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, February 13, 2020
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:
- Support for continued funding of the AVID college readiness program
- Concerns about pay and benefits for substitute teachers
- Support for the unionization of substitute teachers
- Requests to modify magnet school lottery weights– with more weight allocated to honor roll and GATE students
- Support of increased accountability for public schools
- Concerns about the decision to remove prayer from Trustee meetings
- Concerns about honoring the rights of School Organization Team (SOT) members, and a report that 49% of SOT members are unsatisfied, according to climate survey responses
Trustees Approved the Consent Agenda
The consent agenda included the Chinese guest teacher program.
A member of the public provided testimony to Trustees regarding barriers to obtaining teacher licensure.
Trustees Heard Updates on CCSD’s MAP Growth Assessment Results
NWEA MAP Growth is a formative assessment administered across all CCSD elementary and middle schools to measure student academic growth over time. A student’s MAP data can follow them to their feeder school or to other schools within CCSD they transfer to. MAP measures a student’s growth in comparison to similar peers, and is designed to help teachers identify instructional areas students are ready to tackle—whether they are on, above, or below grade level.
The District is working with principals to phase other, less comprehensive formative assessments out of its Balanced Assessment model.
CCSD MAP Growth Assessment Results:
There were questions among Trustees about the validity of the MAP Assessment, and how it differs from the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBAC)– which measures student proficiency.
Click here to see the presentation.
Public Comment
Members of the public provided testimony to Trustees regarding:
- Concerns about CCSD over-emphasizing student data
- Request to conduct evaluations of classroom instruction to measure effectiveness
- Concerns about differentiating student learning
Trustees Approved an Agreement with CCSD and the Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional Technical Employees
The agreement updates the deadline for completion of college courses that impact salary.
Click here to see the agreement.
Trustees Heard Updates About Student Achievement at CCSD Innovative Middle Schools
Trustees heard from principals at schools designated as Innovative Schools. Principals shared their strategies to improve student achievement, as well as their MAP Growth Assessment data for Math, English Language Arts, and Science. It was noted by principals that MAP data provides important information about how quickly students are growing towards proficiency.
Click here to see each school’s 2019-2020 Academic Plan– including detailed MAP assessment results and strategies to reduce achievement gaps among students.
Innovative Schools Strategy Highlights:
- Initiation of state standards training to ensure instruction is delivered at the appropriate grade level
- Development of teacher grading calibration training for reading and writing assessments
- Implementation of tiered interventions for students who need intensive academic supports
- Implementation of block scheduling for Math and English Language Arts
- Implementation of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS)
- Implementation of instructional rounds
- Incorporation of families and students in academic goal setting
Trustees shared their appreciation for the principals’ focus on improving student achievement in high-need schools. Trustees also discussed the importance of social-emotional support, teacher incentives, and family engagement.
Click on an Innovative School below to see its school performance profile from the 2018-2019 school year:
- J. Harold Brinley Middle School
- Carroll M. Johnston Middle School
- Jerome Mack Middle School
- Mario C. and JoAnne Monaco Middle School
- William E. Orr Middle School
- Marvin M. Sedway Middle School
- Ed Von Tobel Middle School
- West Prep Middle School (Preparatory Institute, School for Academy Excellence at Charles I. West Hall)
Superintendent Communications
Superintendent Jara provided an update that the CCSD Equity Report Blue Ribbon Commission is currently under development. Additionally, Superintendent Jara announced that a similar commission will be launched to study issues related to teacher vacancies, substitute teachers, and long-term substitutes.
Requests for Future Agenda Items
- Review policies for support animals in schools
- Request that Trustees are informed of CCSD partnership events occurring in their districts