8 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • AUGUST 2018
IN THE NEWS
ENDURING STRUGGLES:
WILL IMPROVEMENT COME?
BY ALAN KRAWITZ
The multitude of complex problems
plaguing the Hempstead School District
have made headlines across the region.
From persistent rumors of a state
takeover of the district to ongoing battles
against school-related violence,
corruption, sub-par academics and
school board in-fighting, residents
and educators alike agree there are
no easy answers.
“I think that Hempstead has passed
the point of no return as a failed
school district,” says Hofstra University
Professor Dr. Alan Singer, who
teaches learning technology. He
thinks the state should take over
the district with the “goal of consolidating
its schools with surrounding
communities.”
The idea of consolidating Hempstead
with surrounding districts
such as Uniondale and Garden City
to “end racial imbalances” has been
floated since the early 1960s, according
to The New York Times.
“It the Hempstead School District
is a large employer for people who live
in the town, so school board battles
have often been about control over
jobs, not about education,” Singer
says, noting that the challenge is typical
of urban minority communities.
“A more recent problem is,” Singer
adds, “that higher-performing students
from more economically stable
family situations are drawn off by
charter schools.”
This results in public schools having
larger concentrations of students who
are less prepared for learning, leaving
teachers overwhelmed, Singer says.
Taylor Raynor, a Hempstead resident
and business analyst who is
challenging 30-year incumbent state
Assembly Dep. Speaker Earlene
Hooper (D-Hempstead) in the Sept.
13 Democratic primary, agrees that
the district’s cultural differences
need to be addressed.
“We must ensure that there is language
and cultural support in the
schools to help the students,” Raynor
says. “We need more professionals
who speak the student’s language…
the majority of students speak Spanish.
There is a definite need for more
resources for students whose first
language isn’t English.”
Raynor, who recently formed an
educational advocacy group called
Save Hempstead Students, adds
that safety issues include a lack of
bus transportation, which forces
students to traverse violence-prone
neighborhoods, and students having
to walk across the busy Southern
State Parkway entrance ramp to get
to Hempstead High School.
Raynor and Singer say Hooper has
not done enough to help the district
and its students.
“As a public servant, you really
need to be available,” Raynor says,
comparing Hooper to a firefighter…
who is never around to put out fires.”
Raynor also alleged that Hooper
does not collaborate with elected
officials to get things done for the
district. Former Hempstead Village
Mayor Wayne Hall Sr. agreed,
saying Hooper routinely “ignored”
requests for help.
“I think Assembly Member Hooper’s
political machinations are a good
symbol for all the problems that confront
the Hempstead community and
its schools,” Singer says.
Recently, Hooper was asked about
help she had provided for the Hempstead
School District since 2009,
when she helped secure a $200,000
grant for the district. She responded
by talking about how she helped keep
the Hempstead Stop & Shop grocery
store from closing.
Despite Singer’s contention that
there are few fixes to implement and
that “most proposals are just gimmicks
to avoid a state takeover and
to provide the state with an excuse
not to take responsibility to educate
the children of Hempstead,” a recent
report from state-appointed adviser
Jack Bierwirth provided some hope
for improvement.
HEMPSTEAD
SCHOOL
CRISIS
Bierwirth’s report to State Education
Commissioner MaryEllen Elia
notes that progress has been made
in several areas, including a more
cohesive school board that seems
more willing and capable to pursue
corruption. In addition, strides had
been made in developing an acceptable
budget for 2018-2019 as well as
much-needed improvements in safety
and security, including upgrading
security video cameras and hiring
more security personnel.
Other bright spots include more
than 30 graduates this year who were
awarded the Seal of Bi-Literacy, an
award given by a school or district
to recognize students proficient in
two or more languages. Also, the
2018 valedictorian will be attending
Harvard and the 2018 salutatorian
will be attending Yale.
“During the fall there was a fight
in the high school on an almost
daily basis,” Bierwirth notes. “But,
the climate improved significantly
at the end of January and remained
much more positive and much safer
through the end of the school year.”
Still, other problems in the district
persist, such as unchecked overtime,
district-wide favoritism, and “serious
deficiencies” regarding the district’s
nutrition and food services.
The Hempstead School District’s troubles run deep.
“We need more professionals who speak
the student’s language”
Assembly candidate Taylor Raynor
Taylor Raynor is challenging New
York State Assembly Deputy
Speaker Earlene Hooper (D-Hempstead).