Tag: chronic absenteeism

Nevada Ed-Watch: 3/23/23

Posted on by Opportunity 180

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.

Clark County School District Board of Trustees 

What is the Board of Trustees & what are they responsible for? The CCSD 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
Click here to find your Trustee District

How often does the Board of Trustees meet? Trustees meet twice per month (second and fourth Thursdays) at 5 pm both virtually and at the Edward A. Greer Education Center Board Room (2832 E Flamingo Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89121).

Click here for a full list of Trustees meetings and agendas
Click here to visit Hope For Nevada’s #NVEd Calendar

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, via email, or via voice recording. Email comments should be submitted to Boardmtgcomments@nv.ccsd.net. To submit a voice recording on items listed on the meeting agenda, call 702-799-1166. Voice recorded public comment is limited to 1 minute 30 seconds.

Thursday, March 23, 2023

Clark County School District Board of Trustees Meeting

Click here to see the meeting agenda.
Watch the meeting playback on CCSD EduVision.

What happened at this meeting?

Trustees Approved the Consent Agenda (7-0)

Consent Agenda Highlights:

Explore consent agenda items here.

Trustees Received an Update Chronic Absenteeism

Trustees discussed an update on chronic absenteeism, as related to the District’s Focus: 2024 Strategic Plan. Highlights included:

  • While chronic absenteeism rate goals were not met, chronic absenteeism this year is lower than the previous year across all sub-groups.
  • There was an increase in chronic absenteeism the Black/African American group.
  • Multi-agency support, a restructure of the Attendance Department, and the use of a Student Advisory Committee have contributed to the improvement.

Explore the presentation.

Trustees Received an Update on Student Discipline

Trustees discussed an update provided regarding student discipline, as related to the District’s Focus: 2024 Strategic Plan. Highlights included:

  • Student suspensions and discretionary expulsions have increased to their highest level in the last five years.
  • Elementary school suspensions have gone down, but middle and high school suspensions have risen.
  • Disproportionality and inconsistencies in application of resolutions remains a concern.

Explore the presentation.

Trustees Approved the Naming of Northeast Career and Technical Academy (4-3)

Trustees approved the School Name Committee’s recommendation that the new school adjacent to Legacy High School be named the Northeast Career and Technical Academy.

Explore the supporting material and map.

Trustees Approved the Naming of the Paul Sawicki Vehicle Maintenance Building (7-0)

Trustees approved the recommendation to name the maintenance building at the Matthew B. Wallace Transportation Center, the Paul Sawicki Vehicle Maintenance Building.

Explore the supporting material.

Public Comment

Members of the public shared comments regarding: 

  • Child services
  • Teacher shortages
  • Mathematics scholarships
  • Shadow Ridge High School coach firing
  • Canyon Springs High School incident
  • Teacher burnout and vacancies
  • Healthcare access 

The next Meeting of the Board of Trustees is scheduled for April 13, 2023, at 5:00 p.m.

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Nevada Ed-Watch: 08/25/22

Posted on by Opportunity 180

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.

Clark County School District Board of Trustees 

What is the Board of Trustees & what are they responsible for? The CCSD 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
Click here to find your Trustee District

How often does the Board of Trustees meet? Trustees meet twice per month (second and fourth Thursdays) at 5 pm both virtually and at the Edward A. Greer Education Center Board Room (2832 E Flamingo Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89121).

Click here for a full list of Trustees meetings and agendas
Click here to visit Hope For Nevada’s #NVEd Calendar

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, via email, or via voice recording. Email comments should be submitted to Boardmtgcomments@nv.ccsd.net. To submit a voice recording on items listed on the meeting agenda, call 702-799-1166. Voice recorded public comment is limited to 1 minute 30 seconds.

Thursday, August 25, 2022

Clark County School District Board of Trustees Meeting

Click here to see the meeting agenda.
Watch the meeting playback on CCSD EduVision.

What happened at this meeting?

Public Comment #1 on Non-Agenda Items

Members of the public shared comments regarding:

  • IEP concerns
  • Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) scholarship programs
  • Playground accessibility and special education status
  • Educator concerns regarding retaliation
  • High school enrollment
  • Early teacher retirement incentive program suspension
  • Student discipline
  • Teacher retention
  • Traffic safety concerns on College Dr. and Wagonwheel Dr.

