Empowering students to be...

Empowering students to be successful citizens. Vision statements can often times simply be words on paper, a website, etc., with little evidence or action plans in place to demonstrate an organization's commitment to achieving it. At HPS, we are firmly committed to this vision and I have witnessed it many times this fall.

2016-17 HPS Teacher of the Year - I and several HPS team members recently had the pleasure of surprising Mark Leahy with the 2016-17 Teacher of the Year. Mark has built a program that truly empowers students with skills that they will need to enter a trades program or the workforce. More importantly, Mark's commitment to develop personal connections with each student is the foundation of this program. Said best by one of the students I visited with at the site, "Mr. Leahy has our back." Congratulations to Mark on this well deserved recognition.

Building Visits - I have enjoyed visiting the buildings this fall. My goal is to get into every classroom in the district. My intent with these visits is to make purposeful connections with the students and staff. Thus far, I have visited Hutchings, Highlander Way, and Northwest. I am so proud of the opportunities you provide our students each and every day to be empowered in the learning process.


At Hutchings and Northwest, students were excited to show me their reading selections. By providing intentional opportunities for choice, students clearly own their learning. 

At Highlander Way, students have been afforded opportunities to have their voices heard through the development of social contracts that serve as a mutual framework for the class.


Last week, I had an opportunity to visit Ms. Haskins' class at HHS. The students were sharing their personal poetry with their peers. The learning environment is one in which students feel comfortable taking risks in order to engage deeply in their learning.

I also had the pleasure of visiting Mr. McDowell's classroom at HHS in which teams of students were empowered to create a food court in the HHS cafeteria; all in through the lens of economics.

I look forward to continuing my building visits this fall. In addition, please let me know if there is ever a good opportunity to drop into your classroom. I will certainly do my very best to make it happen.

District Logo and Messaging - One of the goals of the Strategic Plan is to develop a cohesive district identity and culture to support students. To this end, we are working to develop messaging and a visual identity that unifies the district. To support this work, we have conducted some discovery meetings with district stakeholders to gather some initial information. I look forward to providing you with future updates around this work.

Facilities Utilization Process - The next meeting for this committee is scheduled on Monday, November 7. In anticipation of a recommendation from the committee, we have scheduled a Community Forum on Monday, November 14 at 5:00 p.m. at Parker. I will update all staff after the next meeting.

Coffee Chats - In our efforts to stay connected to our parents and the community, I held the first Coffee Chat at the Highlander Restaurant. I was pleased with the turnout and level of engagement. I plan to host more Coffee Chats throughout the school year. 

Taking It Personally: Why Gender Violence is an Issue for the Community - I attended this speaking engagement on Tuesday evening at the Howell Theater hosted by LACASA. Dr. Katz shared an important message that connects to our commitment to address bullying in HPS. His Ted Talk summarizes his message at the Theater. We plan to partner with LACASA to utilize the Mentoring in Violence Prevention program in the near future.

Election Day (Tuesday, November 8) -