Backlash from parents, teachers grows against Nevada charter school initiative
The swell of opposition against Nevada’s charter school initiative reached the State Board of Education on Thursday as parents and teachers rushed to defend their underperforming schools from potential charter conversions.
Roughly 100 people attended a meeting that included an extended public comment period, and many who spoke reflected the latest discontent with the idea of their schools possibly being placed in the Achievement School District.
“I believe the change you all want to make, changing our schools to charters, is not going to help our students in any way,” parent JuanaByrrueta told the board through a translator.
The crowd voiced many of the same arguments the Clark County School District has made — that the schools are improving, and only need more time to get better.
Schools eligible for conversion are either in the bottom 5 percent of the state or have a graduation rate of less than 60 percent. But many have noted that eligibility is based on old scores from 2014, or scores from the new Smarter Balanced test that students took for the first time this year.
Monaco Middle School math teacher Jimmy Rogers said state funding received by Monaco Middle as a high-poverty Victory School led to great improvement.
“We have every ingredient for a very successful school,” he said. “Except for time.”
The backlash against the achievement district has grown since the state released its list of schools eligible for conversion, including 21 in Clark County. The initiative will pair up to six schools with three approved charter operators by next year. Staff at these schools will need to reapply for their jobs.
Parents, students and teachers have rallied across Clark County in a passionate display against charter conversion.
But some, like Dalia Jimenez, want a change. In her downtown Las Vegas ZIP code, her children can attend only one- or two-star schools — the lowest rankings in the state’s accountability system.
“What future will my children have, and so many children more, with a one- or two-star education?” Jimenez asked the board.
Exactly how these schools became eligible is still unclear because the state has not yet released individual test scores for every school.
Clark County school system officials have argued that 19 of its 21 eligible schools are in some kind of improvement program, including the district’s turnaround zone. But achievement district staff noted that schools in the turnaround zone for two or more years are still below the statewide average proficiency in reading and math.
Achievement district Superintendent Jana Wilcox-Lavin has been trying to clarify the rumors sweeping through the halls of eligible schools.
“I think it’s great that families are advocating for these kids,” she said. “I also think it’s clear that there’s a lot of misinformation and a lot of emphasis on programming that may or may not be in the school.”
Achievement staff will recommend at least seven schools for the district next Tuesday. The state board will approve a portion of those schools, from which the achievement district will select up to six to enter the new district.
The board suggested CCSD provide a list that ranks its eligible schools in order for consideration.
Contact Amelia Pak-Harvey at 702-383-4630 or apak-harvey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AmeliaPakHarvey on Twitter.