Trustees Approved the Consent Agenda (7-0)

Consent Agenda Highlights:

Explore consent agenda items here.

Trustees Discussed Focus: 2024 Strategic Plan Update on Chronic Absenteeism

Staff presented an update on chronic absenteeism with reporting from the 2021-2022 school year. These numbers are not yet validated but will be done so by September 15, 2022. The District’s overall chronic absenteeism rate at 39.8% for the 2021-22 school year, against a target of 16.9%. Identified challenges include distance education and absence reporting, and identified successes include supportive partners on reducing absenteeism, targeted support during school closure, and consistent public reporting. Next steps include differentiated attendance reporting professional learning and Truancy Prevention Outreach Program renewal in August 2022.

Explore the presentation.

Learn more from the Las Vegas Review-Journal on this agenda item.

Trustees Accepted the Report on the Proposed State Public Charter School Authority Sponsored Public Charter Schools for the 2022 Annual Application Cycle

The State Public Charter School Authority (SPCSA) notifies the Department of Education and the local school district when they receive a notice of intent to submit an application or an application. The SPCSA submitted four applications for its annual application cycle for CCSD’s review: Mind Your Books (Grades K-8), Rooted School – Clark County (Grades 9-12), Southern Nevada Trades High School (Grades 9-12), and The Village High School (Grades 9-12).

Explore the presentation.

Trustees Approved Two Bill Draft Requests for the 2023 Legislative Session

CCSD is able to submit two Bill Draft Requests (BDRs) ahead of the 2023 Legislative Session. These requests must be submitted to the Legislative Counsel Bureau by September 1, 2022. Trustees discussed several topics for possible BDRs, including eliminating Student Learning Growth submissions for teachers, addressing teacher shortages, creating a district-wide Social Emotional Learning peer support program, changing sex education statutes for instruction to be opt-out rather than opt-in, implementation of various school safety measures, and establishing standards and qualifications for education-related oversight boards.

Trustees approved addressing the statewide teacher shortage through improving wages and working conditions, nationwide license reciprocity, paid application fees, higher education pipeline program funding, etc. as a BDR topic for the 2023 Legislative Session on a 7-0 vote. Trustees then approved to establish standards and qualifications for all education-related oversight boards, such as school board trustees and the Board of Regents, as the second BDR topic for the 2023 Legislative Session, on a 4-3 vote.

Explore the potential bill draft requests.

Trusteed Conducted a Public Hearing on and Approved the 2022 Medium-Term Bond Authorization Resolution (7-0)

Trustees conducted a public hearing on and approved the 2022 Medium-Term Bond Authorization Resolution, authorizing the sale and issuance of medium-term obligations in an amount not to exceed $35,000,000 to finance all or a portion of the cost of acquiring, improving, and equipping school facilities.

Explore the public hearing notice and resolution.

Public Comment #2 on Non-Agenda Items

Members of the public shared comments on this item regarding: 

  • Board transparency
  • Parent engagement

The next Meeting of the Board of Trustees is scheduled for September 8, 2022, at 5:00 p.m. 

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Nevada Ed-Watch: 05/12/2022

Posted on by Opportunity 180

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.

Clark County School District Board of Trustees 

What is the Board of Trustees & what are they responsible for? The CCSD 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
Click here to find your Trustee District

How often does the Board of Trustees meet? Trustees meet twice per month (second and fourth Thursdays) at 5 pm both virtually and at the Edward A. Greer Education Center Board Room (2832 E Flamingo Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89121).

Click here for a full list of Trustees meetings and agendas
Click here to visit Hope For Nevada’s #NVEd Calendar

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, via email, or via voice recording. Email comments should be submitted to Boardmtgcomments@nv.ccsd.net. To submit a voice recording on items listed on the meeting agenda, call 702-799-1166. Voice recorded public comment is limited to 1 minute 30 seconds.

Thursday, May 12, 2022

Clark County School District Board of Trustees Meeting

Click here to see the meeting agenda.
Watch the meeting playback on Facebook or CCSD EduVision.

What happened at this meeting?

