By Dan Reyna
I have always been of the opinion that places like schools and other public buildings s
hould be named for people who have shown a lifetime of dedication to their public professions.
hould be named for people who have shown a lifetime of dedication to their public professions. The Arnulfo Oliveira college library comes to mind.
After spending 30 years as a teacher in the Brownsville Independent School District, I can think of nothing better than renaming the existing Garden Park Elementary after a "Honey" of a principal.
After spending 30 years as a teacher in the Brownsville Independent School District, I can think of nothing better than renaming the existing Garden Park Elementary after a "Honey" of a principal.
Ophelia Haywood was principal at Garden Park School while I taught special students there.
I first met Ophelia when she was employed as a receptionist at a local import-export warehouse. You could tell that wasn’t really her cup of tea. Even back then, you could tell she had greater things to do, and bigger mountains to climb.
When I next saw her she was commuting from Brownsville with three other young female students to Pan American-Edinbug to get their teaching degrees. She used to joke that she came with her “Three Musketeers.”
If you read her obit in the Brownsville Herald ((March 31, 2007), you know that she not only earned that degree, but went on to reach the highest levels of administration and authored landmark scholarly studies in education. In her spare time, she also wrote a book on how to teach bilingual children.
Our paths crossed again when she was appointed principal of Garden Park Elementary, in the Las Prietas area of Brownsville. At the time, that neighborhood was literally the other side of the tracks. Police didn’t even answer calls at night. The old town dump was where Oliveira Park is now.
The school itself was a collection of World War II Army barracks more than 40 years old, and showed it. It used a single large septic tank for the entire school, and I can attest to it personally that the smell was just awful. Only Palm Grove, in the extreme end of the Southmost area, was comparable.
More importantly, of 39 elementary schools in the Brownsville Independent School District, Garden Park ranked 39. Many teachers saw assignment there as a dead end. Nothing much was expected from the students. Parental involvement was nonexistent.
Failure for Garden Park was a self-fulfilling prophecy.
But the prophets of failure hadn’t counted on a honey of a principal named Ophelia. That was our pet name for her – “La Honey” – and it fit her like a glove. For while she was strict and unbending on teachers regarding method and curriculum, she turned heaven and earth to make sure we got what we needed to help our students learn.
I knew things were going to be different at the first PTA meeting when she introduced me – the special education teacher – as Daniel Reyna, the mentally retarded teacher.
Things only got better after that.
She took over a low performing school where the teachers were low on morale, student performance was poor and where the facilities lacked even the most basic services such as school nurse or computers, and set about to change things.
How? She listened to others.
Then, she required each teacher to visit the homes of their students and meet their parents. But she didn’t stop there. She herself made it a point to know every parent with children at her school.
“If you don’t know where the child is from, you can’t really help them,” she told us.
Her goal at Garden Park? No dropouts and 100 percent attendance.
She was a teacher’s teacher. To make sure new teachers got off to a good start, she paired them off with an old hand at school to show them the ropes and make them comfortable.
Her persistence and dedication paid off.
Within three short years, Garden Park rose from the lowest ranking school in achievement among the 39 elementary schools to number one. She took Garden Park from “low performing” to “exemplary” ranking with the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills.
And on three occasions, her students represented the BISD in the National Spelling Bee in Washington. One of those students – from the most humble barrio in town – placed third in the nation.
The prophecy was coming apart.
She had me, and teachers Mr. Farias, Mr. Solis, and Mr. Davila, put together a fund-raiser BBQ so that we could pay the student’s expenses for the trip there. We raised enough for the student and Mrs. Saenz, her teacher, and her parents to make the trip. She even made sure the student was bought a nice dress and shoes for her to wear during the competition.
All this was done at no cost to the school district.
I recall when she first arrived at Garden Park and had Angie Lane, Nena McDonald, Alicia Gonzalez, and myself over to her house. She wanted us to tell her what the school needed most.
She offered us a scotch and water and after all of us had politely declined, she turned to me and said, “Reyna, you better take one because I know that’s the only way you’re going to tell me what we need.”
Nena told her we needed a parking lot. Angie Lane said we needed computers. Alicia Gonzalez said we needed a nurse and a counselor. I, after I had my scotch and soda, told her we needed a new school.
It took her a while, but in the end she got us everything we asked for.
When the school board elections came up, she had the candidates attend a meeting at the school. Just six months into the school year, we had a construction committee from the school getting together with an architect.
Nena McDonald got her
parking lot which I built with the help of my special ed students using money from the PTA.
Angie Lamb got state-of-the-art computers for her students.
Alice Gonzalez not only got her school nurse, but also a full-time counselor and P.E. coaches for the boys and girls. And all of us teachers got a break from having to teach P.E.
I got my school.
Ophelia fought for the rights and health of the students from the poorest side of town. And she took that self-fulfilling prophecy and proved the prophets wrong.
That’s why I feel the BISD should rename Garden Park the Ophelia Haywood Elementary. It’s only right that we honor her memory by giving back some of the love she gave to our children.
Ophelia Haywood earned a special spot in the hearts of the teachers, students, their families, and all the people who she touched. She was a remarkable human being and we were blessed by sharing the warmth and light of her spirit.
If the board can name schools after a bus driver and a congressman from Robstown, surely it can name one after someone who dedicated her life to teach the most neglected of our children.
I first met Ophelia when she was employed as a receptionist at a local import-export warehouse. You could tell that wasn’t really her cup of tea. Even back then, you could tell she had greater things to do, and bigger mountains to climb.
When I next saw her she was commuting from Brownsville with three other young female students to Pan American-Edinbug to get their teaching degrees. She used to joke that she came with her “Three Musketeers.”
