Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
Stumble
By Paul Takahashi (contact) 
Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012 | 2 a.m.
After months of reviews and revisions, U.S. Department of Education approved Nevada’s waiver from the stringent requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act.
The waiver no longer binds Nevada’s struggling schools to the 2001 law’s key mandate that all Nevada children be 100 percent proficient in math and reading by 2014.
Instead, the waiver announcement on Wednesday heralds a new school accountability system for the Nevada Department of Education, said state Superintendent Jim Guthrie.
The new accountability system includes a different method of measuring student achievement, more rigorous national standards and new school and teacher evaluation systems, he said.
“The time for excuses has stopped,” Guthrie said, citing a recent national report that ranked Nevada dead last in education. “By 2020 — on every important measure of student achievement — Nevada will be at least at or better than the national median.”
Nevada’s waiver application outlines some of the new strategies the state plans to implement to meet Guthrie’s bold goal. Here are 10 of those proposals:
-
This past school year, Nevada implemented the “growth model,” which tracks a student’s academic progress over time. The model has been adopted by 18 states and emphasizes how much a student has improved on standardized tests year over year — instead of by a one-time test score.
-
Nevada is now entering the final year of a three-year rollout of the Common Core Standards, which have been adopted by 45 states. Proponents argue that Common Core benefits school districts with a high transiency rate — such as Clark County — because the more rigorous curriculum standards are uniform across the country.
-
To comply with the waiver request, Gov. Brian Sandoval tasked the Teachers and Leaders Council with developing a new teacher evaluation system. The council is expected to present a final report in December, Guthrie said.
-
Nevada is in the process of implementing a statewide school rating system, which would appraise public schools on a one- to five-star scale.
This school performance index would measure student achievement and growth, average daily attendance, graduation rates and other indicators of college- and career-readiness, such as participation in college-level coursework and average ACT and SAT scores.
-
Under the new statewide school rating system, Nevada’s high-performing schools will be rewarded with greater autonomy. Low-performing schools will be given greater oversight but also support, such as leadership and teacher development.
-
Nevada has new performance benchmarks for math and English to meet a new goal of increasing proficiency rates from the 50th to the 90th percentile by the 2016-17 school year.
-
Nevada plans to better focus on closing the achievement gap between different student groups — such as low-income students, English-language learners and students with disabilities — by identifying and establishing “focus schools.”
These “Focus schools” – which have demonstrated low growth among challenging subgroups — will be given additional support and interventions over a minimum three-year period. The school and district will use data to identify the cause of low performance and develop steps to solve problems.
-
Nevada changed the way it classifies and combines challenging student subgroups, increasing the number of schools responsible for low-income, English-language learner and special education student performance.
There are now more than 100 additional schools responsible for their special education student population, more than 70 additional schools responsible for the performance of their English-language learner students and more than 40 additional schools responsible for the performance of their low-income students.
-
Nevada will identify its lowest-performing schools as “priority schools” and ensure that school districts implement interventions at those schools, similar to the “turnaround” schools.
-
Nevada will continue to report student achievement, graduation rates and how well it met performance targets in an annual “report card” for each school.
Until school becomes a choice instead of a mandate, and until the union no longer rules the system, education will not improve.
Education in Nevada will NOT improve because of a succession of predatory Tea/Republican Party Governors who could care less if children are educated. Because they place more emphasis on money, than the future of Nevada and the health, welfare and education of its youth.
This may be admirable for the education leaders to talk tough, but all I see is yet ANOTHER new policy. After many, many policy decisions before all met with failure.
This trying to address the problem from the bottom up is not going to work.
Sure, the teachers and the students are a key in making it work, but when you have politicians who are all pointing fingers all the time, refusing to work with the education system in Nevada AT ANY LEVEL AT ALL, then whatever these administrators decide to do is going to be met with inaction. Because the politicians are all seeking to take more and more money away from the school system, yet they pay lip service.