Public Comment #1 on Non-Agenda Items

Members of the public shared comments regarding: 

  • Graduation dress code and cultural, heritage, and identity-based graduation attire
  • Tardy policies
  • Change of School Assignment policies
  • Special interest group presence at school board meetings
  • Teacher and support staff requests from administration
  • Water bottle refilling stations
  • Mental health services in schools
  • Appropriateness of reading material
  • AB 469 compliance and coordination
  • Student voice at school board meetings
  • Respect and trust between support staff and administration

Trustees Approved the Consent Agenda (6-0)

Consent Agenda Highlights:

Members of the public provided comments on the agreement with United Citizens Foundation, warrants, unified personnel employment, licensed personnel employment, purchase orders, various facilities items, expulsions, an agreement between CCSD and 100 Academy of Excellence, purchasing awards, and the employment agreement of the Chief Human Resources Officer.

Trustees Received an Update on Focus: 2024 Strategic Plan on Chronic Absenteeism

Trustees received a presentation and discussed chronic absenteeism as part of CCSD’s Focus: 2024 Strategic Plan. Chronic absenteeism is defined as the total percentage of students who are absent for 10% or more of their enrolled days. The chronic absenteeism rate is continuing to increase, and the district is currently off-target for overall results and status. Other peer districts are seeing similar trends.

Challenges include distance education and distance reporting; successes include partners willing to support chronic absenteeism reduction initiatives and targeted support during school closures. Next steps include continuing student focus group feedback sessions, reviewing the Truancy Prevention Outreach Program in June 2022, and continuing to provide professional learning for clerks and registrars to better understand the attendance coding process.

Explore the presentation.

Trustees Received an Update on Focus: 2024 Strategic Plan on Student Safety

Trustees received a presentation and discussed student safety as it relates to the Focus: 2024 Strategic Plan. Student safety is measured by positive responses on four Districtwide Survey items. The board previously approved implementing the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) to promote academic achievement, social-emotional growth, and behavioral development.

The survey shows an increase in perceived safety during distance learning in the 2020-2021 school year. For the 2021-2022 school year, the district is falling short on elementary, middle, and high school targets. Challenges include the return to face-to-face learning; successes include an increase in survey participation and results consistent with pre-COVID-19 results across all grade bands. Next steps include analyzing survey results and revising the school performance plan based on the Districtwide Survey results, emphasizing the student code of conduct, districtwide MTSS professional learning this summer, and new resources and student communication materials.

Explore the presentation.

Trustees Received and Discussed the Five Year Charter School Site Evaluation Report and Presentation

Trustees received the Five Year Charter School Site Evaluation Report, as required by NRS 388A.223, which requires a sponsor of a charter school to conduct site evaluations of each campus that it sponsors during the first, third, and fifth years after entering or renewing their charter contract. CCSD-sponsored charter schools are now in their fifth year of a six-year performance contract.

Staff reviewed performance of each of the district-sponsored charter schools using metrics in academic, financial, and organizational performance, and rated each metric as “meets standards,” “does not meet standards,” or “falls below standards.” Schools found to have deficiencies were issued notices depending on the severity of the deficiency. Each school’s performance was summarized in the report and accompanying presentation, available below.

Explore the report and the presentation.

Trustees Opened Sealed Bids, Called for Oral Bids, and Adopted a Resolution of Acceptance of Bid for Property Site #064.02 – Rancho Destino Rd. & East Frias Ave. (6-0)

The District received one sealed bid for the sale of the property located at Rancho Destino Rd. and East Frias Ave. There were no oral bids submitted.

Trustees accepted the $530,000 written bid, made by St. Sharbel Maronite Catholic Mission – Las Vegas Real Estate Trust.

Explore the resolution.

Trustees Conducted a Public Hearing on and Approved the New Memorandum of Agreement between CCSD and the Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional-Technical Employees Regarding Article 16-9 (6-0)

Trustees approved a new Memorandum of Agreement drafted by CCASAPE and CCSD to modify the contract language in Article 16-9, Executive Manager, Superintendent’s Office, to the current effective day of July 1, 2019 to December 1, 2021.

Explore the fiscal impact summary and the Memorandum of Agreement.

