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Tuesday, April 26, 2011 | 2:05 a.m.
Mojave High coach Tyrone Armstrong.
Chaparral High coach Donnie Davis.
One of the Mojave High football team’s top players arrived late for practice a few years back in arguably the biggest week of preparation in program history.
The North Las Vegas school was one win away from qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade of existence and the player’s tardiness would have resulted in a suspension from the team at most schools.
The player quickly rushed over to Rattlers coach Tyrone Armstrong to apologize, reminding the coach he was at a tutoring session for the upcoming proficiency exams.
Armstrong broke into one of his famous speeches, like a pastor speaking from the pulpit. Armstrong’s messages are charismatically delivered and thought out. And, when it comes to education, the coach never hesitates speaking his mind on the importance of hitting the books — even if that meant losing on Friday nights.
Armstrong said Monday he won’t be back on the sidelines next fall after nine years at the school, becoming a casualty in a Clark County School District reorganization plan aimed at securing a federal grant to improve five low-performing schools. Under grant rules, a maximum of 50 percent of teachers can be hired back at the five schools — including high schools Chaparral, Mojave and Western.
For coaches, not being retained in the classroom means losing your job on the athletic field.
“I want you to be the best athlete you can be, but academics mean so much more,” said Armstrong, a U.S. government teacher. “Sometimes we did sacrifice wins. We sacrificed to increase their quality of life and ability to go on after high school. We raised the standard for them and pushed them harder. The kids won’t remember how many games we won, lost or tied. They’ll remember how we prepared them for a better quality of life.”
The reorganization gets worse for Armstrong. His adopted son, Chaparral football coach Donnie Davis, also won’t be back after two years at the helm of his program.
“He is learning what this business is all about,” Armstrong said. “He is learning the world of high school athletics is different, especially in Nevada. Where I come from (the Midwest), the high school football coach is held in high regard. It’s a sacred position. There is more of a community feel and backing.”
Armstrong posted a 22-54 record in nine seasons, leading Mojave to the 2007 playoffs with an 8-3 record. It was his only winning season and the lone time the Rattlers made the postseason since the school opened in 1996.
Just don’t expect Armstrong to consider his tenure a losing effort. He proudly lists several former players who have graduated, or are on track to graduate, from college.
“It’s tough because I enjoyed teaching the kids I have had at Mojave,” Armstrong said. “They get a bad rap, but they are very intelligent. Making sure the players stayed on top of their books was very important to me.”
Former Mojave wide receiver Rashaun Greer, who was on the practice squad with the Chicago Bears last year and is in the Canadian Football League with British Columbia, credits the lessons taught by Armstrong for his success in college. Not only did Greer do enough at Colorado State to excel on the football field, he also earned a degree in sociology.
“He always demanded a lot from me regardless if I was tired or if I thought I was doing my best,” Greer said. “He was never satisfied. He got me out of my comfort zone in the classroom. He would always call on me or ask me to lead discussions.”
Greer was part of the NFL sponsored Play it Smart academic program Armstrong instituted at Mojave, with the coach learning the ins and outs of the program while representing Nevada at a coaching convention at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Ohio. Armstrong also hosted study hall classes, telling athletes they had to be in good standing in the classroom to be in uniform on game day.
“Everybody fed into it,” said Terrance Davis, a senior last fall and one of the team’s best players. “With him, it was always student first, then athlete. It’s real sad for everybody because he is such a good coach. He cared about all his players.”
One of the relationships Armstrong is most proud of is with Donnie Davis, who played football and track for Armstrong at Las Vegas High in the early 1990s. When Davis was having problems at home as a teenager, Armstrong and his wife opened their house.
“He basically took me in and made me a part of his family,” Donnie Davis said. “My biological parents weren’t there, so he took me in. He was my mentor and my coach. Ever since then, I call him ‘Dad’ just like we are blood.”
Like Armstrong’s program at Mojave, Davis struggled with participation numbers at Chaparral in only winning one game in two years. Davis, however, feels he’s aligned the program — one comprised of several underclassmen — to be successful in future seasons.
“Whoever the next coach is, the program will be better off than when I got came in and got it,” Davis said. “The players are battle-tested and stronger. Those kids are ready to do some great things.”
Teachers not retained by their current school will be assigned to other schools in the district. Ironically, Davis will teach physical education at Mojave, but said he won’t be involved in the football program. Western football coach Fernando Carmona will return.
But before Davis and Armstrong leave their current posts, both will continue to be dedicated to working with their athletes. Davis is a coach for the Chaparral track team and Armstrong has a weight-lifting class with several football players. The group took second this spring at a valley-wide competition, losing to perennial power Palo Verde.
“They’ve decided to go another direction, but I’m not turning my back to the kids,” Davis said. “Our main concern is for our kids. We are hoping whoever comes in and takes over continues to do what we have done and send them in the right direction.”
Armstrong, who has been coaching since 1978, plans to take a much-needed break next fall.
“I feel like Tom Landry when he left the Dallas Cowboys,” Armstrong joked. “There is a new sheriff in town, so I’m out.”
Chaparral High School has seen better days.
Once among the top performing schools in the Clark County School District, Chaparral High is undergoing changes to counter dismal test scores and the lowest graduation rate in the district.
The campus located near East Flamingo Road and U.S. 95 is one of five turnaround schools not meeting the expectations outlined in No Child Left Behind.
