Las Vegas’ Stuckey Elementary earns national Blue Ribbon School award

Stuckey Elementary, only six years after making its debut in southwest Las Vegas, already has earned a spot on the nation’s elite list of Blue Ribbon Schools.

The campus opened in 2010 at 4905 Chartan Ave., near Southern Highlands Parkway and Somerset Hills Avenue, and has since earned the five-star rating on the state’s school accountability system.

More than 900 students attend Stuckey, and they consistently have scored proficient in math, reading and science at rates well above district and statewide averages.

That’s why the U.S. Department of Education on Wednesday announced Stuckey as one of 329 schools from across the nation that it recognized as a Blue Ribbon School. The program, in its 34th year, honors schools that post among the highest performances on standardized tests in their states or significantly close achievement gaps between student subgroups and the general population.

Only Stuckey and Depaoli Middle School in Reno earned the recognition this year in the exemplary high-performance category.

Stuckey’s founding principal, Joe Rekrut, lauded his teachers, many of whom have remained at the school since its opening.

“Most of them were here when it was just drywall and studs,” Rekrut said. “They have a lot of ownership in the building, and to have seen it get this kind of recognition after all these years of hard work is just great. I’m just happy for them.”

Rekrut also acknowledged the commitment and interaction from his school’s families and surrounding community.

Rekrut said Stuckey serves a student population that is much less diverse than the rest of Clark County schools.

Nine percent of students at Stuckey identify as English language learners, and a third qualify for free and reduced lunch, a federal measure of poverty. Across the district, 18 percent of students identify as English language learners, and 58 percent qualify for free and reduced lunch.

“We still have work to do,” Rekrut said. “We definitely are not perfect, by any means, and I think our teachers know that. They’re more critical of themselves than I ever could be.”

Thirty-nine schools in Nevada have earned the Blue Ribbon award since the program’s launch in 1982.

In November, the federal department will recognize Stuckey and this year’s other honorees at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Contact Neal Morton at nmorton@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279. Find @nealtmorton on Twitter.