Trustees Conducted a Public Hearing on and Approved the New Memorandum of Agreement between CCSD and the Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional-Technical Employees Regarding 11-Month School Principals (6-0)

Trustees approved a new Memorandum of Agreement drafted by CCASAPE and CCSD to modify contract language to change all current 11-month contracts for school principals to 12-month contracts, with an effective date of July 1, 2022. The fiscal impact of this Memorandum of Agreement is approximately $4.1 million.

Explore the fiscal impact summary and the Memorandum of Agreement.

Public Comment #2 on Non-Agenda Items

Members of the public shared comments on this item regarding: 

  • Equity in administration and leadership roles within the district

The next Meeting of the Board of Trustees is scheduled for May 16, 2022 @ 5:30pm. This will be a special board meeting regarding adoption of the final budget. The next regular Board of Trustees meeting is scheduled for May 19, 2022 @ 5:00pm. 

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Nevada Ed-Watch 2/10/2022

Posted on by Opportunity 180

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.

Clark County School District Board of Trustees 

What is the Board of Trustees & what are they responsible for? The CCSD 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
Click here to find your Trustee District

How often does the Board of Trustees meet? Trustees meet twice per month (second and fourth Thursdays) at 5 pm both virtually and at the Edward A. Greer Education Center Board Room (2832 E Flamingo Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89121).

Click here for a full list of Trustees meetings and agendas
Click here to visit Hope For Nevada’s #NVEd Calendar

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, via email, or via voice recording. Email comments should be submitted to Boardmtgcomments@nv.ccsd.net. To submit a voice recording on items listed on the meeting agenda, call 702-799-1166. Voice recorded public comment is limited to 1 minute 30 seconds.

Thursday, February 10, 2022

Clark County School District Board of Trustees Meeting

Click here to see the meeting agenda.
Watch the meeting playback on Facebook or CCSD EduVision.

What happened at this meeting?

Public Comment #1 on Non-Agenda Items

Members of the public shared comments regarding: 

  • Community access to more information about how money is spent.
  • Mental health resources.
  • School safety concerns and the Trustees’ commitment to school communities.  
  • Response to the lifting of the mask mandate.
  • Concerns about long term teacher retention.

Trustees Approve Consent Agenda (7-0)

Consent Agenda Highlights:

  • Implementation of of the Afghan Refugee School Impact Grant. 
  • Approval of Federal ESSER funds to cover the costs of educators pursuing the English Language Acquisition and Development masters at UNLV. 
  • Employment of Licensed Personnel. 

Members of the public provided comments on the legal contracts and approved settlement.

Access all Consent Agenda items. 

Trustees Heard an Update on Focus 2024: Strategic Plan Regarding Chronic Absenteeism, Middle School Algebra & Geometry and Graduation Rates

Staff provided an update on three measures associated with the Focus 2024 Strategic Plan. 

Chronic Absenteeism:

The last presentation on Chronic Absenteeism was provided in November 2019. The District had a target of 16.9% in rates of Chronic Absenteeism for the 2021-22 school year – the actual rate to date is 37.1% for the current school year. When compared to seven similar school districts, CCSD had the highest rate of chronic absenteeism.

Explore the Chronic Absenteeism presentation.

Middle School Algebra & Geometry Enrollment:

The last presentation on Middle School Algebra & Geometry Enrollment was provided in November 2019. The intention is to increase and diversify student enrollment and achievement in advanced coursework in all student groups at the District level and at each middle school.  To date, the District is falling short of its 2021-22 target for Algebra although it is on par with the prior school year. The District is exceeding enrollment in Geometry as compared to its target for the 2021-22 school year. 

Explore the Middle School Algebra & Geometry presentation.  

Graduation Rate:

The last presentation on Graduation Rate was provided in January 2020. The recorded four year graduation rate of the District in 2020-21 was 80.9%. 

2020-21 Graduation Rates by Student Group

Graduation Rate Comparisons


Explore the Graduation Rates presentation. 

Trustees Heard an Update on the Teachers Health Trust.

Representatives from the Teachers Health Trust provided updates on legacy challenges with the THT system and future mitigating strategies to improve the health system for educators. Future presentations will be provided and regular updates will be provided via public comment in the interim. 

