Looking in on: Education

Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007 | 7 a.m.

Membership in the Goynes Elementary School PTA is through the roof - so p rincipal Jeffrey Hybarger spent the night on top of it.

Hybarger promised to camp out overnight if at least 350 families joined the PTA. At last count, membership was closing in on 425.

As the dismissal bell rang Thursday, students gathered outside to watch Hybarger's ceremonial ascent via an access ladder usually reserved for the custodian. Hybarger brought along a sleeping bag, a ground mat and a laptop computer, using the last to get some work done in the afternoon (and to watch "Spider-Man" on DVD).

For dinner, Hybarger lowered a bucket with a rope and his wife dropped in sandwiches from a local sub shop (she stayed firmly on the blacktop).

Some of his students were skeptical that Hybarger would follow through on the deal and returned to check on him. He told them earlier they were welcome to pay an after-hours visit - as long as their parents were with them. Most of the students who stopped by had pockets full of leftover Halloween candy, and Hybarger obligingly lowered the bucket.

He came down at 8:55 a.m. Friday, just as the first bell was ringing.

This wasn't Hybarger's first rooftop camp-out. He spent the night atop Bowler Elementary School in rural Logandale when his students met their goals for a yearlong literacy project.

"Kiss a pig, shave your head, sleep on the roof - kids really respond to the oddball incentives," Hybarger said.

And, we wager, oddball principals.

Nearly 2,100 teachers were hired for the 2007-08 academic year, with long-term substitutes filling the remaining 398 vacancies. Of those vacancies, 203 were for regular classroom assignments and a third were for math and science. Additionally, 195 special education vacancies are being filled by long-term substitutes.

The Clark County School District has about 18,000 licensed personnel - including classroom teachers, school nurses and other specialists. The annual turnover rate is 7 percent to 8 percent. At the end of last school year, 1,329 licensed employees had left the district. Of those, 378 were retirements.

By comparison, the employee turnover rate for Las Vegas is about 5 percent to 6 percent. And for Clark County, employee turnover hovers between 10.5 percent and 11.5 percent.

Given the perennial teacher shortage, some people might have expected a higher annual turnover rate for the district.

The more troubling statistic: Historically, 50 percent of new teachers leave within five years. That means the same vacancies must be filled over and over again, said Martha Tittle, human resources officer for the district.

"That's why retention is such a priority for us," Tittle said.

In many states, student enrollment is declining and teaching jobs are scarce, especially for recent graduates without work experience. By contrast, Clark County continues to grow - albeit at a slightly slower rate than was predicted for this year (the district's official enrollment is 308,860, about 5,500 fewer students than officials had expected). Teachers get a few years under their belts and then head home when jobs open up.

The district has several mentoring programs for new teachers and has expanded professional development opportunities.

"The more support we can provide to our new teachers," Tittle said, "the better chance we have of keeping them for the long run."

"School Matters," the Clark County School Board's live discussion program, returns to Vegas PBS Channel 10 at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Superintendent Walt Rulffes and School Board members answer questions from viewers and talk up the latest district initiatives. The coming episode will focus on Professionals and Youth Building a Commitment (PAYBAC), which sends community leaders and business professionals to schools as motivational speakers.

There are more requests for speakers than the current roster can support, and individuals interested in volunteering are encouraged to contact the district. For more information, go to http://ccsd.net/partnership/paybac.php .