New campus, new attitude

Monday, Aug. 27, 2007 | 10 p.m.

Walking into her brand-new school, fifth grader Shyanne Carter-Ray cast a more critical eye than most of her classmates.

The 10-year-old had a hand in the design of Kermit S. Booker Sr. Elementary School, one of two replacement campuses and nine new schools to open their doors Monday. And hers may be the most unusual of the bunch, designed outside of the box to better fit the urban neighborhood that it serves.

There's a more secure main entrance to make it more difficult for trespassers to get on campus unnoticed. The bus lanes and parking lots separate the students from the busy traffic of Martin Luther King Boulevard. And to reach the playground from their classrooms, students are funneled through another locked gate, also a unique feature for a Clark County School District elementary school.

But ultimately Booker is more home than fortress.

“It's beautiful. The classrooms are so big,” Shyanne remarked as students and parents made their way into the multipurpose room for breakfast. And she made an observation that reflected her new familiarity with million-dollar construction projects: She said she was grateful the project came in on time.

Shyanne was one of several students tapped by architects for ideas on how the school should be designed.

She attended planning meetings, reviewed issues such as where to put the library and what kind of playground equipment to use, and even submitted her own drawing to suggest how Booker should look -- an illustration that was incorporated into the flooring of one of the campus buildings. Although involving students in the planning might have been considered a goodwill gesture, in truth the architects made a point of soliciting input from the youngsters who would make use of the space.

Monday's debut came more than four years after the project was approved by the Clark County School Board.

“Welcome, welcome to the first day of school!” said Principal Beverly Mathis, hugging returning students and warmly shaking hands with newcomers. “It's a brand-new day and a brand-new Booker.”

In 2004, a year after the Booker project appeared to have stalled, students and staff petitioned for greater input in the design phase. Typically schools are built using prototype designs, a cost-saving measure that's been in place for more than a decade.

But the Booker community argued successfully that the campus' urban setting in West Las Vegas merited a unique campus design. Lockdowns at Booker, when the entrance would be secured because of police activity, were all too frequent. Parents served as volunteer lookouts, monitoring the adjacent streets for signs of gang or drug-related activities, and reporting them to the school and police.

Even with these challenges, Booker continued to shine academically. And for the 2006-07 school year, despite having to operate out of portable classrooms and offices, Booker earned “exemplary” status -- the highest designation awarded by the state Education Department.

The involvement of families in the school's daily activities is central to the campus' successes, said Barbara Carter, who walked granddaughter Shyanne to the first day of school.

“I don't think we would have gotten a school like this if the community hadn't fought so hard,” she said.

Carter was a student of the school's namesake when he taught at the old Madison Elementary School. Her daughter -- Shyanne's mother -- later attended the original Booker campus.

Also at the school Monday was state Sen. Steven Horsford, D-North Las Vegas, dropping off his son at prekindergarten. Las Vegas Councilman Lawrence Weekly, whose children attend Agassi College Prep and Hyde Park Middle schools, was also there to offer support.

Horsford said the design represented the best of what the district can do. He was particularly pleased his son would be attending one of the district's four new “empowerment schools,” campuses that receive extra money and more leeway in decision-making in exchange for greater accountability. Horsford was an early supporter of the empowerment model and helped draft legislation providing more state funding for such initiatives.

Kinya Smith, who is in her fourth year as a physical education instructional assistant at Booker, said it wasn't uncommon for strangers to wander onto the playing fields at the old school, which lacked basic safety features. The new design is “much more secure,” Smith said.

“Now I won't have to focus on anything but the kids,” Smith said.

Emily Richmond can be reached at 259-8829 or at emily@lasvegassun.com.