Explore the Teacher’s Health Trust presentation. 

Public Comment #2 on Non-Agenda Items

Members of the public shared comments on this item regarding: 

  • Mask mandate changes. 
  • Concerns related to school safety issues. 
  • Black History Month content.

Next Meeting of the Board of Trustees is scheduled for February 24, 2022 @ 5pm. 

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Nevada Ed-Watch 12/12/19

Posted on by Opportunity 180

The Ed-Watch series is designed to increase access to information on decisions being made regarding public education in Clark County and Nevada.

Nevada State Board of Education

What is the State Board of Education & what are they responsible for? The Nevada State Board of Education adopts regulations based on Nevada laws, which are passed down to individual school districts in Nevada to implement. The Board has 11 total (7 appointed and 4 publicly elected) members.

How often does the State Board meet? The Nevada State Board of Education meets once per month on Thursdays at 9:00AM. Click here to see the 2019 Board Meeting Schedule. Click here to visit Hope For Nevada’s #NVEd Calendar.

Can community members engage at State Board Meetings? A time for public comment is provided at the beginning (for agenda items) and at the conclusion (on any matter) of each Board meeting. There is a time limit of three minutes per speaker. Members of the community providing testimony must fill out a visitor card, available on-site the day of the meeting.

Click here for a list of all State Board Members.

Thursday, November 12, 2019
Nevada State Board of Education Meeting

Click here to see the meeting agenda

What happened at this meeting?

Board Approved the Consent Agenda

Consent Agenda Highlights:

  • Approval of Dual Credit requests for:
    • Somerset Academy for courses at the College of Southern Nevada
    • Pinecrest Academy for courses at the College of Southern Nevada
    • Nye County School District for courses at Great Basin College

Board Heard Presentations About Barriers and Progress Towards Nevada’s Student Achievement Goals

The Board heard from the Superintendents of the Clark and Washoe County School Districts, as well as a representative from the Nevada Council to Establish Academic Standards, about challenges and growth towards improving student achievement across Nevada.

The Interim Superintendent of the Washoe County School District shared the following needs for improving achievement in Washoe:

  • Alignment of school years, legislative years, and calendar years to address operational challenges related to timing of fund disbursements.
  • More flexibility in licensure reciprocity for educators who come to Nevada from another state. 

A representative of the Nevada Council to Establish Academic Standards shared concerns about:

  • Major changes in schools not suiting the interests of educators
  • Low academic achievement rates 
  • Alignment of standardized tests to the standards of the Nevada Department of Education

The Superintendent of the Clark County School District (CCSD), shared the following updates:

  • Support for the County Commission seeking additional funding through AB 309, specifically to address chronic absenteeism among students
  • Concerns about the lack of investments made in the professional development of school leaders.  
  • CCSD is working on developing exit surveys to address the retention rates of teachers and substitute teachers. 
  • CCSD is also working on ways to expand the teacher pipeline through partnerships with local colleges and universities.

The Board Heard a Presentation on Teacher Attrition and Absenteeism 

The average daily teacher attendance rate for schools and districts is defined as the percentage of teaching staff in classrooms on an “average school day” within the reporting school year. In 2018-2019, the average teacher attendance rate was 95.6%, which has been consistent over the past 3 years.

Teacher attrition refers to the number or percentage of educators who exit employment with a Nevada school district in a given year. The teacher attrition rate in 2018-2019 was 8.9% (2,326 teachers, with 13 out of 17 counties reporting). There was an average of 9.0% attrition over the past three years. 

The Office of Educator Licensure will come back to the Board with a comparison of these rates to average national rates. More information was requested from the board about the reasons behind teacher attrition. 

Click here to see the presentation.

The Board Heard Presentations about Student Chronic Absenteeism 

The Board heard from representatives of the Safe and Respectful Learning Environment, Parental Involvement and Family Engagement, and the Assessments, Data, and Accountability Management departments.

