Tag: Coronavirus

Nevada Ed-Watch 8/14/20

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.

State Public Charter School Authority (SPCSA)

What is the SPCSA & what are they responsible for? The SPCSA sponsors and oversees public charter schools across the State of Nevada. The Authority consists of nine appointed members responsible for overseeing educational and operational standards, and holding sponsored schools accountable to the academic achievement of students.

How often does the SPCSA Board meet? SPCSA members meet once monthly– on Fridays.

Click here for SPCSA meeting schedule and materials.

Can community members engage at SPCSA Board Meetings? All meetings are held publicly at the Nevada Department of Education building in Carson City and the Nevada Department of Education building in Las Vegas (1st floor boardroom). Members of the public are invited to attend at either location. A time for public comment is provided at the conclusion of each agenda item and at the conclusion 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.

Alternatively, public comment may be submitted in writing at publiccomment@spcsa.nv.gov, and any such public comment received prior to the meeting will be provided to the Authority and included in the written minutes of the meeting.

Click here for a list of all SPCSA Members.

Click here for a list of all SPCSA sponsored schools.

Friday, August 14, 2020

State Public Charter School Authority Board Meeting

Click here to see the meeting agenda

What happened at this meeting? 

Members of the public provided comment regarding: 

  • Dissatisfaction with the SPCSA Reopening Plan Requirements which would require most SPCSA approved charter schools to open with distance learning only. 

Board Approved Reopening Plan Requirements and In-Person Learning for 2020-2021 School Year (6-3)

SPCSA board members heard from SPCSA Executive Director Feiden on the proposed school opening requirements related to in-person learning for the 2020-2021 school year. 

The recommendations from SPCSA staff can be found at SPCSA Recommendation to Issue COVID-19 In-Person Learning Guidance. This recommendation was in follow-up to  Recommendation and Guidance for School Re-Opening and based on Road to Recovery: Moving to a New Normal from the Governor and Nevada Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 Update. There were some areas of contention, including  whether the guidance should be a recommendation or a requirement.  

A motion was made to approve the guidance as a recommendation rather than a requirement.  This motion failed  5 to 4. 

The board moved to approve the guidance as a requirement, with the addition of a fast-response process for SPCSA to consider an appeal by schools. 

Board Heard Update on Open Meeting Law

Governor Sisolak’s Emergency Directive 029 extended Nevada’s State of Emergency status. The extension provides allowance for public meetings, including the SPCSA board, to continue to occur virtually. 

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Nevada Ed-Watch 4/16/20

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, April 16, 2020

Clark County School District Board of Trustees Emergency Meeting

Click here to see the meeting agenda & Addendum

What happened at this meeting?

Public Comment

Members of the public submitted testimony online regarding:

  • Concerns about the safety of students and faculty due to coronavirus (COVID-19)
  • Concerns about salaries and health benefits for substitute teachers 
  • Concerns about the impact of COVID-19 closures on employee compensation
  • Support for closing schools through the rest of the school year 
  • Concerns about the transition to distance education 

Consent Agenda Highlights: 

Trustees Denied the Extension of Emergency Authority for the Superintendent (5-0-2)

At the March 23rd board meeting, trustees  approved a limited Grant of Authority permitting Superintendent Jara to approve contracts and purchase items that are essential to the operation of the District during COVID-19 school closures. This request would extend the emergency Grant of Authority through April 30th. Two trustees abstained from the vote, and five trustees voted against the extension. 

Click here to see the resolution.

Click here to read about this in The Nevada Independent.

Trustees Heard Updates about the District’s Response to COVID-19

Presentation Highlights: 

  • CCSD has implemented three different modalities for students to engage in distance education: online learning, paper work packets that can be accessed at food distribution sites, and educational TV programming through Vegas PBS. During the week of March 30th, 258,361 students were engaged in some form of distance learning. There are about 325,000 students enrolled in CCSD schools. 
  • CCSD is encouraging parents to reach out to their child’s school counselor for resources on how to talk to their kids about COVID-19. 
  • CCSD is implementing two-way communication between teachers and families to track attendance. Parents who have not heard from their school are encouraged to call the school. 
  • 55,000 Chromebooks have been deployed to middle and high school students. 145,000 additional Chromebooks are in the process of being distributed to elementary school students. 
  • Considerations for the upcoming school year include exploring opportunities for summer learning, as well as  front-loading quarter 4 academic content to the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year. District staff are also developing a balanced assessment system for the upcoming school year, and considering administering MAP Growth assessments (grades 3-8) to measure academic progress. 

