HUSD hosts second annual Education Summit
April 23, 2015
On Saturday morning, hundreds of students, parents and community members filled Hayward City Hall’s first floor and lined the staircase to the second floor as they came together for Hayward Unified School District’s second annual Education Summit.
The summit, dubbed “Cradle to Career,” took place as part of the HUSD “Made in Hayward” campaign, a six month campaign designed to foster educational excellence in Hayward schools.
The event included student performances, discussion panels between students and educators, and allowed event attendees and different educational organizations in Hayward to talk directly with each other.
Superintendent Stan Dobbs explained in a message about the Education Summit, that the goal of the event was to raise awareness and engagement in the education of Hayward students and to strengthen the education reputation for students in Hayward.
The Education Summit brought together public schools, private schools and charter schools in Hayward as they discussed the progress their students have made in the last couple of years.
In 2008, 64 percent of Hayward students graduated. In the last year, there was an increase to 77 percent of students graduating according to Dr. Lisa Davies, area director for HUSD.
“Now we are striving to change that 77 percent to 80 percent and that 80 percent to 100 percent,” said Davies.
One of the organizations represented at the summit was College Bound Brotherhood. The students of the organization shared their college bound pledge and then interacted with the event attendees discussing their role in College Bound.
Last year the HUSD adopted College Bound, which is a weekend program for high school students that provide them with services that will prepare them for admission and graduation of a higher learning four-year institution.
Shortly after HUSD started College Bound, the “Made in Hayward” campaign kicked off in 2014. Now the two programs work closely together to make sure students are college ready.
With the start of the “Made in Hayward” campaign, the school district asked that all Hayward students take a pledge that said, “I am a Hayward student and proud to be college bound. I pledge to join the 1000’s of other Hayward students on the pathway to college.”
Dianna Griffin a substitute teacher for the College Bound program explained that the students in the program meet one Saturday a month to participate in different activities like educational workshops and community service opportunities.
She explained that the students also work on public speaking, leadership skills, financial literacy and career opportunities.
“Being a part of College Bound Brotherhood brought up my grades and after our spring break college tour, I know I want to go to DVC [Diablo Valley College] and transfer to UCLA,” said senior and President of the College Bound Brotherhood Abdul Meskienyar.
