Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Transfer students to get more experienced teachers

Students who opt to transfer from a handful of Clark County schools labeled as "needing improvement" to higher-achieving schools are likely to wind up in classrooms led by more experienced teachers with advanced degrees, a review of school district data showed.

The Nevada Education Department last week released a preliminary list of nine Clark County Title I schools that fail to meet "adequate yearly progress" for a second consecutive year as demanded under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The district must offer students at those schools transfers and provide transportation.

Title I schools receive extra federal funds based on the percentage of students who come from low-income households. None of the schools identified as accepting transfers is a Title I campus.

Compared with the district's averages for the 2001-02 academic year, teachers at the schools listed as needing improvement were less likely to have earned advanced degrees and more likely to have two years or less experience teaching in Clark County.

The disparity is even greater when the teachers at the struggling schools are compared to the faculty at the more successful schools designated to accept the transfer students.

At Lynch Elementary School, one of the district's "needs improvement" schools, just under 28 percent of the teachers for the 2001-02 academic year had advanced degrees, and 76 percent had two years or less experience in the district.

The district average in 2001-02 was 57.6 percent of teachers holding advanced degrees and 29.6 percent with two or fewer years experience in Clark County.

At Stanford Elementary School, designated by the district to receive Lynch transfers, 54 percent of the teachers had advanced degrees and just 25.5 percent had two years or less experience in Clark County.

"It's no secret that this district, like many districts, places newer teachers in at-risk schools and that's one of the reasons we see a dramatic difference in achievement," said Martha Young, associate dean of the College of Education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. "More successful schools tend to have a rooted population of teachers further along in their careers."

Under No Child Left Behind, Title I schools are no longer allowed to hire teachers with less than three years total teaching experience, although they may still be new to the district. Teachers at Title I schools must also pass certification exams showing they are "highly qualified," a requirement that will expand to include all teachers at all schools in 2006.

The Education Trust, a nonprofit watchdog group that focuses on low-income and minority students, released a report Wednesday criticizing the U.S. Department of Education for not doing enough to push the teacher quality components of No Child Left Behind.

Federal officials have put the bulk of their efforts into having each state bring its testing methods in line with the new standards and set up systems for offering transfers from failing schools, said Jeanne Brennan, a spokeswoman for the trust.

"School choice is helpful for the parents who are able to take advantage of the transfers," Brennan said Wednesday. "But the overall goal is to improve all schools, and that means addressing the need for highly qualified teachers in every classroom."

Agustin Orci, deputy superintendent of instruction for the school district, said a new contract with the teachers union will help reduce turnover at inner-city schools by requiring both new and veteran employees stay a minimum of two years before requesting transfers.

Additionally, the Legislature during the last session approved retirement credits for teachers who stay in at-risk schools, Orci said.

"We agree that teacher retention is essential to student achievement, and the new incentives will help us with that goal," Orci said today. "Over the long run I think we'll start to see the gaps between the teaching faculties even out, just as we'll see test scores come up."

Teachers are just one component -- albeit a critical one -- of the overall quality of a school, said Mary Ella Holloway, president of the Clark County Education Association.

The "needing improvement" schools also have significantly more students qualifying for free and reduced meals and higher transiency rates than the receiving campuses -- factors that point to challenges students bring with them to the teacher's classroom, Holloway said.

"There's a whole spectrum of things that impact student learning -- parents, home life, the environment of the school community, class sizes, whether there are enough supplies to go around," said Holloway, whose union represents the majority of the district's teachers. "We all want highly qualified teachers in every classroom, but we also want children to have all the other elements they need, too."

Another factor, Holloway said, is the unlikelihood that the students whose parents have the time and interest to transfer them are the same students failing the tests. And it's the failing students who would benefit most from the switch to the improved school, Holloway said.

"The students who leave are probably going to do well no matter where they are, because they have parents who are going to ensure their readiness to learn," Holloway said. "It's the students who stay at the schools we worry the most about. We should be using the test scores to help those schools, not punish them by encouraging the best students and families to leave."

The district's low-performing schools are largely situated in low-income areas with high minority enrollment. At Sunrise Acres Elementary School, 81 percent of the students qualify for free and reduced meals, nearly double the district average of 42 percent. And the transiency rate was 47 percent, above the district average of 39 percent.

"We get new students almost every day," said Arturo Ochoa, principal of Sunrise Acres. "For a lot of our kids school is the most stable thing in their lives."

Under the federal law, which took effect in 2002, schools must test all students, showing overall improvement as well as gains by subgroups, including special education, non-native English speakers and ethnicity. Schools must also show a 95 percent participation rate for each subgroup.

Which subgroups of students failed at each school hasn't been released. School district officials said Wednesday they are in the process of reviewing the state's findings and may end up appealing the "needs improvement" designation for one or more of the campuses. But district officials have also decided not to delay offering school choice while appeals are considered.

"Even if it turns out some of the schools aren't actually on the list, the transfers will stand," said Mark Lange, director of Title I compliance for the school district. "We want to get the students in their new schools as quickly as we can to minimize disruption. The earlier in the year we accomplish this the better it will be for everyone."

Schools were selected to receive transferring students based on their proximity, availability of seating and past achievement. Students who opt for the transfers may end up with more experienced teachers, but they could also face longer bus rides and the loss of extracurricular programs paid for using Title I dollars.

At four of the schools on the state's list -- Carson, Kelly, Williams and McCall elementary schools -- students are already offered the option of attending a different campus under the district's desegregation plan for high-minority areas. Bracken Elementary School, also on the list, was converted to a magnet program this year and also offers school choice.

For each of the remaining schools, the district has identified two campuses that will accept transfers. Letters were mailed this week to parents, explaining the school choice options. Families that decide to transfer their students must return postcards to the district by Tuesday.

Last year Clark County had about 100 students opt for transfers from four schools labeled as needing improvement. The number that take advantage of the transfers this time around isn't expected to climb much above that, given that the new school year has already begun. The district has revised its testing schedule so that failing schools can be identified earlier in the year, giving parents and educators more time to prepare.

Additional district schools are expected to be identified as needing improvement at the end of the month, with the transfer option being extended to families at those campuses as well. And the Nevada Department of Education is also compiling a "watch list" of schools in their first year of failing to show adequate yearly progress.

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