Emily Richmond

Story Archive

Proposed: A high school just for future teachers: Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009; John Jasonek wants to start grooming the next generation of educators at an earlier age — by nurturing them at a charter high school designed to foster teaching.
UNLV researching why so many freshmen aren't ready for college: Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009; UNLV is about to launch what may be its most important research project ever: Why are so many freshmen not ready for college even though their high school grades suggest they are? The UNLV president says the problem needs to be addressed clinically.
Mentors key to helping students succeed: Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009; After graduating from Cheyenne High School with a B-plus grade point average, Vanessa Ocampo figured she was ready for her freshman year at UNLV.
Grants aplenty, but can matching funding be found?: Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009; A $650 million grant initiative, announced this month by U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, holds a wealth of opportunity for the Clark County School District, but meeting one of the key requirements won’t be easy.
Merit pay: How best to decide who earns it at schools: Clark County schools weighing whether empowerment schools should consider campuses’ ‘at-risk’ factors in awarding bonuses.; Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009; The notion of holding teachers accountable for their classroom performance — and paying them bonuses for a job well done — is gaining support across the country. But what criteria should be used to judge teacher performance?
Swine flu shots could be available at schools: Plan is to use campuses during off-hours, if needed; Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009; Ten high school campuses may serve as large-scale vaccination sites to help prevent the H1N1 “swine flu” virus.
Board revokes teaching license after unlawful contact conviction: Friday, Oct. 9, 2009; A former Boulder City middle school teacher had his license revoked today by the State Board of Education following his conviction for unlawful contact with a child, a gross misdemeanor.
Recession hits charter parents two ways: At two schools, some can no longer play key roles; Friday, Oct. 9, 2009; The economy is taking different tolls on a pair of Las Vegas charter schools.
Rulffes wants more campuses ‘empowered’: Superintendent seeks to expand pilot program, even without full funding; Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009; Superintendent Walt Rulffes wants to add up to 20 campuses to the Clark County School District’s “empowerment” pilot program, even if most of them likely won’t get the extra funding that has previously come with participation.
A month into school year, district takes student census, backfills areas of need: Monday, Sept. 28, 2009; Spanish teacher Marie King spent three weeks setting up her classroom at Gibson Middle School, even paying to have one wall painted a cheery shade of purple that she thought her students would enjoy.
Rule in works in try to keep comments at meetings civil: Objective: Rein in personal attacks on board members; Monday, Sept. 28, 2009; The Clark County School Board’s patience is wearing thin with people who are more interested in lobbing insults than in useful discourse.
Hand sanitizer here, not there as flu prep goes in fits, starts: Friday, Sept. 25, 2009; After fielding dozens of calls from parents concerned about the upcoming flu season, Principal Tam Larnerd decided to provide each of his classroom teachers with hand sanitizer, spending about $450 in school supply money for 60 large bottles at Sam’s Club.
Striking a chord with students: Accomplished musician takes time out to inspire orchestra at Basic High; Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009; Despite Clark County School District’s budget cuts — including $120 million for the 2009-10 academic year — moments like concert pianist and guest instructor Alpin Hong teaching at Basic High School still happen. Research has long shown that students who are involved in fine arts programs typically do better in their academic classes than their peers who don’t take part. Basic is expected to dodge any fine-arts cuts because it had no enrollment drop. Still, Principal David Bechtel says he’s not satisfied with the status quo.
School district sees enrollment decline of 1,667 students: Monday, Sept. 21, 2009; The Clark County School District is seeing its first enrollment decline in more than a quarter-century. As of Friday, the official “count day” used by the state to determine per-pupil funding for public schools, Clark County had 309,573 students.
Principal says parents’ action helped score ‘Blue Ribbon’ honors: Monday, Sept. 21, 2009; At Gray Elementary School, Principal Carl Johnson wanted to encourage more parental involvement.
Task at hand: Flu-readiness: School District working on H1N1 vaccination plan, outbreak response; Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009; In a state with one of the nation’s worst track records for childhood immunizations, the Clark County School District is strategizing how to provide motivation and opportunity for tens of thousands of students to be vaccinated against the H1N1 “swine flu” virus.
Smatresk: UNLV strong, but 'doing more with less': University president expects economic woes to continue through four years; Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009; Despite steep budget cuts, fiscal uncertainties and the challenges of an evolving mission, UNLV is standing strong, President Neal Smatresk said in his first “State of the University” address. Speaking without notes to a nearly full house in the main ballroom of the campus Student Union, Smatresk praised the university community for banding together to weather a tough economic season, saying “thanks to our legislators … because it could have been worse.”
Keeping kids in class often falls to novice school workers: Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009; In June, Adam Mauk was a Clark County School District attendance officer, his eight-hour days spent chasing down truants, breaking up house parties and ferrying students “left over” at the end of the day.
Today Mauk works fewer hours for less pay as a special education classroom aide at a Henderson elementary school, lifting students in and out of wheelchairs, escorting them to the bathroom and helping with their personal hygiene.