The following information was shared with the Board regarding chronic absenteeism:

  • In 2018, Nevada aligned its definition of chronic absenteeism to the federal definition, which states that students who are absent 10% or more of their enrolled school days are considered chronically absent.
  • The chronic absenteeism rate in Nevada in 2018-2019 was 19.2%. Nevada’s public charter schools had a chronic absenteeism rate of 8.44%. The Clark County School District had a chronic absenteeism rate of 20.38%.
  • Students with disabilities have the highest rate of chronic absenteeism in Nevada, followed by students who are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
  • Research shows that by 6th-grade, chronic absenteeism is a leading indicator that a student will drop out of high school. By 9th-grade, chronic absenteeism becomes a greater predictor of dropout rates than 8th-grade test scores.
  • School and family resources available include Attendance Works, a national and state-level initiative to reduce chronic absenteeism. Additionally, there is a new pilot program underway with Hazel Health to provide tele-health services in partnership with District Schools.

Click here to see the presentation.

The Board Approved the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) State Plan

A representative of the Nevada Office of Career Readiness, Adult Learning & Education Options presented the updated Career and Technical Education Program State Plan (Perkins V) to the Board. A key update to the plan was requiring each Local Education Agency (LEA) to complete a local needs assessment.

The strategic goals of the plan are:

  • Goal 1: Improve the quality and alignment of career and technical education programs.
  • Goal 2: Ensure equity of opportunity and access for all students in career pathways aligned to high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand occupations.
  • Goal 3: Ensure employers have a pipeline of skilled talent.
  • Goal 4: Ensure programs have a pipeline of high-quality CTE teachers in aligned programs.
  • Goal 5: Increase the number of  high-quality work-based learning (WBL) opportunities available for secondary, postsecondary, and adult students (e.g., internships, apprenticeships) statewide.
  • Goal 6: Raise awareness of the need and opportunity for a stronger education-to-workforce pipeline for students, parents, educators, and Nevada employers.
  • Goal 7: Expand opportunities for high school students enrolled in career and technical education programs to earn early college credit.

Next, the Perkins V State Plan will go to the Governor’s office for a 30-day review prior to being submitted to the Governor’s Workforce Development Board in January 2020.  

Click here to see the presentation.

The Board Heard a Presentation About Silver State Governance (SSG) Training

The Board heard about Silver State Governance (SSG) training, which provides coaching for Board members to ensure a majority of their time is spent focused on student outcomes. Governing Boards that spend at least 50% of their time focusing on student outcomes are the most likely to see progress.

The Guinn Center conducted an audit of Nevada schools, which found that within some districts, only 10% of time spent was focused on student outcomes. Nevada’s State Board of Education was the only Board that spent nearly 50% of its time on student outcomes.

SSG is launching a pilot this weekend for Lincoln and Lyon County school Boards and Superintendents. 

Click here to see the presentation.

The Board Discussed the 2020 Census

In 2016, Nevada received $6.2 billion in federal funds based on census data, including hundreds of millions of dollars for education. However, it is estimated that in 2010, 6,000 children in Clark County alone were not counted– which reduced funding allocated to Nevada.  

Click here to see the presentation.

The Board Heard Information on Graduation Rates for the 2018-2019 School Year 

A representative of the Office of Assessment, Data, & Accountability Management presented to the Board about the 2018-19 school year graduation rates. The Class of 2019 had the highest graduation rate in Nevada history. The statewide high school graduation rate of 84.11 percent is 3.26 percentage points higher than it was in 2017.

In Clark County, there was an 85.8% graduation rate in 2019, slightly exceeding the state’s average rate of 84.1%.

Graduation rates by student race and ethnicity:

  • White: 87.33%
  • Hispanic: 82.95%
  • Black: 72.18%
  • Students with an IEP: 67.1%
  • Homeless Students: 65.7%
  • Students in Foster Care: 44.2%

Click here to see the presentation.

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Nevada Ed-Watch 9/12/19

Posted on by Opportunity 180

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.

Clark County School District Board of Trustees 

What is the Board of Trustees & what are they responsible for? The CCSD 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

Click here to Find your Trustee District

How often does the Board of Trustees meet? Trustees meet twice per month (second and fourth Thursdays) at 5pm at the Edward A. Greer Education Center (Board Room): 2832 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV 89121.

