Letter: District should steer more kids to military

Saturday, Dec. 29, 2007 | 7:28 a.m.

It is always amazing to see the thought process that guides our school leadership. A recent article in the Las Vegas Sun ("We didn't mean what we wrote, School District says," Monday) is just the latest to point out the misguided thinking that is so pervasive within the School Board and the Clark County School District administration.

The deputy superintendent of curriculum and instruction, Lauren Kohut-Rost, claims that their "Quality Assurance Framework" document is intended to measure postsecondary activity by district students, not to advocate for the military. School Board President Ruth Johnson says, "The district has never done anything to promote military involvement." Why not?

The School District would be lucky to increase its percentage of students enlisting in the military to 7 percent. The reasons the percentage joining the military (from a city with a strong pro-military history) is falling are most likely the district's high dropout rate and the poor education students receive. The military is a leader in applying high-tech solutions, so it is highly likely a substantial number of Clark County students do not even meet the minimum qualifications to join the military.

It is time the School District leadership and the Nevada ACLU realize the military has always been one of the best ways for underprivileged urban youth to escape their environment and become successful. The schools need to take a lesson from the military - focus on the mission. The mission should be to teach the students and prepare them for life, not to employ bureaucrats in nonteaching positions who worry about what the ACLU thinks about an internal document.

Steven Lauber, North Las Vegas