Likely this year in the valley: Fewer students, no increase in state money: Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009; For some 10 years, the Clark County School District broke ground on a new school every month. But enrollment growth appears to have stalled — and maybe for the first time in at least 25 years, there will be fewer students this fall than the previous year.
Newest health center fills a need: Clinic at elementary school provides basic medical care; Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009; A campus-based health center opened Friday at Matt Kelly Elementary, providing services to hundreds of students who would otherwise likely go without basic medical care such as hearing and vision exams and treatment of chronic illnesses such as asthma.
Schools will be funded based on Sept. 18 attendance: Friday, Sept. 11, 2009; As discontented parents at 100 Academy of Excellence talk of taking their children out of the charter school, the Clark County School District is wondering how many of them might end up in traditional public schools that serve West Las Vegas.
Rulffes has rough draft of fix for Prime Six: Proposal outlines course of action for improving schools in West Las Vegas; Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009; The recent assessment of a 15-year effort to improve education at six elementary schools serving West Las Vegas offered a bracing, unflattering conclusion: Rather than help the students, the program appears to have backfired, resulting in campuses largely isolated by race, poverty and low achievement.
Washington think tank with ideas for the West starts UNLV partnership: Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009; Last summer the Brookings Institution identified Nevada as one of five Western states poised to become a new American heartland. A year after its study, Brookings is setting up shop in Las Vegas to help achieve those goals.
Too much state bureaucracy for schools?: Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009; Are appointed boards of education more effective than ones with elected members? Does Nevada really need three separate academic commissions to oversee standards, technology and school improvement? Those are just a few of the questions a newly appointed interim legislative committee intends to address. Assemblywoman Bonnie Parnell (D-Carson City) will lead the committee, which was created by lawmakers during the recent legislative session.
Cheaters, helpers alike mar testing: Results of annual state analysis of hiccups in assessments are in; Friday, Sept. 4, 2009; A Mojave High teacher didn’t just send her students off to a math proficiency exam and wish them well — she sat down and took the test, too. That was one of 134 irregularities detailed in an assessment of test security in Nevada’s public schools.
What ﬁne print of federal plan means for our local schools: Some would have to make aggressive changes to qualify for money; Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009; At first blush it looks like a boon for the Clark County School District:
The U.S. Education Department is offering tens of millions of dollars that could potentially be used to expand the district’s popular — and expensive — initiative to empower schools with money and autonomy.
But a closer reading of the fine print suggests the district won’t be able to tap the money to turn an unlimited number of campuses into empowerment schools.
Recession’s effects evident even in school-bus stops: Number of pickups outside single-family homes decreases; Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009; It was a typical first week of school for the School District’s transportation department — with thousands of students showing up at bus stops where they weren’t expected. More than 80,000 Clark County students registered for transportation services for the 2009-10 academic year.
U.S. schools chief seeks big changes, has money to spend: Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009; Arne Duncan, appointed by President Barack Obama to be his secretary of education, knows he better do something about the state of public schools. His predecessors had less than $20 million in discretionary funding to help the nation’s struggling public schools. Duncan has $10 billion. “Unprecedented resources need to come with unprecedented reform,” Duncan says.
Sought: More schools like West Prep: Steps local school took for turnaround are the kind feds are now encouraging; Thursday, Aug. 27, 2009; One of the more recent success stories in the Clark County School District is West Prep, which in its previous incarnation had the worst academic performance in the state.
Kirk Kerkorian’s gift feeds future: $14 million will fund UNLV institute for seeking grants; Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009; An initiative to raise money to advance education, health care and social services in Nevada will be launched at UNLV today with a $14 million grant from Kirk Kerkorian’s Lincy Foundation. The gift will fund the creation of The Lincy Institute.
Students back to school, staying close to home: West Las Vegas parents forgo other options to keep children in ‘Prime Six’ schools; Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009; Second grader Ayanna Walters showed up for school Monday in her new clothes — a red and black plaid blouse with matching shoes, crisp dark denim pants — and with her notebook and pencils carefully stowed in her hot-pink backpack.
“I’m ready,” said Ayanna, smiling broadly. So was Ayanna’s school, Booker Elementary. And that’s the good news for the Clark County School District.
Many paths to teaching posts: For some, dissatisfaction in other careers opened schoolhouse door; Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009; More than 600 teachers have joined the Clark County School District in time for the start of the new school year Monday. They are a mix of rookies and veterans and bring with them a wide range of life experiences. Here are six of them.
With critical issues to tackle, UNLV leader takes reins: Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009; Neal Smatresk is as an academics expert — he was chief academic officer at the University of Hawaii at Manoa before joining UNLV in 2007 as vice president and provost. Now Smatresk, 58, has been asked to broaden his repertoire by steering the struggling university through a recession and emerge at the other end of the tunnel with a focused mission.
TV crew learns the lesson of its story: Saturday, Aug. 22, 2009; One of the TV news crews should have paid more attention when the Clark County School District held its annual back-to-school news conference at Adcock Elementary to warn drivers to slow down around campuses.