Click here for a full list of Trustees meetings and agendas

Click here to visit Hope For Nevada’s #NVEd Calendar

Can community members engage at Trustee Meetings? Decision-making bodies benefit greatly from hearing public input and multiple perspectives. Community members can sign up to speak after the agenda has been posted– by calling the Board Office at (702) 799-1072 at least 3 hours before the scheduled meeting, or signing up in-person at the beginning of the meeting. Prior to each agenda item being voted on, speakers can share their perspective after the Board’s discussion and prior to the vote.

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Clark County School District Board of Trustees Meeting

Click here to see the meeting agenda

What happened at this meeting?

Public Comment

Members of the public provided testimony to Trustees regarding:

  • Praise for the new CCSD Parent Advisory Committee 
  • School Organizational Team (SOT) elections 
  • School funding
  • Raises for Support Staff 
  • Diversifying school administrators

Trustees Approved the Consent Agenda

Consent agenda highlights:

  • School facility upgrades
  • Grant to hire 35 new school police officers and 5 sergeants
  • Contract with the NWEA to provide school-based supports and services related to the NWEA MAP growth assessment

Trustees Heard Updates on CCSD Focus 2024 Priorities

Below is a summary of the updates presented to Trustees related to the priorities of the CCSD strategic plan (Focus 2024):

Chronic Absenteeism 

The way chronic absenteeism is calculated changed in the 2018-2019 school year. Initially, a student who missed more than 18-days of school was considered chronically absent. Under the 2019 Nevada School Performance Framework (NSPF), a student that is absent 10% or more of the total days enrolled will be identified as chronically absent. A student would have to be enrolled in a school for at least 91 days of the current school year to be included in this calculation, according to the NSPF Guidebook.

Overall Chronic Absenteeism Rates:

  • 2018-2019 Target: 19.7%
  • 2018-2019 Actual: 17.3%
  • 2019-2020 Target: 17.7%

Chronic Absenteeism Gaps Between Subgroups:

  • 2018-2019 Target: 17.6% between the highest and lowest subgroups
  • 2018-2019 Actual: 17.8% between the highest and lowest subgroups

Click here to see the presentation about Chronic Absenteeism.

Parent and Community Support Goals:

  • Leverage internal resources to help parents/guardians support student achievement and attendance.
  • Secure strategic external resources and community partners
  • Improve trust in and perception of the Clark County School District
  • Click here to see metrics on the above Parent and Community Support goals

Student Success Goals:

  •  Decrease the number of student suspensions
  •  Decrease the disproportionality in the rate of student suspensions
  •  Decrease the number of student discretionary expulsion referrals
  •  Decrease the disproportionality in the rate of student discretionary expulsion referrals
  • Click here to see metrics on the above Student Success goals

Sound Fiscal Management Goals:

  • Provide effective and reliable network connectivity for schools
  • Improve business process efficiency related to human capital management
  • Reduce “on-hold” wait time for calls to user support desk
  • Click here to see metrics on the above Fiscal Management goals

Trustees Discussed an Agreement Between CCSD and the County Commission for the Open Schools Open Doors Policy

Trustees discussed a proposed contract between CCSD and the Clark County Commission to allow the use of school property for non-school activities outside of school hours.

The proposed agreement would include approving an initial 9 participating schools,  plus up to 10 more schools to be selected by CCSD by the end of the year. It would also require Clark County to cover any expenses related to damages that occur during county-scheduled events.

Considerations for the selection of participating school sites included:

  • Bureau of Land Management agreement restrictions
  • Associate Superintendent recommendations
  • Willingness of principals to participate
  • Ensuring each CCSD trustee and each Clark County Commissioner has a participating school within their district boundary lines

The proposed agreement did not have support from all Trustees present. Some Trustees questioned the County’s willingness to sign the agreement, and expressed concerns about safety and property damage. Rather than approving the item with a split vote, Trustees requested updates to the agreement as well as the planning and implementation of the policy– which included:

  • Gathering input from principals and the community about the policy
  • Transparency in the school selection process
  • Regular updates from principals regarding implementation

Public Comment: Members of the public expressed concerns about safety, liability, and making Open Schools Open Doors a funding priority.

Trustees Approved the Police Union Contract

Trustees approved an agreement with the Police Administrators Association of the Clark County School District Police Department.

