Garcia checks out his domain

Terry Webster

Friday, Aug. 25, 2000 | 10:33 a.m.

One of the newest kids in school was walking around a second grade class Thursday, eager for the new year to begin.

"I feel like a kid in kindergarten," said Clark County School Superintendent Carlos Garcia, who chose a second grade classroom at William E. Ferron Elementary School for the annual back-to-school news conference.

The first day of classes is on Monday.

As students get ready to face the school year, Garcia says he is ready to face the challenges ahead.

Although he hails from a much smaller school district, Garcia says his transition has been relatively smooth.

"One thing about working in a smaller district is I had to do a lot more by myself," said Garcia. "I kind of like this here. There are more specialists in a larger district."

Many improvements are needed in the district, said Garcia, who plans to start with the basics -- reading and math.

"If teachers need help to teach reading, then I think it's our job to provide support for them," he said. "We also need a plan to start teaching algebra by the eighth grade. Algebra is the gatekeeper of higher education. One of the reasons our math scores are so low on the proficiency is we haven't included the material."

If students don't understand the work the first time, Garcia said, they need to keep trying.

He went through that himself: "I took algebra and got a D in it, then I took it again."

Garcia also addressed rapid growth and school construction.

Garcia joked that he should renegotiate his employment contract because when he was hired, the Clark County School District was the eighth largest in the district. Now it's the sixth, with a projected enrollment of 231,000 this year.

Ferron Elementary, which was built in 1970, received approximately $3.9 million in repairs, which includes a $1.2 million classroom addition completed in August 1998.

"In California, a school built in 1970 is not old," Garcia said. "In California a school has to be at least 50, 60 or 100 years old to be considered old. I graduated from high school in 1970, when this school was built. That makes me feel really old. When do people get renovated?"

Ferron Elementary principal Jean Serum said she is very pleased with the renovations.

"It's a great learning environment," she said.