Parents’ inaction cited as one school problem

Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2004 | 9:46 a.m.

The final school forum in the series, to discuss school safety, will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Hoggard Elementary School, 950 N. Tonopah Drive, Las Vegas.

"We have asked our schools to raise our kids," said Ann Lynch, vice president of community relations for Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center. "We should just take the babies at the hospital when they're born and tell the parents to pick them up in 18 years."

Lynch, former president of the national PTA, lamented that the typical school day in Nevada is just 6 hours and 11 minutes -- essentially the same as it was when she was in school.

"And I graduated shortly before the Boer War," joked Lynch, for whom a Clark County elementary school is named.

At Givens Elementary School in Summerlin, about 50 people showed up for the education forum, sponsored by the Clark County School Board. When panelist Liz Sada asked other parents like herself to identify themselves, 10 members of the audience raised their hands.

"Wow," Sada said as she glanced around the school cafeteria. "We're missing quite a few, aren't we?"

The School Board devised the series of seven community forums, each on a different education-related topic, as a way of gauging the public's interest and gathering input. So far public attendance has been sparse, with crowds ranging from a handful to a high of 75.

Tuesday's panelists included Patricia Miller, executive director of the Frontier Council of the Girl Scouts of America, and Clark County Manager Thom Reilly.

When he was a professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Reilly said he frequently encountered students who were able to recite facts and demonstrate basic skills but struggled with "critical thinking." The school district's curriculum must prepare students to develop original opinions and creative solutions, Reilly said.

"What kind of employees will this community need in the future?" Reilly asked. "Where will our next elected officials and leaders come from?"

Steve Sanson, who has two sons at Rancho High School, told the assembled audience that he learned first-hand how important his involvement was to his children's educational success. Both boys had been failing school while living in California. Sanson said he was determined to get them back on track when he took custody of them last year.

"Parents, you really have to pay attention to what your children say," said Sanson, who noted that his sons are now both college-bound honor students. "You have to be a listener ... you can't nod and say 'That's nice.' You have to ask lots of questions and find out who their teachers are and what subjects they're having trouble with. Children want to be heard."

There are ways for parents to get more details about their child's daily school activities, said Heather Christopherson, the mother of a Clark County third grader and a seventh grader. Most schools take part in EdLine, an online system that lets parents check daily homework assignments, test and quiz grades and sometimes class attendance. Christopherson said when she visited her child's campus to find out more about using the program, the school staff was "absolutely thrilled I wanted to be involved."

Several parents in the audience expressed concern that the federal No Child Left Behind Act -- and the fear of sanctions if failing schools are not brought up to snuff -- means higher-achieving students are being shunted aside.

"We need to look at inequities in education with respect to high-achieving students as well as students who need resource assitance," said Lorrie Curriden, who has four children attending Clark County schools.

Larry Spitler, associate director of the state chapter of the AARP and a former assemblyman, said educators at the local level should be consulted before new curriculum requirements -- such as those associated with the federal No Child Left Behind Act -- are enacted, Spitler said.

"They have to carry out the directives at the local level," Spitler said. "Not seeking their input is unfair and it's disrespectful to parents, teachers and students."