CCSD unveils new career academy as 2025-26 school year begins

Tens of thousands of students across the county filed into classrooms on Monday morning for the Clark County School District’s first day of school.

Throughout the day, the school district held multiple events at local schools, where Superintendent Jhone Ebert and CCSD officials highlighted district initiatives, including expanded pre-K opportunities, increased math proficiency and cybersecurity education.

Last month, the school district had projected that its enrollment for the 2025-2026 school year would be 285,707, which is the lowest in over 20 years, the Las Vegas Review-Journal previously reported.

But as of Aug. 3, the district had 284,316 registered students, though officials expect that figure to fluctuate throughout the first week, according to CCSD spokesman Bryan Callahan.

A new career and technical academy

The first freshman class of South Career and Technical Academy gathered in the new school’s auditorium in southern Las Vegas on Monday morning to celebrate the school’s opening. It is the eighth career and technical academy to open in the valley.

Members of the school’s student council and student ambassadors cheered and welcomed the school’s first class of students — all ninth graders —as they entered the new building. Brandon McLaughlin, assistant superintendent of construction and development, previously said the district’s newest magnet school cost $150 million to construct.

Superintendent Jhone Ebert spoke to the school’s 450 new students ahead of their first classes.

“I’m so excited about all of the programs that you’re going to have. You are so blessed to have amazing teachers that have selected this school to be with you,” she said.

The academy follows a project-based learning format that emphasizes applying lessons learned in class to a related project, the school’s principal, Pate Thomas, said. He said the students’ first project will be creating a vision for what they want SCTA to look like in four years.

“We don’t want kids just sitting and getting, or just learning the material. We want them to apply what they’re learning in class,” Thomas said. “Rather than just giving a multiple choice test, we’re gonna make you apply that to something.”

After classes fill out three years from now, Thomas said the school will have around 1,800 students. As he leads the school into the future, Thomas said he wants SCTA to become “the most innovative magnet school” in CCSD by teaching students how each school subject intertwine with each other.

Students at CCSD’s career and technical academies enroll in classes that offer more specialized education than traditional public schools, and SCTA is no different. Classrooms around the three-story campus are designed for classes such as advanced manufacturing, sports medicine, business entrepreneurship and multimedia production taught by educators with experience in their respective industries.

Wayne Davies, an advanced manufacturing and robotics teacher, said partnerships with Tesla and Haas Automation helped provide equipment that students can program to print metal manufacturing pieces. After 19 years of teaching robotics classes, Davies said the industry connections that SCTA’s advanced manufacturing program offered new students inspired him to join the school’s inaugural class of instructors.

Johana Mendoza, a science teacher and student success facilitator, said the magnet school’s format creates more opportunity for students to establish connections in their field of interest. As a graduate of Southwest Career and Technical Academy, Mendoza said she’s kept in touch with her high school mentors who helped prepare her for her career.

Red carpet entrance

Students walked down a red carpet at Williams Elementary on Monday morning as they entered the cafeteria.

As they reached the end of the carpet, students high-fived Ebert, Principal Krystal Childress, the school’s namesake Wendell Williams and Athletics mascot Stomper.

“I feel great. I feel like I did when I was in first grade, and I feel like I did when I was a teacher,” Williams said. “It’s always good to see the first day when kids are coming out.”

After the red carpet entrance, students gathered in the cafeteria for breakfast as a DJ played and Stomper danced around the front of the stage. Stomper stopped for hugs and dance breaks with kids throughout the cafeteria.

“It’s so important that we have our community partnerships here and be a part of such a significant event,” Childress said.

Although she has been with the district for 28 years, Childress is four weeks into her role as Williams’ principal. She said this is her most exciting first day of school.

“We’re heading in a new direction, and we’re all coming together to make sure our kids are successful,” she said.

First-day numbers

During her round of school visits, Ebert stopped at Fertitta Middle School to give updates on the first day.

The district has the most licensed professionals it has seen in five years, with 19,381 educators, she said, adding that jobs have not been cut.

She also highlighted that for the first time in many years, the CCSD’s teacher union is entering the new school year with a ratified contract. The contract will go before the School Board on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Ebert and the district are working closely with schools and police to keep traffic in school zones safe.

“This morning we had just over 100 traffic stops with almost 50 citations,” she said.

School zone safety requires the whole community’s cooperation, she said. She reminded people to pay attention to speed limits, not to make U-turns in school zones and to leave early if driving through congested areas.

As a part of a 100-day plan, Ebert is focused on increasing math proficiency and literacy.

“I am claiming here today we are going to have higher rates than we had before the pandemic,” she said.

She’s also leaning on student input to come up with goals and strategies that will make learning effective. One concern she’s trying to address is chronic absenteeism.

“What is it that will engage you in the classroom, make you want to come to school and successful,” she said.

Immigration concerns

Ebert urged families to be prepared and proactive when it comes to immigration status and “have all the documentation that they need to be able to have their entire family kept together.”

The district is working with social services to help students alleviate stress from immigration challenges, she said.

Contact Megan Howard at mhoward@reviewjournal.com. Follow @meganmhxward on X. Contact Spencer Levering at slevering@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253.