Rancho High’s rebirth offers more opportunities for students

Across the Clark County School District, thousands of students compete for seats at one of 29 magnet programs for the performing arts, medical sciences, video game technology and more.

An additional seven campuses offer specialized curriculum in career and technical education, including the culinary arts, criminal justice and teaching.

But at Rancho High School, Principal James Kuzma has spent the past few years transforming the third-oldest high school in Las Vegas into what he calls a microcosm of the entire district.

"Everything that a magnet program or career and technical academy offers, we can also provide students who aren't able to get into those programs," Kuzma said during a recent tour of Rancho, on Searles Avenue just east of Las Vegas Boulevard.

"Those are all based on a lottery, and students have to qualify," he added. "Regardless (of) if they get in, they don't have to sacrifice because Rancho has the same diversity of programs."

In 1997, Rancho launched an internal magnet academy and has since earned national accolades for its aviation and biomedical courses.

About 1,100 students attend the academy, but Kuzma doesn't limit participation in the enhanced curriculum to just the select few.

With about 3,250 students total at Rancho, more than 1,900 of them participate in a performing arts class, and 2,200 students have enrolled in culinary arts, professional photography, fashion design or one of the other career and technical education courses.

"About four years ago, we started to look at the fact that our magnet kids had lots of opportunities while some of our kids that just live in the (school) zone took electives that didn't have a career path," Kuzma said.

To fix that, Kuzma realigned his school's elective offering to create a second academy with three levels of courses designed to help students train for the workplace.

Kuzma hired a former military technician to teach students how to tear down engines in an automotive technology garage. A professional photographer and a graphic designer now head the digital media arts program.

And in a newly unveiled restaurant-grade kitchen, culinary students work alongside award-winning chef Phillip Dell.

"It used to take us 90 minutes to boil water. We timed it," Dell said in reference to the former home economics kitchen.

After months of permit delays, Dell and his students earlier this year celebrated the debut of their new state-of-the-art kitchen, with more than $100,000 worth of cookware and equipment donated from the restaurant industry.

Students spent the week before winter break rushing around the kitchen, building elaborate gingerbread houses and replicas of famous Strip landmarks. One team even constructed an edible, rotating model of the High Roller at The Linq.

Senior Tania Aguilar, 17, credited the culinary class for getting her back on track during a rough patch of her life early in high school.

She recently finished an internship with a catering firm at the World Market Center, claimed second place in a statewide cooking competition and plans to apply to a culinary school in Miami.

"There was a certain time where I went on the wrong path," she said as she zested a piece of gingerbread. "This took my mind off a lot and gave me some goals.

"I know I have a lot to accomplish, if I work hard to get what I want."

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