2012 Voter Guide: Nevada Board of Education District 3

Ed Klapproth and Allison Serafin are running against each other for the District 3 seat on the State Board of Education.

The 2012 election is key for education in Nevada, the candidates agree.

That's because the state is poised to replace federal No Child Left Behind accountability standards with standards that will take students' improvement - not just students' test scores - into account.

The State Board of Education establishes policies that govern Nevada's public schools. So, its members will play a key role in the transition.

Klapproth said he opposes No Child Left Behind because "you can't have a one-size-fits-all" standard for schools. He supports giving teachers both the tools and the freedom they need to teach effectively.

"Kids need to be challenged to have them rise up to the occasion, and a lot of teachers get scripts to teach from," he said. "They are not allowed to use their talents, because they have to teach for a (proficiency) test."

Klapproth supports merit pay for good teachers, but also said substandard teachers must be held accountable. He supports holding students accountable, too, and is in favor of ending "social promotion."

Klapproth favors creating partnerships between schools and businesses and creating even more intensive career and technical programs for high school students. "These professions nowadays are so technical and high-tech, (students) really can't just be taking some classes," he said.

Serafin said it's vital to invest in early childhood education and preparing young students for lifelong scholastic success. Nevada currently doesn't have mandatory school enrollment until age 7, she said, and "one thing I suggest looking at is if we could roll that back, and begin to look at full-day (kindergarten) across our state, and begin to invest in pre-K pilot sites."

Serafin also supports ending social promotion. Potential hurdles to reading, writing and math proficiency should be identified and addressed as early as third and fourth grade, she said, and then resolved before a child advances and falls even more behind academically.

Serafin also proposes to have high school seniors take as exit exams the ACT college entrance exam or WorkKeys job skills assessment. These, she said, could serve as gauges to evaluate student readiness for college or work and, in the case of WorkKeys, help to open a dialogue with area businesses through which school officials could learn what more they could do to help students prepare for life after graduation.

District 3 includes most of unincorporated Clark County, Henderson, parts of North Las Vegas and Summerlin and Las Vegas' suburbs.

Contact reporter John Przybys at jprzybys@reviewjournal .com or 702-383-0280.