Click here to see the presentation.

Trustees Approved Collective Bargaining Agreements

Trustees approved agreements with the Education Support Employees Association (ESEA) and the Clark County Educators Association (CCEA) that temporarily allows employees to “donate” unused sick leave to other employees impacted by COVID-19. Additionally, Trustees approved additional pay for ESEA support staff who worked during the first week of closures (3/15/20 through 3/21/20). Additional pay will also be extended to employees that volunteered to work during closures and those who are actively serving the public, such as food service and custodial workers. The total cost of these agreements is $800,000.00.

Click here to see the ESEA additional pay agreement.

Click here to see the ESEA sick leave agreement.

Click here to see the CCEA sick leave agreement.

Superintendent Communications

Superintendent Jara has met with high school seniors, and is scheduled to meet with high school principals to make a determination about graduation for the class of 2020.  The district will continue to provide information with families regarding any action taken in response to the coronavirus. 

Requests for Future Agenda Items:

  • A memo that outlines the financial impact of COVID-19 on the district.

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Nevada Ed-Watch 3/23/20

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.

Monday, March 23, 2020

Clark County School District Board of Trustees Emergency Meeting

Click here to see the meeting agenda

What happened at this meeting?

Trustees Approved a Limited Grant of Authority for the District Superintendent

The approved limited Grant of Authority permits Superintendent Jara to approve contracts and purchase items that are essential to the operation of the District during COVID-19 school closures. 

The following items were approved during this meeting:

  1. Veritas Hardware and Software products and services
  2. Elevator inspection services
  3. Renewal of Eide Bailly as CCSD’s external independent financial auditing firm for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020
  4. Review of annual reports for Vegas PBS 
  5. Submission of proposals to the Oversight Panel for School Facilities 
  6. Payment to counsel for the CCSD v. Las Vegas Review-Journal case
  7. Payment of change orders and contracts associated with CCSD construction

Trustees Discussed Distance Learning Plans During COVID-19 Closures

Trustees approved a memo to submit to the Nevada Department of Education, which states that the District is making  best efforts to provide distance learning to students, in compliance with state mandates. Superintendent Jara shared updates on the District’s efforts to develop a Distance Learning Plan and offer students access to online learning. The Superintendent also discussed equity concerns related to a lack of internet access for all students. Additionally, 63% of Clark County School District students have access to an online device at home. 

The District’s Distance Learning Plan involves student learning packets that are available online, as well as printed packets available at food distribution sites. Trustees suggested using internet hotspots to access the internet. Trustees also suggested creating a system allowing students to check-out devices.

More discussion highlights regarding Distance Learning included:

  • Tracking virtual attendance among students
  • Measuring the impact of closures on the length of the school year
  • Ensuring on-time graduation for high school seniors
  • Partnering with internet service providers to offer unrestricted access for Clark County residents
  • Maintaining public transparency and consistency around communications between District administrators

District Staff Addressed Questions Asked by Members of the Community

Superintendent Jara and District staff members responded to the questions below that were submitted by members of the community. These questions will be compiled into an FAQ that will be available on the CCSD website.

