Plenty for school district to brag about

Local campuses have shown variety of improvements

IN 2017, the Clark County School District participated for the first time in a national study of urban school districts on the National Assessment of Educational Progress test, otherwise known as “the nation’s report card.”

The results show the district is performing similar to or better than other large, urban school districts on math and reading scores. While there is much room for improvement, I disagree with the premise of your recent editorial, “More stagnant test scores for Clark County students on national exams.” Here is why these are notable results that should be celebrated:

First, the district ranks at the bottom when it comes to per-pupil funding among the districts that participated in the study, according to the most recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data. Yet we outperformed most of them in at least one category.

Additionally, many of our students are overcoming a huge amount of trauma, even in comparison to these other urban districts. Nevada has the third-highest unemployment rate among the cities/counties that participated in the study.

Our families arguably suffered the most in the housing crisis during the Great Recession, when home prices fell more than 60 percent. District families lost their homes, and our children have carried that weight with them to school every day.

Yet when you account for these challenges, the district still ranks its highest ever in 8th-grade math and reading, according to “the nation’s report card.” Understandably, more progress must and will be realized.

I’m in district schools around the county almost every day, and I know how hard our employees are working to help our students overcome these challenges — and thrive.

Unfair labels will continue to muddle the message and distract from the accurate depiction our community needs to hear: Our schools and professionals are creating student achievement gains to become the fastest-improving school district and state in the nation.

A local teacher whom I observed recently was masterfully teaching reading to a small group of English-language learner students at one of our toughest schools. She spends 12 hours a day at the school. She writes lesson plans, conducts home visits and provides daily lessons with the highest level of energy and effectiveness. The district has many professions of this type.

The district has steadily made improvements over the past few years in key indicators. Nevada has had both the largest three-year and five-year increase in graduates passing an Advanced Placement exam. That’s a big feat for Nevada — and for Clark County because the district educates roughly 70 percent of students in the state.

Another note of improvement : Our teachers, support staff and administrators have helped increase the district’s graduation rate to an all-time high of 83.22 percent for the class of 2017. We are also consistently honored nationally for our innovative Career and Technical Education and magnet programs and our renowned music education programs.

Some of the gains we have seen are because of programs — thanks to the Legislature and Gov. Brian Sandoval — such as Victory Schools, ZOOM schools, the Read By 3 initiative and a start on a weighted funding formula that will provide support for students with additional challenges, such as students who need assistance with language acquisition and students who live in poverty.

Our achievements have been limited only because these are categorical funds that are mostly provided to specific schools and do not benefit students districtwide.

“The nation’s report card” tells us something else. We saw national test scores drop when education funding was cut in the recent economic downturn. Like most states, Nevada is still recovering from the cuts to education funding that we experienced during the Great Recession. For example, the district has made more than $770 million in budget cuts since 2009.

We’ve seen targeted investment in education in Nevada, and we’ve seen gains. It’s not enough until every child succeeds. But it’s promising and something to build on. So let’s not discredit our hardworking professionals who work with students on a daily basis.

Our schools and professionals are creating student achievement gains to become the fastest-improving school district and state in the nation.

Clay Jones