Education
Lack of affordable child care: Tough on families, drag on the economy
Elizabeth and her husband pay $1,000 per month to keep their two young girls — ages 2 and 4 — in daycare four days a week. The couple considers themselves lucky. They should be paying $1,400 per month but the friend who referred them to their daycare is buddies with its owner, so they snagged […]
Nevada Children’s Report Card: F-, F, F-, F
Nevada received an overall “F” grade for education – again — according to the 2018 Nevada Children’s Report Card released this week by the Children’s Advocacy Alliance (CAA). The key areas most in need of improvements, according to the report, are school readiness, student achievement, high school completion, and funding. School Readiness: F- Nevada is […]
What top-rated charter schools have in common: fewer poor kids
When the Nevada Department of Education released its performance ratings last month, “school choice” advocates were quick to boast that charter schools outperformed traditional public school districts, but demographic data at the individual school level paints a more complicated picture. Thirty percent of traditional public schools (meaning schools within Clark County School District, Washoe County […]
He’s running
It was 20 years ago that the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law opened (just in case some of you were looking for something make you to feel older). To celebrate, the school is hosting an anniversary gala at the Bellagio Dec. 1, and the featured speaker is Joe Biden. The event will also […]
Kavanaugh, Me Too point up need to modernize Nevada sex ed
If 18-year-old Alan Cruz learned anything from Christine Blasey Ford accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, it’s that people don’t believe survivors. Cruz, a recent graduate of Canyon Springs High School, says he was sexually assaulted this summer and worries people won’t believe him either. However, that hasn’t stopped him from traveling […]
UNLV gets good rank for ‘Least Debt’
For the second year in a row, UNLV was named the most diverse undergraduate campus by U.S News and World Report, tied for first place with Rutgers University, Newark. UNLV is a Minority-Serving and Hispanic-Serving Institution, as designated by the U.S. Dept. of Education, with the report noting that 29 percent of the student body […]
Even with tuition waived, foster youth travel a tough road
Even with scholarships and loans, Madison Sandoval-Lunn could barely afford college and her living expenses. As a foster youth with no support system, she worked multiple jobs and struggled with periods of homelessness during her time at UNLV. “Kids who grew up in the foster care system have a lot of things going against them,” […]
A look at low teacher pay (and new strategy for raising it)
Over the past year teacher salaries have become a topic of conversation across the country, and unrest among educators led to protests and strikes in West Virginia, Arizona and Oklahoma. So how do teacher salaries in Nevada compare? Not so great, according to one new report. The report, released last week by the Economic Policy […]
CCSD polls public on mascot controversy
If public opinion decided policy at Clark County schools, Western High School’s Warrior mascot, replete with head dress and war paint, would be in no danger of being replaced. Competing, unofficial surveys posted on-line give proponents (273 so far) of the year-long effort to discard the mascot little chance of catching up with opponents, who […]
Nevada teachers’ union opposes Question 3
The teachers unions around here can’t agree on anything. Thursday, the Nevada State Education Association (NSEA) announced that it opposes Question 3, known as the Energy Choice Initiative. “We oppose Question 3 because electricity deregulation is a failed experiment that has resulted in higher electric rates in other states,” NSEA President Ruben Murillo said. “At […]
Laxalt contributor invoked KKK in effort to dismantle public schools
Nevada Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial candidate Adam Laxalt received $10,000 in campaign contributions from a Missouri billionaire who advocates for dismantling the public school system and once quoted a judge who says the school system is a creation of the Ku Klux Klan. Rex Sinquefield is the founder of the Show-Me Institute, a conservative think […]
Lack of resources for blind youth can lead to gaps that last a lifetime
“Hurdle after hurdle after hurdle.” That’s how Terri and Aaron Rupp describe the ongoing experience of getting their daughter enrolled and accommodated within Clark County School District. Marley, 8, was diagnosed with optic nerve atrophy at age 4. Doctors expect the degenerative genetic condition to take away the majority of Marley’s eyesight, leaving her legally […]