LOOKING IN ON: EDUCATION

Wednesday, June 13, 2007 | 7:24 a.m.

If there's one thing high school guidance counselors love to talk up, it's the value of planning ahead.

Beginning July 1, Nevada's high schools will be required to develop a four-year plan for every ninth grader, with input from the student, parents and guidance counselors.

Assemblywoman Bonnie Parnell, D-Carson City, drafted the bill after reviewing high school reform measures in other states, as well as recommendations from educators and researchers.

"Everyone has to sit down and really think about the next four years," said Parnell, who heads the Assembly Education Committee. "What path does the student want to take? Career and technical education, or enrolling in every Advanced Placement class? And what is that going to take?"

Students will have to sign off on the plan, along with the parents and the guidance counselor.

"I think it would be interesting to hear what your child has to say," Parnell said. "Where do they see themselves after four years of high school? What do they want to be?"

For several years, the Clark County School District has provided parents and students with an informal blueprint for preparing their children for college, outlining the required classes at each grade level and recommending dates to begin studying for entrance exams and working on applications. One of the district's goals this year was to have all ninth graders complete a Web-based education plan, which allows them to choose classes based on potential career interests and tracks the grades they have received.

The bill was cheered by guidance counselors, who say they need more time to work directly with students on their goals. Local school boards would be required to set limits on the amount of time guidance counselors spend helping teachers with test administration and preparation.

In Clark County, each guidance counselor is typically responsible for about 400 students, about 150 more than experts recommend.

Also in Assembly Bill 212 is a provision for principals to develop a "freshman academy," in which the students' classes are clustered in one area to lessen the shock of adapting to the large campus. Several Clark County high schools already have freshman academies.

AB212 also raises the compulsory attendance age by a year to 18 if the student has not graduated.

When Cheyenne High School Principal Jeff Geihs cast the net for someone to teach Mandarin Chinese, English teacher Denise Tatum agreed to spend last summer at an intensive language institute in China, with a grant from the Clark County Public Education Foundation paying the costs.

The first year of classes was so successful that Tatum is back in China, this time gearing up to teach first- and second-year Mandarin students at Cheyenne.

In addition to showing students the basics of the language, the class focuses on the culture and politics of Chinese society.

"All those things are important for us to have future diplomatic relations," Geihs said.

Tatum has some company overseas. Two teachers from Priest and Swainston middle schools, which feed into Cheyenne, also are enrolled in the institute.

Provided their teachers do their homework this summer, the middle school students will be able to sign up for Mandarin when the school year begins in August.

"This is all part of preparing our students for 21st-century literacy," Northeast Region Superintendent Marsha Irvin said. "Languages like Chinese and Arabic are becoming more of a necessity."

Can't make it to the Orleans Arena or Thomas & Mack Center to catch that high school graduation ceremony? Cox cable channel 96 has you covered.

Each of the 33 Clark County School District 2007 graduation ceremonies will be broadcast through June 18. Streaming video will also be available at www.cox96.net .