U.S. education secretary to visit Las Vegas school: Friday, Aug. 21, 2009; U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan is scheduled to visit the Clark County School District Wednesday.
Quick guide to pronouncing ‘Smatresk,’ last name of the new UNLV president: Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009; Please. The name of the new UNLV president does not rhyme with “mattress.” That’s the bottom-line advice from UNLV on how to correctly pronounce Neal Smatresk. And then there are some television news anchors who are managing to squeeze three or four syllables out of Smatresk — which has but two, according to an e-mail issued by UNLV’s chief spokesman, Dave Tonelli.
Bad feelings complicate achievement inequity issue: Expert offers advice on healing District-West Las Vegas rift; Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009; William Trent, an expert in education policy, helps school districts across the country deal with issues of segregation, equity and student achievement. Trent, a professor at the University of Illinois, says it’s easy to get people talking about what’s not working and whom to blame. The harder step, and the more important one, Trent says, is the listening.
School District again taking heat for unequal achievement: Sunday, Aug. 16, 2009; A recent review of the Prime Six plan, by UCLA researchers hired by the district, points to its failure. The researchers found that almost without exception, the Prime Six schools are mired in lackluster achievement that lags far behind the districtwide average.
District’s new teachers fewer than in recent years, full of enthusiasm: Saturday, Aug. 15, 2009; Some came from across town to attend this week’s new-teacher orientation, excited about their first classroom jobs. Others, with decades of experience, arrived from as far away as New York and New Jersey.
Rulffes presses for families’ choice in school attendance: District wouldn’t provide transportation; School Board approval would be required; Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009; Clark County Schools Superintendent Walt Rulffes wants students to pick the schools they want to attend, provided there is space — a proposal that in other districts has led to more innovative programs as campuses compete to fill their seats.
Clark County School District’s new hires plunge, but there’s an upside: Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009; During those heady growth years (not too long ago), more than 2,700 new teachers would be welcomed into the ranks of the Clark County School District each summer. And this year? The district expects to hire 630 new teachers by the start of the school year — about a third of the number hired a year ago.
Las Vegas man fluent in fencing, more: Local man of many talents plans to compete for a world title in Russia next month; Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2009; Heik Hambarzumian, 60, speaks five languages, plays the accordion and classical guitar, and teaches ballroom dancing, mathematics and electronics.
Tracking system for achievement is lauded: Test scores are up, but not all schools using program; Wednesday, July 29, 2009; In 2004 the Clark County School District invested in a new approach to tracking student achievement and classroom instruction, which educators say has played a significant role in gains in standardized test scores, particularly in the lower grades.
A high school’s leap from so-so to special: How Valley became first in county recognized for ‘turnaround’; Monday, July 27, 2009; When Ron Montoya first arrived at Valley High School in 1999, he was known for his catch phrase — “You’re the best” — which he uttered nearly every time he crossed paths with a student.
The (new) little school that could: Taylor Elementary School students’ strides hit marks under federal program; Friday, July 24, 2009; For the first time time since the No Child Left Behind law took effect in 2002, Robert Taylor Elementary School’s academic gains were enough to meet federal requirements.
Recovery moving slowly but steadily: Critics call stimulus a failure, but others see welcome progress; Friday, July 24, 2009; In a state where the ranks of the unemployed could fill one of Nevada’s largest cities, hiring a construction crew for highway paving or a few hundred schoolteachers doesn’t sound like much.
But it is beginning to add up. Putting Nevadans back to work under the economic recovery plan is happening, if slowly.
School District falls short of ‘No Child’ goals: Officials still find bright spots in annual report; Thursday, July 23, 2009; When it comes to No Child Left Behind, “close” isn’t good enough, the Clark County School District learned today. School officials announced today that the district had fallen short of “adequate yearly progress” under the federal law for the 2008-09 academic year. The district had made adequate progress in 2007 and 2008. District officials said budget cuts might have played a role in the poorer showing because of larger classes and less support for students.
NASA space camp gives teachers ideas for the classroom: Two local educators attend hands-on astronaut academy on scholarship; Monday, July 20, 2009; Mendoza Elementary School teacher Marilyn Cherry never dreamed of being an astronaut, but she knows the future of space exploration depends on getting students like her fifth graders excited about the possibilities.
Single-sex classes being praised on many levels: Jury still out, but some educators already convinced of benefits; Sunday, July 19, 2009; Single-sex classrooms are part of a Clark County School District experiment to see whether teaching boys and girls separately improves academic performance. The jury is still out, but not for a small group of local educators who are convinced that boys and girls learn so differently that teaching them the same way, in the same room, shortchanges the group. The district has since 2002 used single-sex classrooms for certain subjects and grades.
Turnover of teachers slows with the economy: Fewer sell homes and leave, or can afford to retire, so they stay; Tuesday, July 14, 2009; In 2006 school officials welcomed the district’s new teachers in luncheons at Cox Pavilion that stretched over three days.