  1. Are teachers required to call students? 
    Teachers are to make contact with students at least once a week (via e-mail, Google Hangouts, or a phone call), and document the engagement for attendance purposes. 
  2. How can students with no access to technology or the internet receive schoolwork?
    The district is exploring ways to ensure that all students have access to distance learning packets. Trustees also encourage community members to assist in printing and sharing resources with neighbors. 
  3. How will students earn credits towards graduation? 
    The Superintendent is reviewing a plan for credit earning for high school seniors, which will be provided to the public by Wednesday, March 25.
  4. When will a decision be made on reopening schools or remaining closed for an extended period of time? 
    Updates from Nevada’s Chief Medical Officer will be shared on a regular basis, as available.
  5. How will school events be executed? 
    The District is in the process of considering this. 
  6. What are the distance learning protocols and expectations for special education teachers?
    The District will review the guidance received by the state Department of Education to assist the most vulnerable children. Upon review, the information will be shared with District staff.
  7. What is the requirement for employees to log in and out every day? 
    All employees, including support staff, are required to log in and log out every day and communicate daily with their supervisors.
  8. What are the considerations for parents who are learning English to access resources? 
    The ELL department is working on developing solutions.
  9. Will charter schools follow the same guidelines for district distance learning?
     The district cannot enforce authority on charter school distance learning programs. [NOTE: charter school families can access information regarding distance learning offerings at individual school websites or through the State Public Charter School Authority].
  10. Have Nevada Academic Content Standards (NACS) been considered in the creation of the distance learning packets? How are parents being supported? 
    Yes, the packets are aligned to Nevada Academic Content Standards (NACS). Through Vegas PBS, a homework helpline will be available this week.
  11. Will the state waive licensing requirements for student teachers? 
    The District is working on this with the Nevada Department of Education.
  12. How do teachers without online services log in? 
    Contact the school leader and/or supervisor by phone.
  13. Will student packet work count against students? How will these packets be differentiated for AP and honors level students? 
    No, they will not count against students and will not be graded. The packets are aligned to the Nevada Academic Content Standards (NACS).
  14. What is being done for substitute teachers? 
    Substitutes in vacancy positions are being paid, but long-term substitutes are not receiving pay.
  15. Are teachers required to use personal cell phones to contact students? 
    Educators can contact students via email if they prefer. The District will explore Google Voice as a paid option.
  16. What do parents do if teachers have not yet contacted them? 
    Contact the school’s principal or a school administrator.
  17. Where are the weekly packets located on the CCSD website? 
    The packets are located on the landing page of the CCSD website. 
  18. Will outside contractors be allowed to work? 
    This is unknown at this time.

NOTE: Trustees announced that the next regular board meeting will take place on April 16th, 2020– following the cancellation of the March meeting.

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Nevada Ed-Watch 3/12/20

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, March 12, 2020

Clark County School District Board of Trustees Meeting

Click here to see the meeting agenda

Due to concerns related to the coronavirus, all non-essential agenda items were removed from this meeting.

What happened at this meeting?

Public Comment

Members of the public provided testimony to Trustees regarding:

  • Concerns about the safety of students and faculty due to coronavirus (COVID-19)
  • Concerns about salaries and health benefits for substitute teachers 
  • Concerns about the impact of COVID-19 school closures on employee compensation
  • Concerns about teacher retention

Consent Agenda Highlights: 

  • Approval of an agreement with the Nevada Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation to provide pre-employment transition services and vocational training to blind or visually impaired high school students.
  • Approval of a two-year extension of a $1.4 million contract to provide tutoring services for Title I students attending private schools.

Trustees Heard Updates about the District’s Response to COVID-19

The district has been tracking COVID-19 since February 28, 2020 and developing an emergency management and health plan. The district has increased cleaning activities to prevent the spread of the virus, and is working with community partners like the Southern Nevada Health District, local governments, and the Nevada Resorts Association to ensure the health and safety of students and staff. 

Presentation Highlights 

Scheduling:

  • Classes will remain open until further notice. CCSD does not have the ability to transition to online classes at this time.
  • All upcoming athletic events, extra-curricular activities, school assemblies, and community events are suspended. Events that are scheduled towards the end of the school year, including graduation ceremonies, will be evaluated at a later time.
  • Restrictions on international and out-of-state student travel will remain in place until further notice.

Staff and Service Providers: 

  • Safekey, After-School All-Stars, Communities in Schools, and other programs that provide after-school services will continue operating. 
  • All out-of-district consultants, including professional learning facilitators, are restricted from providing in-person services in schools until further notice.
  • District policy does not permit the payment of substitute teacher salaries in the event of school closures. CCSD has reached out to the Nevada Department of Education for guidance on resolving this.

Families and members of the community can access this website and these Frequently Asked Questions to receive updates from the district related to COVID-19. 

Trustees Heard Updates on Issues with the Human Capital Management System (HCMS)

CCSD Staff provided updates on the payroll component of the HCMS, including:

  • Staff is actively working to ensure that all missed payments are paid.
  • Staff is continuing to assess the number of individuals who have not been paid yet. To date, staff estimates 50 individuals have not yet been paid. 
  • A 6-month, interest-free loan is accessible for individuals who have not yet been paid.

Click here to see the presentation.

Superintendent Communications

  • The district will continue to provide information to families regarding actions taken in response to the coronavirus.

Requests for Future Agenda Items

  • Information related to instructional options in the event of school closures due to COVID-19, including the feasibility of using Google Classrooms
  • Data related to the number of short and long term substitute teachers within the district

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