Douglas County School District

sharlahales@charter.net

White Pine County School District

ilc4arts@yahoo.com

Carson City School District

jim@uhclem.org

Washoe County School District

teachnancy777@clearwire.net

Clark County School District

moultonforkids@aol.com

Carson City School District

nscoggin@carsoncityschools.com

Washoe County School District

teachnancy777@clearwire.net

Storey County School District

curtchapman@stantec.com

Clark County School District

johnsonr@interact.ccsd.net

Lincoln County School District

mgwhipple@lcturbonet.com

The Carson City School District educates approximately 8,200 students.  Our elementary schools average 610 students, middle schools average 1000 students, and the high school has an enrollment of approximately 2500 students.  In November 2006, the Carson City community approved a $25 million bond to improve educational facilities for children in the District.       

The District is located in one of the fastest-growing regions of the country yet finds itself with a decline in enrollment.  Our District made Adequate Yearly Progress with one school designated “High Achieving.”  We continue to focus on student achievement.  With the use of staff training and collaborative time, the Carson City School District continues to improve.

Figuratively speaking, a person in Fallon, Nevada, can stand on the roof of any Churchill County School District school building and see each of our other schools—staff at each school site work within three miles of each other every day. The District is fortunate to beable to bring its staff together frequently to move forward to improve student achievement. Another advantage is that the driving time to any of our schools is less than five minutes.
Our challenges include improving student achievement with a focus on our disaggregated groups to meet increasing academic expectations, hiring and retaining highly qualified teachers, and meeting legislated unfunded mandates from state and federal governments. We must also educate our community to be forward-thinking as our forefathers were when they instituted public education. Another challenge is to engage and communicate with our community about all of the above in such fast-paced and changing times. As in several other Nevada counties, Churchill County is increasing in overall population while the population of school-age children is decreasing.

The Clark County School District will open the 2007-08 school year with 314,400 students in 336 schools. The District is currently the fifth largest in the nation and employs more than 18,000 teachers. The average daily miles traveled by bus will be over 104,341 miles in Clark County. There will be over 17,000,000 half pints of chocolate milk served and 1,250,000 fresh oranges served with lunches and breakfasts during the year. Over 400,000 Deli sandwiches will be eaten. More than 6,246,970 pieces of mail will pass through the CCSD mail services during the coming year. We will continue to focus on student achievement by “Keeping our eye on the CAP" which stands for Climate, Achievement, and Participation.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Douglas County School District envisioned a strategic plan that included a set of detailed competencies. This plan was implemented in 1992. Fifteen years later, with a lot of hard work by dedicated and truly professional employees, the Douglas County School as a system is unique in that we are the largest district in Nevada without a school on the Watch List or In Need of Improvement. Additionally, almost half of our schools are designated as High Achieving. The Douglas County School District faces several specific challenges in the foreseeable future. We facea bond issue in 2008, challenges regarding health benefits, and the consolidation of our Lake Tahoe schools.

Elko County School District is the fourth largest geographical county in the contiguous 48 states, covering more than 17,100 square miles. The District’s enrollment currently stands at almost 9,900 students.

Two of the largest gold-producing companies in the world contribute to our economy. While Barrick and Newmont are physically located in Eureka County, Elko County is home to most of their employees and educates their students.

Elko County School District faces many of the same challenges as other Nevada districts, including a growing non-English speaking population, meeting Adequate Yearly Progress, recruiting and retaining high quality teachers, and ever-increasing operational costs.

To address some of these obstacles, our District has implemented several initiatives. Our RISE Program (Retaining, Inducting, Supporting, and Encouraging) provides intensive professional development five days prior to the beginning of the regular contract for teachers new to our District. They are also paired with an Instructional Coach, who is available throughout the school year to ensure ongoing support.

Our Elko County READS initiative is in its second year and was designed to address the concern we had regarding reading test scores. Elko County READS is a community-based literacy program whereby children and their families are encouraged to read to and with each other. The program has been extremely successful and is funded primarily with private donations from our community organizations and business partners. We are pleased to announce that in some of our grades, reading test scores have grown by 25%!

The promotion of the teaching profession is our next undertaking. Our teachers work very hard to increase student achievement and often public education is shown in a negative light. It is time we stand up for our profession and educate the public about our dedicated staff. We are developing an advertising campaign designed to encourage young people to consider an educational career, highlighting those individuals who have already made a difference.