Chaparral is now looking to clean up its reputation, touching every aspect of the school from restrooms to test scores.
Changes weren’t received well by students who openly protested the cuts to faculty and the new order that banned the use of cell phones and music players during the school day.
Under stricter rules, tardy students are locked out of classrooms, bathroom breaks during class time aren’t allowed and the lunch hour was pushed back to 1:40 p.m.
Superintendent Dwight Jones told students he’s not settling for half successes.
“Right now, 50 percent of the kids in this school don’t graduate high school. Is that acceptable to you? Think about that. Right now, some of the friends that you’re with aren’t going to graduate. Is that OK? That’s unacceptable to me. I think you guys ought to kick all of us out.”
- Year built:
- 1971
- Mascot:
- Cowboys
- Principal (Year Hired):
- David Wilson (2011)
- Enrollment:
- Approximately 2,250
- School Report Card:
- 2010-2011
Compiled by Gregan Wingert
Mojave High School is Rattler Nation, but really it’s home to underdogs.
Minutes from the Nellis Air Force Base the school is nestled near Commerce Street and West Ann Road, an area littered with foreclosed homes.
The school is attended by many students who are underprivileged or at-risk. After Mojave failed to meet No Child Left Behind standards it became one of five Clark County Schools determined to do a 180.
In order to make the turnaround a reality, Mojave has implemented new faculty, extended the school day by 20 minutes and is geared towards boosting school spirit.
“The problem we have right now is that our children aren’t proud of their own school,” Mojave principal Antonio Rael explained an August interview. “When our children begin to take pride in our school, our community will follow.”
- Year built:
- 1997
- Mascot:
- Rattle Snake
- Principal (Year Hired):
- Antonio Rael (2001)
- School motto:
- “Promoting Achievement, Creating Success”
- Mission Statement:
- “The Mission of the Mojave High School Community is to provide a safe learning environment that will empower students to develop excellence, pride, respect, and skills necessary for future success.”
- Enrollment:
- Approximately 2,000
- School Report Card:
- 2010-2011
Compiled by Gregan Wingert
Save money. Get rid of high school sports and other nonsense.
That's shocking. No coach in Vegas seemed to put as much attention on academics as Armstrong. To see him get bounced because of an academic reorganization is a cruel twist of fate.
Here in the scenic Pacific Northwest, coaches don't necessarily have to teach. Perhaps the CCSD should consider the costs and benefits of such an arrangement.
Robogod...nonsense? You must be one of those mightier than thou guys.. You walked both ways up hill in the snow on the way to school right? Nobody smiled and for lunch you had wooden sticks and dirt. JFC, yes in the grand scheme of things sports, arts etc.. are a commodity not a necessity but their benefit far far far outweighs the cost of these programs.
tuasdad, I think you're mistaken. RoboGob seems more like the fat kid who got pelted in dodge ball mercilessly as a kid.
It's okay Robo. Just let it go. There is help available for you.
RoboGod, nice to see that you don't want kids to be well-rounded individuals.
How is it that the teachers who are doing double duty by teaching and also coaching an extra curricular activity getting booted? I'm sure some will say it was just "luck of the draw", but for a father and son to both get the shaft it seems odd. Perhaps they put the other teachers to shame by actually having results to show from their efforts of doing double duty. The great teachers never have a hard time finding a new job, it's the ones who are left that we need to worry about.
You can say what you want but Las Vegas wants winners and these two don't WIN. If your program doesn't win then people are looking to replace you it might not be what you want to heir but it's the truth. The kids at the schools need role models like at the college level cheat and hopefully move on before you get caught.
None of this is truly shocking.
I graduated from Mojave High School in 2005 and let me be the first to say that the school has had notoriously bad instructors. Classrooms were a revolving door for students. We were free to come and go as we pleased. Lower level classes were strictly there to prepare students for the standardized testing that determined whether they received a diploma. There's no true 'learning' happening there.
The higher powers that be even had the gall to add the "A College Prepratory Academy" moniker to the name to make Mojave appear as if serious instruction was taking place there.
Off the top of my head, I can think of maybe 10 teachers that honestly helped prepare me for life and academics beyond Mojave High School... and half of those teachers bolted for Legacy once it opened.
I believe the new principal had the option to keep 50% of the staff, yet Armstrong is not being retained. There's a reason for that.
"I believe the new principal had the option to keep 50% of the staff, yet Armstrong is not being retained. There's a reason for that."
Not knowing the facts, I'd still wager that this assessment nails it.
I have had the opportunity to teach with both of these fine gentlemen. I taught at Mojave High School for four years and loved the staff and students at the school. I can tell you that NO ONE worked harder ON A DAILY BASIS than Coach Armstrong and Coach Davis. These two men were constantly involved in the lives of not only their athletes, but the large number of students who needed extra tutoring or instruction. When I first joined the staff at Mojave, Coach A was one of the first to welcome me and extend a helping hand. As the year progressed, I witnessed the students in his Government classes, actively engaged with rigorous content; especially the final court cases!! As a coach and a person, Coach A has the respect of peers and students alike. There are very few people who dedicate the amount of time, effort and time away from their own families to help the students at their respective schools as these two men have and I guarentee will continue to do. Kudos to both of these gentlemen, I would LOVE for them to teach or coach my children!!!