looking in on: education:

Good news for schools is in short supply

Still, Rulffes found a new topic to tout — empowerment schools

Steve Marcus, Las Vegas Sun File

Clark County School District Superintendent Walt Rulffes found he didn’t have the usual list of growth-related topics to discuss at this year’s pre-academic year news conference, which was held Friday.

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Saturday, Aug. 23, 2008 | 2 a.m.

More Stories About Education

Clark County School District

For the first time since taking over as superintendent of the Clark County School District in 2005, Walt Rulffes struggled to put together talking points for his annual news conference kicking off the academic year.

Forget the $9.5 billion capital campaign he had expected to promote. The School Board decided to put off the bond measure until 2010, rather than ask voters to support the endeavor during a period of slow growth and economic troubles.

The usual spiel about the huge number of new teachers also had to be set aside. More than 1,000 rookies will be on the job Monday, but it’s less than half the number last year and a third of the tally from 2006.

Rulffes thought he might be talking about changes to the federal requirements of the No Child Left Behind law, which is up for reauthorization. But the feds have told districts it’s likely to be status quo for the next two years.

So on Friday, Rulffes fielded questions about budget cuts — what programs and services won’t leave the starting block because of canceled state funding. He tried to put an upbeat spin on it.

Although lawmakers eliminated funding for a new “empowerment schools” pilot program, Clark County is moving ahead with expanding its own version. Six campuses have been added. Rulffes said he plans to announce next week that private donors are stepping in to fill the funding gap for empowerment schools.

•••

Given the continual grousing by local and state education officials about the burden of having to sponsor charter schools, some lawmakers said Thursday the answer might be to hand off the responsibility — and accompanying funding — to a new entity.

The Legislative Committee on Education voted unanimously to consider a bill draft request to create what would amount to the state’s 18th school district, made up entirely of charter schools. The next review will take place at the committee’s October meeting.

Also considered were proposals to add staff and funding to the Nevada Education Department, without major changes to the State Board of Education’s authority over charter schools, or to create a separate charter schools committee that would report to the state. But the committee ultimately preferred a version based on the Colorado Charter Schools Institute, created by that state’s lawmakers, to sponsor, oversee and support charter schools.

Assemblyman Mo Denis, D-Las Vegas, who is also president of the Nevada PTA, said he agreed the state’s charter school law was due for an overhaul but he wanted more details on costs and accountability.

“I have heartburn about just creating another governmental organization that’s going to need administrators and money,” Denis said.

Sen. Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, said she preferred the Colorado model largely because of the autonomy it offered. Cegavske, who serves on the charter schools advisory team created by Gov. Jim Gibbons, said she thinks the Colorado model is closest to what the other members of the team would prefer.

“It would be nice to see Nevada recognized as having some charter-friendly legislation,” Cegavske said. “That’s one area where we get dinged all the time.”

•••

At a news conference at John Mendoza Elementary School highlighting traffic safety before the new academic year, motorists buzzed past, oblivious to police cruisers and motorcycle officers lying in wait.

In addition to getting speeding tickets, several people were cited for failing to wear seat belts and for not having driver’s licenses.

Wait, they didn’t have driver’s licenses at all? Or were they licensed drivers, but didn’t have the cards with them?

It was the latter, Metro Officer Dave Corbin said. “Otherwise, we’d be waiting for the tow trucks.”

Discussion: 12 comments so far…

By lasvegaslemonade

8/23/08 at 7:27 a.m.

Suggest removal

I teach full day kindergarten in CCSD. I will start on Monday with 34 students in my class and a teacher's aide for 1/2 day. There are eight teachers at my school assigned to out-of-classroom positions.

It would be helpful to classroom teachers if state legislators would draft a bill that read, "All class sizes will be limited to 24 students before any teacher in a school district is assigned to an out-of-classroom position."

This would help to assure that the teaching power filters down to a level that will have a direct and positive impact on students.

Sincerely,
Robin Vircsik
http://uktlv.org
By uddeboda

8/23/08 at 8:20 a.m.

Suggest removal

I am surprised that you have to deal with so many children in just one class. I was looking at statistics, and the USA has on average 19 children in a class, whereas Sweden has only 12.4 in each class.
Children are the future of every country, and if a country does not supply sufficient and good teaching, then, at the end of the day, they leave school not fully educated, and end up in some very poor paid and uninteresting job. Far better to encourage them to continue studying at high school then on to university. Here, all schooling is free, even to the very highest and best universities, even for foreign students. Swedish students even get allowances to help cover living costs etc.
By ZeddyBear

8/23/08 at 8:40 a.m.

Suggest removal

CCSD says the average class is approximately 18-22 per class. If you were to ask 100 teachers what their average is, the number is much higher. You see -- CCSD averages in the staff with those folks who are not classroom teachers -- librarians, counselors, etc.... When you put those folks into the mix the average class size is much lower than the reality. CCSD loves to "cook the books" whenever possible. Now let's talk about the over-abundance of administrators and consultants that Walt has placed into the budget...... Too many to count. My solution is a simple one: if you do not teach students -- or have anything to do with classroom teaching -- your job should be cut from the budget. In so doing our students will have books and other educational materials and our hard-working teachers will get the supplies and other necessities they need to educate our children. Hey Emily -- why not ask Walt R. the difficult questions that need to be asked.
By lasvegaslemonade

8/23/08 at 8:57 a.m.