Governor Sandoval, besides dragging his feet on Medicaid here in Nevada, could care less about education.
As far as he's concerned, it's only switched from "no child left behind" to the new program called "no child left a dime."
Nevada schools ranks 50th in the nation in the Kids Count report. I guess we can be optimistic. There's nowhere to go but up.
I'm encouraged by the emphasis on Focus Schools. Homogenizing special-needs children with all students in the classroom is an impediment to average and better students.
Until parents are held responsible for their children's education, nothing will ever change. Period. Show me a parent who cares about his child's education, and I will show you a highly successful student.
Education will not improve until you get rid of the unions that are ruining it.
There's no point in talking about improving the schools until pension reform takes place. NVPers pays pensions based on the assumption that its fund will grow at a Madoff 8% per year--so schools have to assume that budget cuts will increase by 8% per year just to cover pensions to people who are no longer working. http://triblive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/new...
@Nisa. Which union sets the CCSD budget? I was under the impression that was the responsibility of the Trustees. Which union sets the curriculum that is taught? That is set by the State Department of Education. Which union sets the state budget that allocates money to the school districts? I was told that was done by the legislature and the governor. Which union controls the discipline in the schools? I thought that was the responsibility of the school administrators. Which union are you talking about "ruining" education?
@manfromuncle. Since you live in California, why do you care about Nevada Pers? By the way, Nevada Pers is one of the most highly rated state retirement systems in the country. You do also realize that all state and local government employees as well as teachers are in Pers don't you.
@Colin - Liberals have had control of our entire education system for half a century, but it's conservatives who are at fault? Did you even read the article? "We'll be in great shape by 2020 ... blah blah blah" Yeah, great liberal strategy as usual - aim for the middle!
@Daydreamer. Sorry to disappoint you, but you know those 400 teachers that were laid off, they had all been rehired. CCSD is still hiring. Why don't you look at Transparent Nevada. There are 50 names per page, and the first 36 pages or so, about 1800 names are NOT teachers. Try again.
@tanker The union owns the insurance company that it forces the district to use. The district spends $119 million in health insurance paid to the union's company. The district could save millions if they didn't have to use the union health insurance. What does the union do with all that money? Do you think they pay out anywhere near $119 million a year for health care? No they are lining their pockets.
The union also doesn't allow the district to lay off or fire based on performance. The union does everything they can to keep old crappy teachers that only care about keeping their jobs.
@nisa. The Teachers Health Trust is totally independent of the Union. It is a non-profit, and highly regard by the medical community in Las Vegas. The Board of Directors are different, and the Executive Directors are different. The district wanted to replace it last year with a FOR PROFIT insurance company. Have you seen what happens with for profit insurance companies lately.
In the last round of lay-off, the first 40 teachers were teachers who had been suspended two or more times in the past two years. There are provisions in the contract to get rid of teachers who are not up to standard, but it requires school administrators to document the problem. If the school administrators don't document, the teacher is not removed.
This is a listing from the board meeting today. There were 8 teachers dismissed of the 129 names listed. The people listed as no response in effect fired themselves.
http://ccsd.net/employees/resources/pdf/...
I posted the wrong link. This is the correct link.
http://www.boarddocs.com/nv/ccsdlv/Board...
The 40 teachers with discipline issues were dismissed with the first round of lay offs. If you go to every board meeting, there is a similar list of teacher separations.
'No Child' spent money on testing, not teaching. It's requirements forced all graduates to learn what many can never learn in this era of distraction: simple math. It was an educational program designed by bean counters and wasted time and money.
Richard Dean: "Liberals have had control of our entire education system for half a century, but it's conservatives who are at fault? Did you even read the article? "We'll be in great shape by 2020 ... blah blah blah" Yeah, great liberal strategy as usual - aim for the middle!"
You are taking a problem and talking generalities. As it relates to the entire United States of America.
