The Clark County School District is expecting a lot more out of its students this year, beginning with a more rigorous curriculum through the adoption of Common Core State Standards. Administrators also are looking for ways to stretch their budgets, as the Nevada Legislature handed down $150 million in cuts to education. Silvestri Junior High School principal Robert Mars says conservation of resources will be a priority.
The Clark County School District is making big changes this school year to what your kids will learn and how their performance will be measured. As part of a plan to reorganize schools with consistently low performance, “turnaround schools” such as Mojave High School and Elizondo Elementary School in North Las Vegas have new principals and some new staff. Centennial High School principal Trent Day said schools also will have to rely more on technology for instruction than ever before.
This school year begins with a new superintendent and initiatives aimed at improving student achievement and finding better ways to measure it by adopting Common Core State Standards curriculum. Students also will see changes due to $150 million in education budget cuts, including the elimination of the assistant principal position at Eisenberg Elementary School.
Clark County School District students had an increase in math proficiency at the middle and high school levels last year, although reading proficiency dropped. Educators say the adoption of Common Core State Standards for curriculum this year will result in tougher standardized tests.
This school year will open with more changes than any other in recent memory, and it has principals excited. There’s a new superintendent, a new measuring stick for student performance and new curriculum. Despite $150 million in budget cuts for education, Southeast Career and Technical Academy will proceed with a $32 million renovation that is being financed as part of a 1998 capital improvement bond.
More than 500 Clark County School District teachers face being laid off next month if the district and teachers union don’t reach a new contract agreement very soon. Among the concessions the district has asked the teachers union to agree to is a new contract that would eliminate pay raises this year and save the district about $56 million.
After a contentious summer and 22 versions of electoral maps, the Clark County School Board and minority group representatives came to a consensus on the dividing lines Monday.
