A 37% high school graduation rate.
It’s one of the lowest in America, on par with juvenile justice centers and a handful of the nation’s poorest inner city schools.
Welcome to Hempstead, Long Island.
Despite hundreds of millions of public dollars spent every year, the Hempstead School District has been called a disastrous educational system.
In this Special Production, CBS2 News spends a full academic year behind the scenes, following the accomplished educator who came in with a plan to change the fate of the students and reverse chronic reputed mismanagement.
How did he fare?
Watch the dramatic unraveling of a plan as he is “schooled” in one of the few public educational systems in America of its size where only half of the students graduate — in a good year.
What were we thinking?
A word from reporter Carolyn Gusoff:
I cover a region where most teenagers graduate from high school – about 90%. It is a given that you’re going to get a good public education – you are going to graduate.
But there was always the curious and troubling case of the Hempstead School District – where the numbers defied logic. Taxpayers were spending more per pupil than most places in the country – and yet the results are shocking, year after year, a graduation rate that’s one of the lowest in the nation.
Then last year, in came a new educator with a Harvard doctorate and a record of turning around struggling schools. There was hope for one of the worst performing school districts in America.”
But there was also division.
Why? Who wouldn’t welcome change and improvement? That’s what we wanted to know. So we did something you rarely see in local television news: a very deep dive into a very complex subject.
We have spent the last year in Hempstead, and we were “schooled.” In fact, lots of folks in this heartbreaking story are schooled in the dynamics and dysfunction of an educational system that’s arguably failed generations of students.
Our story begins and ends with a 37 percent graduation rate. In between, discover what became of the educator and his grand plans to turn around Hempstead Schools.
Access Our Research
Sampling of Hempstead’s past:
Audits, Reviews and Facilities Assessments
- Grades Audit 2013
- New York State Audit 2014
- 2015 Portable Trailer Condition Report
- Hempstead Federal Audit 2007
- New York State Audit 2005
Dr. Shimon Waronker’s Plans For The Hempstead School District
- Waronker Contract
- Waronker Plan For District
- Waronker Email of Dec. 6, 2017, To Board
- Waronker Open Letter Jan. 5, 2018
LaMont Johnson’s return to the Board of Education after ouster
“Distinguished Educator” Demands “Course of Action” and Hempstead Board of Education’s Response
- Distinguished Educator’s Report – Jan. 8, 2018
- Course of Action Response to Distinguished Educator’s Report – Feb. 1, 2018
- Commissioner Response – Feb. 15, 2018
- Second Quarter Report – April 16, 2018
- Third Quarter Report – July 25, 2018
- December 7, 2018-Year-End Report
Waronker Takes Hempstead To Court To Be Reinstated
- Frederick K. Brewington Response
- Addendum
- Dr. Shimon Waronker Injuctive Relief Statement
- Court Decission To Dismiss Waronker Lawsuit
Hempstead Board of Education’s Response to Waronker’s Legal Action
- Affidavit of David B. Gates
- Affidavit of Lamont Johnson
- Affidavit of Randy Stith
- Affidavit of Robert Cialone
- Defendants’ Memorandum
New York State’s Review of Student’s Transcripts 2018
Trustee Randy Stith Criminal Case
The Numbers: How Hempstead’s Graduation Rate Compares
* U.S. Department of Education 2015-2016 Graduation Statistics for Public Schools with cohorts over 300 students and 4-year (on time) graduation rates under 50%. (Note many “Office of Education” entries are juvenile justice or special needs schools.)
School Board Charges vs. Waronker
Criminal Cases Against Hempstead School Employees
- Grand Larceny Felony Complaint Against Annette Greer
- Former Hempstead School District Official Pleads Guilty to Credit Card Fraud
Hempstead School District Sues “New American Initiative”
- Final Amended Verified Complaint
- Exhibit A: 6/27/2018 Board of Education Meeting Minutes, Page 2 – Hiring NAI for $450,000
- Exhibit B: 6/27/2018 Board of Education Meeting Minutes, Page 7 – Hiring Four Master Teachers At $135,000
- Exhibit C: 7/12/2017 Consultant Services Agreement Executed By Maribel Touree
- Exhibit D: 5/11/2017 Shimon A. Waronker Contract With Hempstead Union Free School District
- Exhibit E: NAI Emails On Honorarium, Invoice And W9
- Exhibit F: Redacted Check #2897
- Exhibit G: 12/28/2018 Served Summons Verified Complaint
Ongoing Coverage On CBS New York
