Herbert O'Neil
Superintendent
Dear Team Hempstead,
I looked up and realized that Spring Break is only two weeks away. I read somewhere a few years ago from an “educelebrity” that you should not count down to breaks in schools. Well, I push back against that. As long as you take care of the needs of the students and teach from bell to bell then it is okay to look forward to an extended break. You work hard and you deserve the breaks that you get. I want to encourage each of you to push hard until the very last day before we get out for Spring Break, March 11-15.
Not long after Spring Break the STAAR test will start being administered in different parts of the district. We have been practicing for this test all year, working hard on our Tier 1 instruction, ensuring we have strong tutorial systems and MTSS practices in place to intervene with our students where applicable. With all these things in place, the STAAR test is like the State Championship! All the work we have done comes down to this moment. Of course, I do not believe it is the only thing we do in our school system, and that is why we celebrate success and so many things along the way. However, we do want to win the STAAR State Championship! I see the work you have been doing so let’s do this. It’s game time. Continue to work hard and prepare for great instruction this week.
I know you work hard annotating your Amplify lessons, meticulously thumbing through Eureka Content, trying to understand all the areas of HMH, and preparing instruction so that the appropriate scaffolding is in place to get the students to get to the level of Carnegie. Make sure that you have your strong formative checks in place so that as soon as they learn, they are assessed. This allows you to know exactly what they know and what they don’t know. Remember, the power of encouragement as you do those informal checks. When they do great, encourage and celebrate, and when they struggle let them know they can do it as you take them through the reteach process. Another great strategy is the power of involving your students’ parents in the learning process. For those students who are still struggling to move to the next level, it is always a great time to call the parents to let them know what is going on. The conversation doesn’t have to be long. Just a quick note to encourage and to tell the parent what the student is still working toward, especially if the student’s gaps may be related to less active participation or lack of staying engaged with the learning process. The parent can often assist in this endeavor. So encourage, encourage, encourage, and involve those parents.
I want to commend students and campuses across the district for celebrating Black History Month with Black History displays, book readings, presentations, and programs to commemorate the achievements of Black Americans. I want to congratulate our softball and baseball teams who had some big wins in tournaments over the weekend. Go Bobcats! Additionally, this week many of our students will be participating in the Hempstead FFA Project Show on February 29 and March 1. If you have time to support them at the Waller County Fair Grounds I encourage you to make your way out there to celebrate them.
If you haven’t had time to check out the bond webpage please take time to do so this week. There is also a button to ask a question if you have a question about the bond. Visit www.hempsteadisd.org/bond2024 for more information.
As we get closer to Spring Break let’s keep the momentum going strong, and let’s keep working together to move our students forward. Teaching is not easy, but when we work together to achieve growth in our students it makes it all worth it and easier getting to the level of expectation that we have for them. #HigherHeights isn’t just words, it is a state of mind for us to strive to move all Hempstead ISD students to the next level. Thank you for your service!
With Bobcat Pride,
Herbert O’Neil
Superintendent
Hempstead ISD