Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Liberty High students get new Learning Laboratory thanks to grant

Learning Lab

Heather Cory

From left to right, Flori Wentzell, Brithany Barbosa and Kailli Mitchum type up a paper at Liberty High School’s new Learning Lab. Funded by a $10,000 grant, the lab is set up to help students with studying, taking tests and tutoring.

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Wayne Renderman, a teacher at Liberty High School, helps Daniel Filimona with an English assignment at the new learning laboratory at the school.

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Instructional aid Marquita McCart, left, works with Dylan Penrod, a 9th grader, on his math at the new Learning Laboratory at Liberty High School.

Staying true to form, when Liberty High School was given a $10,000 grant for its commitment to providing a comparable quality education to all students, the school decided to use the money on something that could potentially benefit every school attendee.

Thus the idea of the Learning Laboratory — a room featuring state of the art iMac computers, an environment conducive to studying and staff and student tutors who can offer one-on-one support on tough concepts — was born.

The grant, which made the newly opened lab possible, was from the Nevada Partnership for Inclusive Education.

In conjunction with the Public Education Foundation, the partnership recognizes schools that excel in providing an exceptional inclusive learning environment to all students regardless of obstacles that may sometimes stand in the way such as language or cultural barriers, disabilities or different home and family lives.

Liberty was awarded the grant for its commitment to staff development targeting inclusive learning practices and its commitment to including students of all abilities in appropriate academic settings.

Principal Rosalind Gibson said she feels it's important to challenge all students to work to their full ability and beyond.

Liberty offers 45 classes in all subjects that are co-taught by a regular instructor and a learning specialist, allowing students who may otherwise need to be in a self-contained environment to learn alongside their peers.

Executive director of the foundation, Judy Machabee, said it's a system that benefits all of the students involved as students are given more of an opportunity to pick up on concepts because they are presented in different ways.

The laboratory likewise has been created to benefit all students.

Daniel Filimona, a sophomore, was a recent visitor of the lab who said without the one-on-one help he's gotten there on English class work, he would probably be lost.

He attributed the extra help and the quiet environment to helping him bring up his grades.

Junior Flori Wentzell said the computers she and her two group members were using to complete a Declaration of Independence project have made things a lot easier.

"If you're not able to do it at home or have a busy day and aren't going home after school, you can come in here and work during free periods or lunch," she said.

As students read, interacted with instructors and made use of computer programs Gibson stood by.

"We knew we could serve every child that had a need by having this open and develop student tutoring programs at the same time," she said.

Ashley Livingston can be reached at 990-8925 or [email protected].

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