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To: uddeboda,
Are you in Sweden or from Sweden?
Thanks for standing up for kids!!
You ROCK!!
Sincerely,
United Kindergarten Teachers of Las Vegas
http://uktlv.org
By mwh710

8/23/08 at 9:13 a.m.

Suggest removal

18-22 is a joke, that averages in Special Ed's 4 & 5 person classes. The standard HS class is 35-40, at least at my school, 1/3 of which don't speak English. At some point isn't it a fire hazard? How many kids they can cram into a classroom the size of an oversized closet? CCSD is out of control. Start by getting rid of the non-teachers - Specialists that don't directly deal with the students one-on one. Then cut Administration at the Ed Shed by 3/4, trust me they won't be missed & we could then actually have a full set of textbooks for every class. Imagine that.
By neiman1

8/23/08 at 9:25 a.m.

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Why is "choice" such a great word everywhere except K-12 education. We have private colleges that all receive tax dollars from the G.I. bill to education grants. They give the grants out and the student decides where to go to school. Why not the same in the lower grades? Don't tell me about school's needs or teacher's needs, tell me why that would be wrong for students. Why does a woman give up her right to choose when her fetus becomes 5 years old and is then educated by the government.
By uddeboda

8/23/08 at 9:45 a.m.

Suggest removal

I live in Sweden, and during a short period did work in a small local school, 7 to 12yrs old, small classes and very nice children. They had their own restaurant, and I do mean that. Self service, with food prepared at the school, table cloths, and after their meal, EVERY child went to the staff and thanked them for the lunch, almost brings tears to ones eyes.
By avalentiner

8/23/08 at 4:54 p.m.

Suggest removal

Don't you remember why Walt was choosen in the first place, he stood for the status quo. The school district and board did not want change, thats why the NY candidate opted out.

Administrators at CCSD have their own separate union, they also happen to make a lot more than the avg teacher, sad reality in todays age. Part of the problem with over assessing and programs like No Child Left Behind.

If you want change then parents need to get more involved with what is going on at their local school it can only happen at a grassroots level.

How many parents ever have watched or gone to one of the CCSD board meetings?

If you want change nationally then vote for Obama, he supports education reform.

One more thing, teachers starting salary needs to be 40k and title 1 teachers should be paid 20% more.

-charles
By eduMcator

8/23/08 at 9:01 p.m.

Suggest removal

"also considered was adding staff and funding to the Nevada Education Department.." - what a bunch of clowns, harassing just enough teacher candidates every year to justify thier jobs. Pony up, Ruffles, reduce classroom size for your teachers (or isn't that part of the pork you were put in office to serve to your cronies?). I taught in the CCSD last year - and what a mess. Great teachers, decent adminstrators, and not a single new (or two to three year) teacher at my school willing to seriously consider commitment to Clark County. My former middle school lost about seven young teachers this summer alone to out of state relocation. Las Vegas is not the kind of town a young person wants to be poor in, or struggling to make bills, unable to visit family back East, etc. Dr. Barbee of Nevada Ed. and his stable of jack-assess make life miserable for fully qualified teachers.
By fawnb

8/24/08 at 7:29 p.m.

Suggest removal

I serve on my school's PTA board as the legislative chair. This year I wrote up a proposal for a resolution for Nevada PTA to approve. It requested that kindergarten class size match that of first and second grade. Nevada PTA told me that a resolution already exists in support of that and that they would bring it back to "current" in their books in case the issue ever came to the legislative floor. I have also been to a couple of CCSD board meetings. Our school district seems to only focus on all-day kindergarten and not at all on kindergarten class size. I am sending my third son into kindergarten this year and I was relieved to hear that he is only going to be one of 30 kids in the class. How pathetic is that?! His two older brothers were each one of 37-42 kids. Our school has the option of having full-day kindergarten for $300 a month or half-day kindergarten. I am all for all-day kindergarten in at-risk schools so the children can be better prepared for first grade, but in a school where it is not really necessary, it seems like we could use the classroom space to have smaller class sizes.
By fawnb

8/24/08 at 7:36 p.m.

Suggest removal

One more thing, none of my kids' kindergarten teachers have ever had an aid for any part of the day.
By eduMcator

8/24/08 at 8:39 p.m.

Suggest removal

The "economic downturn" of which Ruffles speaks is about two years old. These should be the gravey years in Clark County. If Nevada didn't get its priorities straight during the largest economic boom this town will ever, ever, ever see - for the past ten years, then when will it? It never will. The boom is over, and America is bust. They can't play in your adult playground anymore. Nevada is an angry little Soutwestern state with ambivalent attitudes towards poverty and basic human rights and services - even for working people. Look at Desai, and the hepatits crises at your clinic: It took you people six months to suspend the man's license for Christ's sake! I mean, I've heard of corporate towns, but this place scares the crap out of me. Look the total lack of social services for lower income working people. If you want a quick fix for your schools, stop wasting millions and millions of dollars educating illegal aliens - or go to bat with lawyers at the federal level and demand compensation. How can a moral, hard-working 8th or 9th grade child survive the massive peer pressure in your town that the criminal gang/illegal alien element creates. I saw it first-hand last year: my students were almost shot on campus. They can't, and that is why your professional and working class is leaving or preparing to leave in droves. The Mexican narco-death culture will destroy your state, if it hasn't already.

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