The problem we are talking about here, at this point in time, Statewide in Nevada, cannot be just explained away by bloviating vague stuff and playing upon people's emotions and misperceptions. It don't work like that.
FACT: For the past fourteen years, we have had a succession of Tea/Republican Party Governors who have basically GUTTED our education system. And given the money saved to corporations in the form of tax breaks.
To point fingers at your so called boogeyman "liberals" is incredible partisan politic thought.
My whole point is that our education system in the Great State of Nevada has ABSOLUTELY NO CHANCE of getting better when you have Governors who look at education as a problem, and not a solution to a problem.
For years and years and years all we have heard is illegal immigrants this, the kids in Nevada are rotten, the teachers here in Nevada are not performing, they're lazy, blah blah blah woof woof woof.
The fingers are pointed everywhere. Except at where the real problem is.
Public education needs to be funded properly. To give kids a chance to succeed. And for teachers to be successful.
But when the Government of Nevada refuses to participate in the whole process, remains silent, comes up with nothing, even refuses to sit down and realize it is a problem that encompasses politics, the education system and the participation wholeheartedly of students/parents, then it's doomed to failure.
FOR FOURTEEN YEARS, the education system has been whittled away from money.
This is a campaign issue for Governor Sandoval.
I see a game change coming. People are sick and tired of living in an ultra-conservative alternative universe where they could care less if kids are educated or not.
We're tired of this stupid Tea/Republican Party crap that gets us nowhere except to take pens and pencils out of students hands, and essentially replace them with guns and knives.
So, talking in vague generalities only serves the predators in power right now here in Nevada. "Liberal" this, "liberal" that. And other buzzwords. Gimme a break.
We get rid of the ones who caused this problem and start over. It needs to be fixed from the top down. Not this bottom up garbage that will only lead to inevitable failure.
So can we FINALLY START with teaching them to READ AND WRITE? They must read and write by age 8 or 9 or there is little to no chance of any real education. And teaching reading and writing is not rocket science. We used to do that routinely at very LOW COST.
Yeah the Teachers Trust is not part of the union...sure I believe that. That is why the union said they would use $22 million from the teachers trust to hire back laid off teachers for a year, because they have nothing to do with each other.
Also why did they have to be suspended two or more times? Why? Because the union made it that way. So a teacher that was never suspended but is new would be laid off before someone suspended just once. Make no sense at all.
@nisa. The story about the 22 million never came from the union. They don't have the authority to spend Health Trust money. If you saw the story in the RJ today all of the laid off teachers have been rehired. The union and the district presented options for the layoffs and both parties agreed to the layoff order.
Since you are so concerned about "bad teachers" what is your definition of a "bad teacher"? I seem to remember that when other employers lay off people, it follows the idea of last in, first out. So if it is ok for other government employees, why is it not ok for teachers? If it's ok for private employers, why is it not ok for teachers?
When you need a lawyer, do you want one who just graduated from law school, or the lawyer who had a 1000 case like yours. When you need a doctor, do you want a doctor just out of medical school, or one who has done a 1000 surgeries just like yours. Why is experienced better for every profession except teachers?
Well if the lawyer failed most of the time I would take the new one over the one with "experience."
I'm not sure where you get the idea that it is always last in first out everywhere. I have worked for a company that had to lay off multiple people over the course of a few months as the economy started to crash in 2008/2009. During this time we never followed last in first out. We decided who stayed and who left based on how they worked and on there disciplinary record. The only places that do last in first out are places that have unions.
Also the $22 million offer did come from the union and it would have been for one year. So yes the union and the Teacher Health Trust are on in the same.
From the Teacher Trust site for proof "The CCEA formed the Teachers Health Trust and established a Board of Trustees as the governing body. The CCEA President serves as a non-voting observer and appoints seven Trustees (all of whom are licensed employees) who serve a three--year term and may serve consecutive terms. The Chairperson is elected from among the Trustees of the Teachers Health Trust."
