Herbert O'Neil
Superintendent

Dear Team Hempstead,

Welcome back to another week of learning and leading in Hempstead ISD! I want to start by thanking you for your hard work in improving student outcomes in our district. The work is challenging, and I appreciate your commitment to doing everything possible to ensure growth for all our students. The STAAR test is tough and due to the pandemic, and other factors beyond our control, our students are behind. This means we can not afford to take any chances or cut corners in our instructional practices. I heard someone at a conference last week say that merging High-Quality Instructional Materials with High-Quality Instruction leads to student growth. You are making the necessary efforts and it is showing. This is certainly not the time to back off. This is the time to press even harder on the gas and push even more.

The spring semester can feel long and I want to remind you that your campus administrators are here to support you. If you have students disrupting your class, please let them know. That is what they are there for. It is important to reach out to parents, but when that does not work, involve your administrators. Our students cannot disrupt the progress needed in our classrooms. Partner with your administrators to assist in improving the overall learning environment. Do not wait until things deteriorate to the point where everyone becomes frustrated. Address issues promptly so that all of our students can succeed.

Last week, I spoke to our administrators about the importance of staying the course with our five-year strategic plan. It outlines our roadmap to the future at Hempstead ISD. Everything we do is driven by this plan. If you have questions about it, please review the plan or discuss the specific actions and initiatives with your principal or department leader. We are all in this together to ensure our vision of cultivating learners and leaders who excel in all endeavors becomes a reality.

This week we are celebrating all of our school counselors during National School Counseling Week! They work so hard to ensure our students' needs are met in a variety of ways. Take some time to let your school counselor know you support their work. We celebrate each of our Hempstead ISD Counselors! 

I have attached an article to this message from Jon Gordon entitled “If You Could Fly, Would You?” All of you know I have a fascination with flight, but he raises a good question about being given the ability to fly. It certainly resonated with me, simply because I always want to get better. Take a moment to read.

I have noticed some TikToks that lightly poke fun at teachers wearing jeans. That’s okay. I encourage all of you to wear jeans this week and be a little more comfortable as you change lives in our classrooms. I believe in you, and you are exactly where you need to be to ensure growth in every student at Hempstead ISD. Together, let’s reach #HigherHeights.

With Bobcat Pride,

Herbert O’Neil
Superintendent
Hempstead ISD