If you read her obit in the Brownsville Herald ((March 31, 2007), you know that she not only earned that degree, but went on to reach the highest levels of administration and authored landmark scholarly studies in education. In her spare time, she also wrote a book on how to teach bilingual children.
Our paths crossed again when she was appointed principal of Garden Park Elementary, in the Las Prietas area of Brownsville. At the time, that neighborhood was literally the other side of the tracks. Police didn’t even answer calls at night. The old town dump was where Oliveira Park is now.
The school itself was a collection of World War II Army barracks more than 40 years old, and showed it. It used a single large septic tank for the entire school, and I can attest to it personally that the smell was just awful. Only Palm Grove, in the extreme end of the Southmost area, was comparable.
More importantly, of 39 elementary schools in the Brownsville Independent School District, Garden Park ranked 39. Many teachers saw assignment there as a dead end. Nothing much was expected from the students. Parental involvement was nonexistent.
Failure for Garden Park was a self-fulfilling prophecy.
But the prophets of failure hadn’t counted on a honey of a principal named Ophelia. That was our pet name for her – “La Honey” – and it fit her like a glove. For while she was strict and unbending on teachers regarding method and curriculum, she turned heaven and earth to make sure we got what we needed to help our students learn.
I knew things were going to be different at the first PTA meeting when she introduced me – the special education teacher – as Daniel Reyna, the mentally retarded teacher.
Things only got better after that.
She took over a low performing school where the teachers were low on morale, student performance was poor and where the facilities lacked even the most basic services such as school nurse or computers, and set about to change things.
How? She listened to others.
Then, she required each teacher to visit the homes of their students and meet their parents. But she didn’t stop there. She herself made it a point to know every parent with children at her school.
“If you don’t know where the child is from, you can’t really help them,” she told us.
Her goal at Garden Park? No dropouts and 100 percent attendance.
She was a teacher’s teacher. To make sure new teachers got off to a good start, she paired them off with an old hand at school to show them the ropes and make them comfortable.
Her persistence and dedication paid off.
Within three short years, Garden Park rose from the lowest ranking school in achievement among the 39 elementary schools to number one. She took Garden Park from “low performing” to “exemplary” ranking with the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills.
And on three occasions, her students represented the BISD in the National Spelling Bee in Washington. One of those students – from the most humble barrio in town – placed third in the nation.
The prophecy was coming apart.
She had me, and teachers Mr. Farias, Mr. Solis, and Mr. Davila, put together a fund-raiser BBQ so that we could pay the student’s expenses for the trip there. We raised enough for the student and Mrs. Saenz, her teacher, and her parents to make the trip. She even made sure the student was bought a nice dress and shoes for her to wear during the competition.
All this was done at no cost to the school district.
I recall when she first arrived at Garden Park and had Angie Lane, Nena McDonald, Alicia Gonzalez, and myself over to her house. She wanted us to tell her what the school needed most.
She offered us a scotch and water and after all of us had politely declined, she turned to me and said, “Reyna, you better take one because I know that’s the only way you’re going to tell me what we need.”
Nena told her we needed a parking lot. Angie Lane said we needed computers. Alicia Gonzalez said we needed a nurse and a counselor. I, after I had my scotch and soda, told her we needed a new school.
It took her a while, but in the end she got us everything we asked for.
When the school board elections came up, she had the candidates attend a meeting at the school. Just six months into the school year, we had a construction committee from the school getting together with an architect.
Nena McDonald got her
parking lot which I built with the help of my special ed students using money from the PTA.Angie Lamb got state-of-the-art computers for her students.
Alice Gonzalez not only got her school nurse, but also a full-time counselor and P.E. coaches for the boys and girls. And all of us teachers got a break from having to teach P.E.
I got my school.
Ophelia fought for the rights and health of the students from the poorest side of town. And she took that self-fulfilling prophecy and proved the prophets wrong.
That’s why I feel the BISD should rename Garden Park the Ophelia Haywood Elementary. It’s only right that we honor her memory by giving back some of the love she gave to our children.
Ophelia Haywood earned a special spot in the hearts of the teachers, students, their families, and all the people who she touched. She was a remarkable human being and we were blessed by sharing the warmth and light of her spirit.
If the board can name schools after a bus driver and a congressman from Robstown, surely it can name one after someone who dedicated her life to teach the most neglected of our children.
5 comments:
I agree, there should be a school name after good local individuals that actually make a difference on peoples lifes. And these attributes ought to be carried out while they are still alive. School board are you listening???
What a lady. I knew Ophie thru our association with the Elks Lodge. She was a classy lady. Part of the reason was her husband who was an Elk and a gentleman Mr. Lou Brees. They were so much in Love. They loved to dance on Friday Nights at the Lodge and enjoyed the company of good friends. God Bless them and let's name a school after her. She is very deserving.
wow just brings me memories of when i was a child. i attenteded Garden Park when she was principal and i was there when the new cafeteria was build. and all the names mr reyna mentioned just brought me happy memories of my childhood made me wanna cry .it was so different back then now our children live in a different millinum that theres so much violence now
Dear Mr. Reyna, My name is Jorge Garcia and I was a student at Garden Park Elem. in the 1980's and I do remember Pricipal Haywood and assistant pricipal Mr. Perales when I attended there. I'm now a Deputy Sheriff w the Cameron Co Sheriff's Office and after reading this, I'm proud of my roots. I pass by there frequently and remember my days there at school. I came across this post because I was trying to find staff pictures. Thanks for the great post on Pricipal Haywood, and I also agree in the name change of the school in her honor. She very well deserves it.
Is Mr.Reyna still writing for this blog? I would like to get in contact with him if possible. My mom is Alicia Gonzalez
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