Comments on: Twinkle, twinkle little…

By: K Rocchio

K Rocchio — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:47:14 +0000

I don’t believe HUSD is hopeless! This is just one of many problems facing this District. When the writer above compares HUSD to CVUSD we must all ask ourselves, what percentage of those scores are coming from Hayward students that are transfers into Castro Valley? For years Hayward parents have been sending off some of the best and brightest HUSD students to higher performing districts as soon as they reach middle school. It is only recently that a shift has begun and more students are staying in HUSD. I believe our scores and schools in general will begin to reflect this in the coming years. It is time to put our trust in HUSD and give it an opportunity to excel. As the parent of a middle school student I am excited and optimistic about the future of HUSD. As a parent and a candidate in the upcoming Board election, I urge you all to get involved! We can make a difference!

By: ponee007

ponee007 — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 06:39:39 +0000

Of course HUSD isn’t hopeless. Are parents helping their kids? Are parents getting involved, or just sending their kids to school – as if it’s the State Responsibility 100%?

Sure CVUSD is great – it’s mostly upper-middle class, white families – it’s not a fair comparison … and so many families bail on HUSD becaus they are “scared” – as if their kids will all turn into gangsters … so adults are also perpetuating some misconceptions about the schools – it’s not the younger kids who choose not not to go – it’s the parents.

There are plenty of kids learning at HUSD schools – those scores are just not being reflected.

By: monica ruiz

monica ruiz — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 21:24:30 +0000

So much negativity… Is there any hope? Of course there is. HUSD is not hopeless.

By: Hayward339

Hayward339 — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 19:35:14 +0000

I hate to say this, but we need to re-focus on the basics. As much as I feel we need to have special programs for students with special needs, for the sake of economies of scale and utilizing resources wisely, HUSD should concentrate their highly proficient and qualified teachers in various schools and use those as “magnets” for specific needs rather than spreading the programs around using less proficient teachers. This goes against neighborhood schools, but let the majority of students progress more rapidly in most of the schools rather than being held back because resources are focused on supporting those with special needs such as non-English speaking students and focus required resources into a few schools or allow more specialized charter schools to carry the needs for the others. Bilingual support is important, but with the budget crisis we’re facing in HUSD, we need to make sure our children can properly write and speak the English language first. When I was growing up, after-school programs is where the non-English speaking students would spend time refining their language skills so the majority of classroom time was spent on the core subjects.

Is supporting Spanish, Mandarin, Vietnamese, etc. worth crippling our school system over? How much of a percentage of the HUSD budget is spent on non-English programs? Until we have more funds, let’s get back to the basics.

By: J. W. Kyle

J. W. Kyle — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 06:07:56 +0000

qDRN: Your news ahould be shared ! HUSD is hopeless!

By: qodrn

qodrn — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:47:19 +0000

My Hayward school student received all C’s on his reportcard. and was promoted to the 9th grade. On testing, he scored below basic in all testing. At his new school (not Hayward district), he will be repeating most of the 8th grade, and will be in the lower class level to start with. Meanwhile, even though I have made it clear to his former school he would be leaving the district, we have received all kinds of material to sign him up at Hayward High, and both the 7th and 8th grade of Brett Hart Junior High. Fortunately, his new school will be providing him three opportunies in his schedule to catch his work up, and a homework club in addition if he needs it starting an hour earlier than school starts. (do your work, get to start school at 8. What a concept!) His school runs from 8 to 3:45 every day. And he started this week.