Introduction to Hare High School

Hare High School

Hare High School is the Garden Grove Unified School District’s (GGUSD) continuation high school which provides a supportive educational environment for students who are deficient in credits and at least 16 years of age. Hare students have the option of graduating from Hare or returning to one of the district’s seven traditional high schools once they are on pace to graduate with their class. Hare does not have a defined community by attendance boundaries, but rather serves the seven comprehensive high schools of GGUSD which include communities that reside within the cities of Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Anaheim, Fountain Valley, Stanton, Westminster, and Cypress.

Hare offers courses to meet all graduation requirements and CTE is available to selected students. Students and counselors meet once quarterly to discuss educational goals, post-educational plans, and academic progress. In addition the school offers a variety of different scholarships to help students with college expenses. Hare participates in all state assessments including CAASP and ELPAC. Students are also required to take the District Writing Assessment (DWA), GGUSD’s yearly writing assessment designed 1) to measure student progress in writing and 2) to use as a placement tool. Hare provides the same services of a comprehensive high school but in a way that leads to student success. Hare staff members are competent, caring, encouraging, and act as role models to our students. Teachers develop great rapport with students which is reflected in higher attendance rates and improved student achievement. The duration of class periods and commensurate with the traditional high schools and the instruction runs bell-to-bell. Hare provides a small, nurturing environment (18.6 student/teacher ratio) and gives students individualized attention that they could not receive in a comprehensive high school. All teachers now have Chromecarts in their classroom as Hare has placed a major focus on utilizing instructional technology on a daily basis to develop students to become college and career ready with the skills necessary for 21^st century learners. Hare’s professional development plan which includes a focus on instructional technology, Teacher Expectations and Student Achievement (TESA), Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS), and increased rigor through building strategies such as quality questioning and text analysis, has been developed collaboratively with its Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) and is aligned with the GGUSD Strategic Plan which provides the vision, mission, and goals of our district. The district provides support through assigning a Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA) who works closely with administration to provide instructional support to the staff. First and second year teachers are targeted for support with the end goal that Hare teachers are able to faithfully deliver a rich curriculum embedded in the new state standards in order to better student achievement.

In addition to setting high expectations and providing rigorous, deep curricula, Hare is also focusing on enhancing cultural competence as a means to close the achievement gap. In 2014-15 Hare formed and still maintains a highly popular club called Hare United (formerly Latinos Unidos) which is a mentoring and community-service oriented program that has grown to over 25 members and is supported by two on-site teacher advisors. Hare considers student diversity to be an asset and is making an effort to capitalize on students’ cultures, abilities, and resilience.

Hare has enjoyed a history of success that is the result of a truly special staff which works together to provide wonderful experiences for students. Our students’ success begins right now! I am confident that Hare High School will continue to lead the way for our students to learn, grow, and prepare for the 21st century.