Thursday, Sept. 1, 2011 | 4:10 p.m.
We have finished the beginning first week of an incredible year. I can speak for the teachers and staff at Elizondo that we are thrilled to work with the children of this community. They have arrived at school wide-eyed and ready to soak up all that the teachers have to give. As a staff, we promise, with your help, to do everything in our power to ensure that your children grow both academically and socially.
The support we have received because of our turnaround status, from Edison learning and the School District, is priceless. Together, we are creating an atmosphere of success for the students, the parents and the teachers. We know that every child, by the end of the year, will be ready for the next grade level.
As we embark on this new era for Elizondo, please remember that our doors are always open for feedback and comments on how to improve the school. To the parents of our students: If I have not met you, please feel free to introduce yourself. It is very important that you get to know me, Assistant Principal Antoinette Brewer and the staff of Elizondo. The relationships you create at school will instill a lasting impression on your children that you value learning. If your children see that you value education and desire that they excel in school, they will try harder and have a better chance to succeed.
Research shows that to secure good jobs, prospective candidates will have to have a college education. We are laying the foundation for this kind of success every day at Elizondo. We must work together to ensure each child takes advantage of each learning opportunity so he or she can achieve at high levels.
They deserve our very best.
Above our doors, you will find the motto for the children and staff at Elizondo: “I have the responsibility to be smarter than I was yesterday.” We will live by this declaration and will ensure that it holds true every day. The teachers and staff ask you to hold us accountable for student success, while we in turn will hold you accountable to be true partners in your child’s education.
Together we will surely have a successful year, and our Bulldog pride will be stronger than ever!
With a new principal and a new mascot, Elizondo Elementary School, located in industrial outskirts of North Las Vegas, hopes to successfully turn the school’s level of achievement around. The school is under pressure to improve test scores, and with only 19 of last year’s 110 fifth-graders passing the writing test, it has some of the district’s lowest scores.
More than 65 percent of Elizondo students are classified as having low socio-economic status. With a high transiency rate and a large Hispanic population, the school is focused on working with students to overcome their familial and financial changes.
This year, more than half the teachers have been replaced and student achievement is on the top of the list. Principal Keith France has extended the school day by 70 minutes. Students must now wear uniforms, lunch breaks are staggered and students are let out of school at different locations around campus by grade level to curb bullying.
Although Elizondo offers an unique full-day kindergarten program that benefits many low-income families, the program has caused class sizes to swell above the state average of 30 students per kindergarten class.
Elizondo differs from other Clark County schools not only because it’s a turnaround school, but because it’s also managed by EdisonLearning Inc., a controversial New York-based for-profit education company that has had mixed success. The school still must abide by district academic standards and policies.
- Year built:
- 1998
- Mascot:
- Bulldogs
- Principal (Year Hired):
- Keith France (2011)
- School motto:
- “Learners today, leaders tomorrow”
- Enrollment:
- Approximately 654
- School Report Card:
- 2010-2011
Compiled by Aida Ahmed
Keith France is the principal of Elizondo Elementary.
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