EDITORIAL: Two CCSD schools raise bar for disadvantaged students

It's no easy task for a public school to achieve success serving high numbers of low-income children. But two Clark County School District campuses have shown that it is indeed possible.

As reported by the Review-Journal's Neal Morton, Canarelli Middle School and Bendorf Elementary School were recognized by the National Title I Association for making positive educational advances. Two schools per state are honored each year, and both Canarelli and Bendorf were cited for closing the achievement gap among disadvantaged students or posting strong student performance for multiple years.

At Canarelli, 43 percent of the 1,500 students come from low-income households. Statewide, only 34 percent of poor students passed math proficiency tests in the 2013-14 school year; at Canarelli, more than 50 percent passed. "We're closing the achievement gap, and that's something all schools struggle with," Principal Monica Lang said.

Bendorf must deal with a transiency rate of 40 percent, Mr. Morton noted, which means 2 in 5 students will either exit or enter Bendorf at any given time in the school year. Further, 48 percent of students qualify for a free or reduced-price lunch. Despite that, the school was recognized for posting "exceptional" student performance for two straight years.

Principal Joanna Gerali-Schwartz and her staff have gone to great lengths to close the achievement gap through counseling, focused instruction for English language learners — more than 20 percent of Bendorf's population — and even one-on-one training. "It's our job to do a better job at closing that [subgroup] gap and look at each kid as a brain and a student," Ms. Schwartz said.

Clearly, administration and staff at both Bendorf and Canarelli are doing that job well and merit applause, as do the students. And as we've previously stated, when schools such as Canarelli and Bendorf turn things around, the district needs to take whatever those schools are doing and copy it en masse.