The Ed-Watch series is designed to increase access to information on what decisions
are being made regarding public education in Clark County and Nevada.
What is the Board of Trustees & what are they responsible for? The Washoe County School District Board of Trustees are publicly elected decision-makers for the school district. They are responsible for providing oversight to the Superintendent and establishing District-wide policy. Trustees are accountable to work with their communities to improve student achievement.
Click here to learn more and see a list of current Trustees.
How often does the Board of Trustees meet? Trustees meet twice per month (second and fourth Tuesdays) at 2 pm both virtually and at the Central Administration Building Board Room, 425 E. 9th St., Reno, NV 89512.
Click here for a full list of Trustees meetings.
Can community members engage at Trustee meetings? Decision-making bodies benefit greatly from hearing public input and multiple perspectives. Currently, members of the public can submit comments on agenda and non-agenda items through email or voice recording. Public comment can be provided in person or via email. Email comments should be submitted to publiccomments@washoeschools.net.
Tuesday, October 25, 2022
Washoe County School District Board of Trustees Meeting
Click here to see the meeting agenda.
Watch the meeting playback.
What happened at this meeting?
Trustees Approved the Consent Agenda
Consent agenda highlights include:
- Final approval to several board policies to clarify language and remove redundancies
- Approval of ARP and ESSER funds for evidence-based summer enrichment and afterschool programs grant
- Approval of the 2022-2023 First Quarter Report of Average Daily Attendance and Pupil-Teacher Ratios for Grades K-3
Explore the consent agenda here.
Trustees Adopted Washoe County School District Board Resolutions 22-015, 22-016, 22-017, 22-018, 22-019, 22-020, 22-021, 22-022, 22-023, 22-024, 22-025, 22-026, 22-027, 22-028, 22-029, 22-030, Resolutions To Augment Various Fiscal Year 2022-23 Capital Projects Funds Budgets, And Approval Of Augmentation For Various Fiscal Year 2022-23 Capital Projects Funds Budgets
Trustees adopted several board resolutions regarding the need to augment capital budgets for several projects, including IT device refreshes, construction projects at Debbie Smith Career and Technical Education and JWood Raw Elementary, and other programs.
Explore the presentation and resolution documents.
Trustees Approved a Donation of Real Property at 4917 Hombre Way in Reno to ACE Charter School
Trustees approved the donation of real property at 4917 Hombre Way in Reno to ACE Charter School. This is associated with the recent completion of a pupil-constructed residence.
Explore the overview map and previous action staff reports.
Trustees Discussed the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) Data in Grades 3-8 and How it is Used to Improve Student Learning Outcomes
Trustees reviewed SBAC testing data from grades 3-8. Overall, in English Language Arts (ELA), students’ performance decreased four percentage points over 2018-2019 results, and increased two percentage points over 2020-2021 results. Academic disparities over long periods of time persisted throughout the pandemic, including those among Hispanic, American Indian, and Pacific Islander students, students who quality for free or reduced lunch, English learner students, and students who are on Individualized Education Plans (IEPs).
Strategies for supporting improved outcomes on the SBAC include additional core materials (such as high-quality ELA textbook adoptions in elementary school, strengthening instruction for EL students, and alignment with essential standards); supplemental materials for additional targeted supports for student groups and differentiating instruction; addressing academic disparities (i.e. Tier I language-rich instruction ELs); interventions; assessments; adult learning and staff supports; middle school pathways; and family and community supports.
Identified next steps for the District include alignment for quality instructions; school performance plans focused on reducing academic disparities and opportunity gaps; vetting high-quality curriculum and instructional materials; and building foundations for standards-based grading practices.
Explore the presentation and the Response to Recovery Strategic Plan.
Trustees Heard an Update on Measurable Outcomes Related to Specific Goals and Objectives Included in the District’s Response to Recovery Strategic Plan
Trustees received a presentation on the District’s Response to Recovery Strategic Plan, Goals One (academic growth) and Five (safe and welcoming schools). For Goal One, targets in science, ELA, and math were not met; areas of success include solidifying Professional Learning Communities to review student learning, implementing common assessments for math, expanding tutoring, and linking Multi-Tiered System of Supports with PLC focus centered around academic performance.
Goal Five involved increasing students reporting favorable attitudes towards school engagement positive relationships with school community, feeling safe, and social and emotional health. One out of eleven of these areas was improved. Next steps for this goal include building a clear understanding of a 3-pronged approach to student and family engagement; considering strength-based or asset-based tools to strengthen student-educator relationships; and extending services for teachers and staff supporting
their social-emotional needs.
Explore the presentation.
Trustees Approved the AB 495 Grant Application to the Nevada Department of Education for $20,590,399
Trustees approved the District’s AB 495 grant application. This grant will support student recovery, and must address the impact of learning loss experienced as a result of the pandemic. WCSD was awarded $20,590,399, and the breakdown of the funding includes $15.6 million for instructional support, tutoring, English Learner support, dyslexia training for staff, web-based intervention programs, Activboards for schools, audio enhancement devices for teachers, CTE equipment and supplies, and musical instruments and art supplies.
In student wellbeing, $4.9 million was approved for a crisis counselor, a substance abuse counselor, mental health administration, a re-engagement facilitator, attendance officers, CIT liaisons, family graduation advocates, a Native American graduation advocate, and MTSS specialists.
Activities will be evaluated using progress monitoring, and plans match the data being collected in ESSER 2 and ESSER 3.
Explore the presentation.
Student Representative’s Report
The Student Representative was not present for a report.
Trustee Reports
Trustee district highlights included:
- Several school visits
- School recruitment and staff appreciation events
- Staff recognition and school awards
- Construction career day
Superintendent’s Report
The Superintendent’s report highlights included:
- Appreciation for Trustees and district staff
Public Comment
Members of the public shared comments on this item regarding:
- Approaches to English Learners
- Issues with bus transportation
- Parent notifications for Code Yellow and Code Red incidents
- Candidate misinformation
- Student engagement
- District funding
- Translators for conference week
The next Meeting of the Board of Trustees is scheduled for November 8, 2022, at 2:00 p.m.
