(HUSD Stands Firm)
Amidst a Flurry of Negativity, HUSD Stands Firm in its Commitment to Childrens’ Education and Safety
It has come to my attention through posts on sites like Hemet Eye News and Hemet Valley Incidents that, as of late, people are trying to shed a less-than-positive light on the schools in our valley. Many parents are complaining about bullying, abuse, drugs, drinking, and a lack of change that takes place on campus. Recently parents have started conversations of protests and have been staging walk outs to get the districts’ attention.
We are happy to announce that the district has been paying attention and has been combating the situation all along. Although they may not address every issue publicly, the district cares…and is paying attention.
How do we know this? We asked…and Alex Sponheim, PIO of HUSD answered. “The safety of our children always has and always will be the priority for Hemet Unified School District (HUSD). We are taking steps to help ensure the safety of our students. This includes; random bag checks at various schools, bringing trained police dogs on campus to help find drug paraphernalia, and installing metal detectors on-campus at Hemet High. The district does not encourage or endorse violence, drug use, or underage drinking on or off campus. We will do whatever we can to help students feel safe and maximize their education.”
It’s reassuring to see that the district is putting a priority on student safety. This quote was pulled from www.edweek.org, “Studies routinely show that students learn better when they feel safe.” When they feel safe, they have an easier time in the classroom.
Campus officers have found knives, Marijuana, Vapes, Cigarettes, Alcohol, and other banned items in lockers, backpacks and pockets.
Parents are quick to blame the district for all of the problems on campus, but there is obviously something happening at home, and in between home and school that is exacerbating this situation. The majority of parents don’t send their kids to school and say, “go be a bully today buddy.” or take them down to the local smoke shop and buy them their first vape pen.
As a community, we should work together and bridge the gap between Home and School. What is happening in between these two places that children have access to such things? The district is doing everything it can within its power to help combat the situation. What are we, as parents and community members doing to help our district?
Violence is surrounding our children on and off campus. On Oct. 30 Hemet High Students engaged in a fight that took place off campus. The fight escalated into an uncontrollable riot. When everyone scattered it was discovered that one of the students had been stabbed by a 26 year-old man. What’s a 26 year-old doing near a high school campus to begin with? Rest assured that the HPD takes such matters very seriously.
On November 1st the West Valley/Hemet High football game was “called” early because players from both teams engaged in a brawl with five minutes left. On the final play of the game Hemet Quarterback Jeremiah Graves ran the ball to his sideline, West Valley’s Derrick Golightly made the tackle out of bounds. The two got in each others face after the play, and before anyone could tell what was happening, the two teams were engaged in a brawl on Hemet’s sidelines. Hemet’s coaching staff did an excellent job separating the two teams.
Many parents feel as though this incident could have been avoided if the referees paid more attention to what was happening on the field. We can’t say that that’s the case, but we believe that these things need to be addressed by everyone concerned. There was a lot of banter back and forth between the two teams throughout the game. Hemet and West Valley have had a pretty heated rivalry in the past: possibly stronger measures should have been taken.
Angela Aguliar (mother to Hemet’s kicker Asaiah Aguliar) said this about the fight, “The refs need to do a better job of controlling the game. A couple players from West Valley should have been ejected before halftime, the way they were acting. But the refs let it get out of hand and because of the lack of sportsmanship the fight broke out with West Valley running over to Hemet’s sideline to fight Hemet players. I hope that everyone involved gets held accountable for their actions. There is no reason to act like that on the football field.”
Nick Flores (father of West Valley’s Marcos Flores) also gave a quote about the situation, “From what I understand, the QB on Hemet stiff-armed #21 on West Valley’s team twice and trash talked. It escalated from there. There was already tension prior to that from previous years, and the refs definitely didn’t help the situation at all.”
Two different parents, from rival schools agree on one thing: proper action wasn’t taken to prevent this event.
The District/ Schools can only do so much: they pay for police officers and security at games and on school days. What more do they have to do to keep our children safe? And again I ask, what can WE do to help them keep our children safe?
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