Just as importantly, 92% of Junior/Senior High School students reported that they have a trusted adult at school.
• Strong family and community involvement. The District hosted at least four school or community engagement events, meeting our annual goal. Family participation in elementary conferences also remained strong at approximately 90%.
• Responsible financial and operational planning. The 2026–27 budget maintains current programs and includes planned additions while limiting spending growth to 2.58%. The tax levy increase is 1.38%, which is within the New York State Tax Cap. The District also continued improvements involving facilities, technology, transportation, and daily operations.

While there is a lot to be proud of, we also know there are areas where we need to improve. Student attendance remains our most significant districtwide challenge. Chronic absenteeism increased from 25.4% in 2024–25 to 26.7% in 2025–26. Our data also show that students with significant attendance concerns often continue those patterns from one year to the next.

Regular attendance matters. When students are in school consistently, they are more likely to keep up academically, build strong relationships, and feel connected to their school community. Improving attendance will be one of our highest priorities in 2026–27. We will identify concerns earlier, work closely with families, provide support, and monitor progress throughout the year.

This year, the Board of Education and Administration will continue organizing the District’s work around five focus areas:

• Safe, Supportive, and Inclusive Learning Environments: Continue strengthening school climate, student well-being, safety, positive relationships, and respectful behavior while maintaining the progress made in reducing bullying-related incidents.
• Academic Growth and Excellence: Improve student achievement, with particular attention to Algebra I, U.S. History, and Earth and Space Sciences. We will also work to sustain strong Regents performance in other subjects and support measurable growth across Grades 3–8.
• Equity, Access, and Opportunity: Ensure that students have access to challenging coursework, academic support, enrichment, athletics, extracurricular activities, college-level courses, career and technical education, and other pathways that prepare them for the future.
• Attendance, Engagement, and Connectedness: Reduce chronic absenteeism, identify concerns earlier, provide targeted support, and continue building meaningful connections among students, families, schools, and the community.
• Operational Excellence and Fiscal Responsibility: Maintain safe, efficient, transparent, and financially responsible operations while continuing improvements in facilities, transportation, technology, food service, and business operations.

The District will also continue planning for a capital project vote in May 2027. Current priorities include roof and window work identified through the 2025 Building Condition Survey. Other proposed improvements include the baseball and softball fields, exterior restroom facilities, and the auditorium. The final scope will be determined as the District reviews project costs, available funding, and community priorities.

As planning continues, the District will work to use available state building aid, capital reserve funds, and other existing resources. Our goal is to complete the proposed work with no direct impact on local taxpayers. The community will receive additional information and opportunities to provide feedback before the proposal is finalized.

Our mission remains unchanged: to ensure that every Waterford-Halfmoon student develops the knowledge, skills, abilities, and character needed to lead a productive and rewarding life.

Reaching that goal takes all of us. Students, staff, families, the Board of Education, and our community each play an important role.

We are proud of the progress made during the past year and excited about the work ahead. Thank you for your continued partnership, support, and commitment to our students.

Wishing everyone a successful 2026–27 school year,

Michael Healey, Superintendent of Schools
Members of the Waterford-Halfmoon UFSD Board of Education