Tuesday, January 18, 2011

HHS administrator is ACSA Secondary Principal of the Year

Congratulations to Hanford High School Principal Cheryl Hunt on being named Secondary Principal of Year by the Kings County chapter of the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA). Mrs. Hunt has worked for HJUHSD for more than 12 years, and has served as the school's principal since 2007. Please take a moment to congratulate her on this well-deserved honor!

Friday, January 14, 2011

Freshman Registration

The HJUHSD 2011 Freshmen Enrollment Packet is now available online. Current 8th grade students will receive copies of the Enrollment Packet and the 2011-2012 Course Catalog from their 8th grade schools.

The first step in the Freshman Registration process will be a Parent Orientation in January, designed to help parents and students learn more about academic and extra-curricular opportunities at their high school. High school counselors will then visit 8th grade schools to enroll students in ninth grade classes.

Enrollment in HJUHSD schools is based on Attendance Areas determined by students' home addresses as provided by their 8th grade schools. Families who wish to request enrollment at a school outside of their attendance area must submit an Intra-district Transfer Request Form. Attendance area information and Intra-district Transfer Request forms are also available at each school site and the District Office. Students may request a change in school to participate in the Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps at Hanford West High School or for other special circumstances. Intra-district Transfers are reviewed based on need and available space. The deadline for Freshman Intra-district Transfers is March 4, 2011.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your high school principal or the Superintendent's Office.

Don't forget to sign up for the HJUHSD Online Calendar to keep up with all of the school events and activities that affect you and your family!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

HJUHSD teams with police for undercover drug investigation

Today, the Hanford Police Department concluded an undercover drug enforcement investigation at Hanford West High School that ended with the arrest of 10 students this morning for drug-related charges.

Earlier this school year, the Hanford Joint Union High School District cooperated with the Hanford Police Department to place an undercover officer at the school posing as a student to investigate drug sales on and around the campus.

"I hope parents will use this news as an opportunity to talk with their students about the realities of drug use," HJUHSD Superintendent Bill Fishbough said.

Hanford Police Chief Carlos Mestas said the "sting" operation was inspired by concerns expressed by school administrators and parents as well as reports by the department's own School Resource Officers.

Mestas approached Fishbough last fall about the plan to place an undercover officer at the school. Fishbough was the only District employee who knew about the undercover officer during the investigation and only a handful of Hanford police officers were privy to the knowledge as well. Secrecy is key to the success and safety of the undercover officer, Mestas said.

The officer was removed from the school when police suspected that his identity may have been compromised.

The undercover officer - who Mestas described as "old enough to drink, but looks 16" - was "enrolled" at Hanford West High School from Nov. 9 through Dec. 17 - a total of 17 school days. During that time, he bought drugs - including marijuana, vicodin, codeine and other prescription drugs - on and around the high school 13 times from 10 different people.

Hanford Police Captain Darryl Smith said he was not surprised by the results of the investigation.

"Hanford West was our starting point," he said. "But I think you would have similar results at any high school."

Mestas pointed out that prescription drug abuse is an increasing problem throughout the state.

"Parents: Watch your medicine cabinet," Mestas said. "Prescription drugs are dangerous. It's like putting a gun to your head and not knowing if there's a bullet in the chamber."

Hanford West High School Principal Bobby Peters said he hopes that the investigation and arrests will serve as a deterrent to all students.

"We need to take the necessary steps to keep drugs out of our schools," Peters said. "If there's even one student on our campus doing drugs or selling drugs, it's too many."

Mestas said the HPD is very likely to enact other "drug stings" at local schools in the future and that he hopes the overall impact of such investigations will be greater than the immediate results of arresting a handful of dealers.

"This is the most effective way we have to prevent drug sales on campus," Mestas said. "It is our belief that this program will be a tremendous deterrent on campuses. We need to do everything possible to get drugs off our campuses."

Fishbough said the District will continue to cooperate with the Hanford Police Department in investigating and deterring drug use.

"While this specific investigation was focused at Hanford West High School, this is just one part of larger ongoing efforts to help keep all of our campuses safe and drug-free," Fishbough said. "Though this portion of this investigation is ended, I want to assure our parents and community that we will continue to be vigilant in our commitment to keep drugs off of our campuses and away from our students."

Monday, January 10, 2011

Happy New Year

Welcome back to all of our students, families and staff!

We have a lot of events and activities already planned for the Spring Semester. To keep up to the minute on of all of your school's schedules and events, please take a moment to sign up for the free HUHSD Online Calendar. Email alerts, event and group tracking, and e-calendar integration are just a few of the benefits of signing up for a free account. Don't miss out on the latest updates!

Friday, December 17, 2010

Winter Break

Just a reminder that all HJUHSD schools will be on Winter Break December 20 though January 7. Classes will resume January 10. 

In addition, all HJUHSD schools and offices will be closed Dec. 23 and 24 and Dec. 30 and 31.

We wish all of our students, staff and families a very happy holiday!