Nevada State Superintendent Jhone Ebert announces the states Acing Accountability initiative during a visit to Mater Academy Mountain Vista, Thursday Sept. 21, 2023.
Monday, Dec. 25, 2023 | 2 a.m.
Nevada’s Superintendent of Public Instruction Jhone Ebert has been appointed to the federal National Assessment Governing Board.
The board sets policy for the Nation’s Report Card, also known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a nationally representative assessment of student achievement.
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona appointed Ebert to a spot on the board reserved for a chief state school officer. Her term began last month.
“Amazing talent on this Governing Board,” Ebert said in a social media post. “Look forward to engaging on behalf of our community and nation.”
The nonpartisan 26-member Governing Board, which was established by Congress in 1988, decides what grades and subjects to assess, content to include and achievement levels.
Its members include governors, state legislators, local and state school officials, educators, business representatives, and members of the general public.
“I’m honored to welcome Superintendent Ebert to the Governing Board and, together, continuing the pressing work of understanding whether, to what degree, and where the nation is making academic gains,” said Lesley Muldoon, executive director of the Governing Board, in a statement. “The Nation’s Report Card serves as a catalyst for action to improve student achievement, and state chiefs like Ebert inform and drive that vital work.”
Local nomination for national award
Gov. Joe Lombardo nominated Fertitta Middle School campus security monitor Edrecka Wolridge for a national award honoring outstanding school support professionals.
Each state is invited to nominate up to two employees for the annual Recognizing Inspiring School Employees Award, which is overseen by the U.S. Department of Education.
In addition to being a campus security monitor, Wolridge coaches Fertitta’s boys basketball team, runs camps and sports programs for the city of Las Vegas, and is earning her teaching certificate through CCSD’s Paraprofessionals Pathway Program.
The governor also nominated Ava Proulx, a social worker at Amargosa Valley Elementary School in Nye County School District. The National RISE Award recipient will be announced in the spring.
The three finalists for the state nomination were Erica Nungary, the registrar at Harney Middle School; Mary Ann Canavan, a physical education aide at Gehring Elementary School; and Belinda Strong, a security monitor at Lynch Elementary School.
Local student wins state contest
Robison Middle School sixth-grader Learsi Romero Martinez won the Nevada Department of Education’s Nevada Reading Week 2024 Student Art Contest.
Learsi’s artwork, which follows the theme “Embrace the Magic of Reading,” will be the Reading Week logo and be featured on t-shirts, the Nevada Reading Week website, and various promotional materials. Autumn Frampton, an eighth-grader at Somerset Academy’s Aliante Campus in North Las Vegas, won the middle school honorable mention. Students from the Reno area won the honorable mentions at the high school and elementary school levels.
Nevada Reading Week 2024 is March 4-8.
Max amount for settlements raised
The Clark County School District might soon raise the maximum settlement it can pay out without putting it on a School Board agenda from $150,000 to $375,000.
The School Board will consider the proposal Jan. 11.
The maximum settlement would differ depending on the rank of the district official, according to the proposal.
The most the chief financial officer could approve, with legal approval, would increase from $150,000 to $375,000. At the bottom of the scale, the most a “risk management claims examiner” can approve would increase from $30,000 to $75,000.
Settlements exceeding $375,000, rather than the previous maximum of $150,000, would require School Board action.
District Chief Financial Officer Jason Goudie told the Board that this change is “given the financial size of the district (and) the level of expertise of the people reviewing these components.” Also, raising the maximum increases efficiency, Goudie said.
