Plan for Hempstead: Raise graduation rates, renew teacher contracts
A new state monitor's plan for Hempstead schools recommends dozens of improvements, ranging from expanded college-prep instruction for students to renewal of long-expired contracts for teachers.
The plan, posted on the district’s website Monday, notes that Nassau County’s largest K-12 school system continues to experience an exodus of students to independently run charter schools. The rate of departures is the highest on Long Island, planners state.
Also noted by planners is a widespread impression in Hempstead that some school board candidates seek election, at least in part, "to get their friends, families and supporters jobs in the district."
On the brighter side, the plan cites recent successes, including a rise in high school graduation rates, and expresses hope this will lead to further progress.
A second plan, released simultaneously, examines district spending and concludes that midyear cuts could be required, if the state carries out threats to reduce its financial aid to schools.
The district's plans are scheduled for an online public hearing starting at 5 p.m. Nov. 30.
Like other districts, Hempstead continues to struggle with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. All students went on remote instruction Monday, and are scheduled to return to class Dec. 7. Still, hope remains that Hempstead will find ways to improve services.
"Where there is a will, and there is a will, there will be a way," said William H. Johnson, the state-appointed monitor for Hempstead who wrote the academic and financial plans.
Johnson, who recently retired as superintendent of Rockville Centre schools, is widely recognized as one of Long Island’s leading educational innovators.
"He has over 40 years' experience in education. He has a wealth of knowledge," said LaMont Johnson, president of Hempstead's school board and no relation to the monitor. "I think he's doing his best to bring that knowledge and experience to the Hempstead school district."
Efforts to revitalize the 9,000-student system represent Albany’s biggest intervention in a Long Island district since its takeover of Roosevelt schools between 2002 and 2013.
Among the plans' key recommendations:
- Raise high school graduation rates beyond 90%, or roughly the Island’s average. Hempstead’s rate dropped below 40% in 2017, then climbed to a reported 70% in 2020 — a figure awaiting state verification.
- Improve students’ preparation for college. Less than 10% of Hempstead’s graduates in 2019 earned advanced Regents diplomas, indicating completion of adequate college-prep coursework.
- Negotiate a contract with teachers, whose old agreement with the district expired in 2013. School administrators cite this as one factor leading to higher-than-expected turnover among instructional staff.
- Establish regular bus service for students through adoption of state "home rule" legislation. This would provide state reimbursement for transportation costs approved by local voters.
The great majority of local students walk to schools — a factor that contributes to low attendance, officials said.
Hempstead is Nassau County’s poorest district in terms of taxable income and property wealth. Moreover, planners said the district spends heavily on tuition fees for charter school students — $49 million this year — as well as on legal fees that don't directly benefit the system's own students.
Several weeks ago, planners said, the school board majority hired an attorney to investigate two other members with an eye toward possible disciplinary action or removal. Total legal costs are said to run $2 million a year.
On the positive side, Hempstead has made progress in several important areas, the monitor concludes. For example, construction is underway on a new elementary school approved by district voters, with an opening scheduled in September.
In addition, Hempstead's middle school and all seven of its elementary schools have applied to become part of the International Baccalaureate program. The program, founded in Geneva, Switzerland, emphasizes learning through inquiry, starting in the primary grades. Courses in the later grades are taught at a college level.
State laws establishing monitors for both the Hempstead and Wyandanch districts were signed in January by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. Monitors are appointed by the state education commissioner and serve five-year terms. Johnson's term began July 1.
Hempstead's interim superintendent, Regina Armstrong, issued a statement Monday thanking the state monitor, Johnson, for his "dedication" and urging the state to "show that it is financially invested in the children."
John Hildebrand is Newsday's senior education writer and has covered school news and policy issues affecting Long Island for more than 40 years.