The agreement includes the following for the CCSD Police Department lieutenants and captains:

  • 3% salary increase
  • 4% insurance contributions increase
  • Step increases for eligible employees

Click here to see the agreement.

 Trustees Approved the Amended Teachers Union Contract

Trustees approved an amendment to the negotiated agreement between CCSD and the Clark County Educators Association (CCEA), which includes step increases for teachers who completed the professional growth program.

The annual estimated CCSD teacher salary cost is $3.15 billion.

Click here to see the CCEA Contract Amendment.

Click here to read about this in the Nevada Independent.

Trustee reports:

  • 18 out of 18 students contacted participated in the 2019-2020 Student Advisory Committee. This year, the structure of the Student Advisory Committee has shifted from a formal board structure (subject to open meeting law) to a roundtable model. 

Superintendent Reports:

  • An agreement with the Education Support Employees Association (ESEA) was reached. Click here to read about this on CCSD Newsroom.
  • Fingerprinting fees have been revised for volunteers and employees. 
  • Budget
    • The district forecasts closing the fiscal year in better standing than originally anticipated. An amended final budget is being developed.  A deficit is still anticipated for the 2020-2021 school year.
  • Recognition for Triggs Elementary School for preliminary data that indicates the school improved from a 2-star to a 5-star rating in 1-year.

Potential Future Agenda Items:

  • Review of current wellness policy related to recess

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Nevada Ed Watch 7/12/19

Posted on by Opportunity 180

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.

Clark County School District Board of Trustees 

What is the Board of Trustees & what are they responsible for? The CCSD 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

Click here to find your Trustee district

How often does the Board of Trustees meet? Trustees meet twice per month (second and fourth Thursdays) at 5pm at the Edward A. Greer Education Center (Board Room): 2832 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV 89121.

Click here for a full list of Trustees meetings and agendas

Click here to visit Hope For Nevada’s #NVEd Calendar

Can community members engage at Trustee Meetings? Decision-making bodies benefit greatly from hearing public input and multiple perspectives. Community members can sign up to speak after the agenda has been posted– by calling the Board Office at (702) 799-1072 at least 3 hours before the scheduled meeting, or signing up in-person at the beginning of the meeting. Prior to each agenda item being voted on, speakers can share their perspective after the Board’s discussion and prior to the vote.

Friday, July 12, 2019

Clark County School District Board of Trustees Special Meeting

Click here to see the meeting agenda

What happened at this meeting?

About 80 members of the public attended this interactive special board meeting, including community advocates, parents, principals, teachers, and support staff. 

Clark County Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick provided opening remarks about the need to adequately fund education. She requested that Trustees present a plan to the County Commission regarding the use of potential new tax funds, as legislated through AB309. AB309 authorizes the county to impose a .25 percent increase to sales and use tax. The money can be used by districts to address early childhood education, adult education, truancy reduction, homelessness reduction, affordable housing, recruitment and retention of licensed teachers for high-vacancy schools, and workforce training programs. 

Attendees Participated in Working Groups on Chronic Absenteeism, Workforce Development, and Pre-K Programs. 

Click here to see Superintendent Jara’s overview presentation on the three working group topics.

The working groups, led by Trustees, were tasked with identifying goals and strategies that could be proposed to the County Commission. 

The summaries below outline the ideas each working group proposed:

Workforce Development Working Group

  • Create Career and Technical Education (CTE)  “hubs” to expand access to workforce development programs for students. 
  • Initiate a nontraditional school schedule to allow flexibility for students to attend workforce development courses.

Pre-K Working Group

  • Expand Pre-K to all schools to address inequities and increase the overall number of students served.
  • Provide training for early childhood professionals.

Chronic Absenteeism Working Group

  • Decrease chronic absenteeism by 10% per year for the next 5 years. 
  • Scale Communities in Schools services to all Title I schools by 2020. 
  • Add one truancy officer to every high school feeder pattern.

Next, the Trustees will synthesize the results of these working groups, and will present the individual topics at the joint meeting with County Commissioners on July 18th. That meeting will take place at the County Commission Chambers (500 S Grand Central Pkwy, Las Vegas, NV 89155).

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