I'll be curious to see if other than short term improvements are realized.
@Nisa. Provide links to the 22 million story please.
This is a link to the site.
http://teachershealthtrust.org/AboutUs.a...
From the website.
"Board of Trustees
The CCEA formed the Teachers Health Trust and established a Board of Trustees as the governing body. The CCEA President serves as a non-voting observer and appoints seven Trustees (all of whom are licensed employees) who serve a three--year term and may serve consecutive terms. The Chairperson is elected from among the Trustees of the Teachers Health Trust.
The Trustees establish policies, direct overall Trust operations, including employing professional staff to run the day--to--day operations, consider and approve changes in plan benefits, manage Trust funds, and approve Trust expenditures."
Again from the site
"
A Brief History
Before the Teachers Health Trust was formed, benefits for licensed employees were managed by the Clark County School District (CCSD). In the period July 1982 to September 1983, there were three major premium increases -- 23.9%, 17.9%, and 29.4%. These increases in the District--managed plan caused the Clark County Education Association (CCEA) to begin negotiations with the CCSD for a change. The result of these negotiations was the formation by CCEA of a welfare benefit trust. The purpose was to enable licensed employees to make decisions relating to their own welfare benefits. The District's function then and to date is solely ministerial and limited to paying the Trust the contributions negotiated by CCEA, providing for payroll deductions for dependent coverage, providing eligibility lists, and verifying employment.
The CCEA is the exclusive bargaining agent for licensed employees and the Teachers Health Trust is the exclusive employee welfare benefit carrier for these employees. The CCEA bargains with the District for funds to provide the basic individual benefits to licensed employees. The process of payroll deduction is provided to licensed employees to pay for additional benefits such as dependent health coverage.
From 1983 to 1987, the Teachers Health Trust enjoyed stable rates for all licensed employees to the extent that it became feasible to add dental and vision benefits. In 1987, the Trust self--funded the medical indemnity plan and purchased stop--loss insurance to protect itself from catastrophic loss. The Teachers Health Trust was successful with this type of arrangement because it allowed the Trustees to purchase specific services directly from vendors. In 1990, the Teachers Health Trust Board of Trustees decided to discontinue the services of its third--party administrator and to self--administer the health and welfare benefits.
As a self--administered plan, the Trust can focus on development of a full complement of benefits including PPO and HMO medical, dental, and vision plans, as well as a term life plan specifically designed for its participants. In January of 1995, the Wellness Division came into being."
The people who actually teach the children reading and writing and math and curiosity and respect and gratitude and self-reliance do not receive a dime for their time.
The good teachers do what good parents do, and good learners get to see the big picture, to recognize and enjoy the connections. and to experience the thrust of the attraction to understanding alongside the joy of grasping the universe, becoming a part of the whole and engaging what talents they can discover inside them as their awareness of our universe unfolds for them because of one thing: the mentoring and personalization of instruction.
We're dang lucky to be alive in the information age, and most of Las Vegas is dang UNlucky to have no connectors to it, no hookers-up to stretch the brain and empower from within, no cloud access or familiarity with familiarizing or socializing or engendering self-esteem based on acquiescence of understanding when all this incredibly powerful skill-building potential and knowledge availability is a click away...and all because of lack of human parenting skill, and its evidence in the schools, but the problem is systemically cultural, locally concentrated and widespread.
Don't take my word for it, look around!
Before time gets away with the young-ins, if someone does NOT build a fire of self-love based on self-knowledge against the back-drop of self- discovered universal themes and patterns, then guess what we did to that little kid??
We ruined them. We denied them challenge. we denied them access to their better selves. And we shot them down before they were off the ground.
http://www.examiner.com/article/personal...
Check your kid into Harvard or MIT and watch 'em thrive at your kitchen table!
"Where does your kiddo go to school?"
"Del Sol during the day, MIT at night,and Harvard on weekends!"
http://www.examiner.com/article/personal...