Six area schools to offer transfers under law

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2003 | 10:53 a.m.

Students at six low-performing elementary schools have a chance to attend more successful campuses as required under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, but they'll face as much as an extra 30-minute commute to take advantage of the opportunity.

The federal act requires that schools that fail to maintain a level of achievement allow students to go to schools that show more success on test scores and have more experienced teachers.

With 18 schools required to allow parents to send their children to other schools under the federal law, the Clark County School District is struggling to find high-achieving alternate campuses that are nearby and have room for extra students.

More than 6,000 letters went out this week from the School District to parents of students at six elementary schools that failed to show "adequate yearly progress" for two consecutive years, offering their children transfers to more successful schools. Parents have until Dec. 15 to return the letters and the transfers would take effect Jan. 5.

Teddie Brewer, principal of Tom Williams Elementary School on East Tonopah Avenue in North Las Vegas, one of the schools that must offer transfers, said she was surprised both of the choice campuses for her students are in Henderson -- at least 30 minutes away by car.

The distance to Nate Mack and Glen Taylor elementary schools -- 12 and 14 miles away respectively -- will likely play a part in the final decision for some families with students at Williams, Brewer said.

"At least 50 percent of our parents rely on public transportation," Brewer said Tuesday. "If their child got sick during the day, or even just for a parent-teacher conference or special event, that would be quite a bus ride."

Mark Lange, director of Title I compliance for the district, said the fact that both Williams choice schools are in Henderson highlights the difficulty in finding campuses with room for students who opt to transfer.

What was a complicated puzzle this time around could become significantly more difficult next year, Lange said. Clark County currently has 30 Title I schools on the state's "watch list" because of low test scores. If any of those schools fail to show "adequate yearly progress" on the next round of exams, the district will need to offer transfers to families at those schools, as well, Lange said.

"The more campuses we add to the school choice list the tougher this is all going to get," Lange said. "We could be facing a real problem finding available seats."

Because the school year is well underway, and because many families prefer the convenience of their neighborhood school, district officials say they expect fewer than 200 children to transfer.

Under the federal law, the district must offer school choice to families whose children attend Title I schools that are identified as "needing improvement." Title I schools receive a bigger share of federal funds based on having a higher percentage of students that come from low-income homes.

The federal law requires the school district set aside 20 percent of its total Title I dollars to pay for school transfers.

The six year-round elementary schools -- Cambiero, Craig, Herron, Lunt, Park and Tom Williams -- were identified last month by the Nevada Education Department after posting low test scores for at least two consecutive years. In the letter from the district, parents have been given a choice of at least two alternate schools.

Parents will receive a new version of the letter explaining the school choice options, revised after some people -- including Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno -- complained that Clark County school officials were not telling parents enough about the potential benefits of transferring.

At a meeting of the Legislative Committee on Education, Raggio reprimanded the district for sending out a lopsided letter to families with students at nine schools identified earlier this year as needing improvement.

The first letter contained a lengthy list of potential downsides for parents to consider before opting for transfers.

In the new letter, parents are simply advised "To consider the pros and cons of keeping your child in his/her present school or sending your child to a different school."

About 200 families opted to transfer their children from the nine schools, officials said.

Of the more than 1,000 students enrolled at Williams, about 93 percent are classified as English Language Learners, Brewer said. School-wide 80 percent qualify for free and reduced-price meals, compared with the district average of 42 percent.

Brewer plans to meet with parents tonight to discuss the choice letters and the potential benefits of both transferring and staying at Williams.

Distance aside, there could be benefits for students who choose to transfer.

For the 2001-02 academic year -- the latest year for which figures were available -- just 22.5 percent of the teachers at Mack had two or fewer years experience, compared to nearly 60 percent at Williams. At Williams, 36 percent of teachers had advanced degrees, compared with over 62 percent at Mack.

When asked how many of her students she expected to take up the district on the transfer offer, Park Principal Jean Fortuna was succinct.

"Zero," Fortuna said. "I'll be surprised it there's even one."