Esmeralda County School District educates 70 students in kindergarten through eighth grade in the three communities of Dyer, Goldfield and Silver Peak. Students in grades nine through twelve are transported into Tonopah (Nye County) daily for classes. Due to our remote rural location, the District faces many challenges. Attracting and keeping highly qualified personnel is not always easy due to the lack of amenities such as local shopping centers, movie theaters, and local medical centers. Each community is located a little over an hour from each other and that makes combined activities difficult though not impossible.

Our student enrollment has steadily declined over the past ten years which has resulted in a loss of staff members. Each classroom teacher instructs multiple grades with the help of paraprofessionals. These obstacles do not deter the determined, dedicated staff from providing a quality education to the students who attend our schools. Each of our schools has achieved Adequate Yearly Progress the past 3 years. In 2007, the District was one of two recognized by the Nevada Department of Education as “High Achieving”. For the past two years, each of our schools has been honored as “Banner Schools” with the Reading First program. This year, Reading First awarded two of our schools the highest honor, “Platinum.” Only five schools in the State earned the Platinum distinction.

Classes for the first school in Eureka County were held in a tent and later moved to a frame building.  In 1879-80, a two-story brick building was built on Nob Hill and later became the Eureka County High School in 1910.  A 1920 earthquake hit the area and moved the building off its foundation; it was later closed and demolished.  Classes were then held in various buildings in Eureka.

The lack of proper school facilities, World War I, the flu epidemic, and the shortage of teachers were serious hardships faced by the people of Eureka County.  The economy was poor, and the cost of a new school was such that the citizens were divided on the issue of financing one.  Everyone agreed on the need for one.  On November 7, 1922, an election was held and the bond passed for the construction of a new school.  The building was dedicated on May 16, 1924.  This school remains very well-loved by the community it served as more than just a facility for classroom instruction. The Class of 1969 was the last to graduate from the 1924 school.

In 1968, a new high school was dedicated on the hill above the 1924 school.  It continues to serve the Eureka area students and has been both enlarged and improved.   As with the school built in 1924, this school too has served the community in many ways.  A satellite program from Northern Nevada Community College, now Great Basin College, has long been housed in the school.  This makes it possible for students and others to continue college studies in Eureka.

A new beautiful elementary school was recently built in Crescent Valley.  A new facility for Eureka Elementary School was completed in 1993.  This facility houses one of the most modern facilities in the State of Nevada.  With low student enrollment in grades preschool through 6^th grade, it offers an excellent learning environment because of the impressive student/teacher ratio.  The building also serves as the District Office location. 

Through the years, Eureka has been blessed with some very dedicated administrators, teachers, coaches, board members, and outstanding students who will be remembered for their excellence and dedication.

Eureka is a high mountain, desert community of approximately 1,550 residents.  Eureka was once the second-largest producer of precious minerals in Nevada.  With its nineteenth century charm intact, Eureka remains a great place to explore and live.

Eureka is located approximately equal distance from Reno and Las Vegas on U.S. Highway 50.  The economy is based primarily on agriculture, ranching, mining, and support businesses.  Mining is Eureka County’s largest industry and has provided a stable economic base for the past several years.

Special thanks to Connie Hicks for her important historical perspective.

Lander County was formed on December 19, 1862, and was named after General Frederick W. Lander, Civil War hero and prominent builder of a wagon road across Nevada. The region attracted prospectors fanning out across the Great Basin after the 1859 discovery of the Comstock Lode. Located in north central Nevada, Lander County encompasses 5,621 square miles. Over 85 percent of the County is currently public land managed by federal agencies. Lander County has some of the most beautiful high desert country in the State and consists of two population centers, Battle Mountain and Austin.  As in the past, Lander County continues to be dependent upon the mining industry for its economy and school finances. We still regard ourselves as a “boom and bust” community because the population and economy in Battle Mountain fluctuate according to the ups and downs of the mining industry. Austin has faced tough times in recent years as its population has decreased.  One of the biggest challenges for our school board is to continue to provide highly qualified teachers, resources, and funding to appropriately support the Austin schools.  The old elementary school has been closed and just recently turned over to the Austin Historical Society.  All students now attend classes at what was formerly the junior/senior high school.  Austin citizens are justifiably concerned about the condition of their school and the ability of the system to attract new staff to Austin.  Another challenge we face, like many districts in the State, is to ensure that our schools achieve Adequate Yearly Progress.  Because of its rural and somewhat remote nature, LCSD has experienced difficulties in attracting and keeping qualified teachers and administrators.  We have refocused efforts to access grant monies for tutoring and intervention programs to assist students and teachers in the classroom. This has had some tremendous results in the elementary area. Currently, all schools but one made AYP, a success that we hope will continue.

When first settled in 1864, this area was still a part of Utah Territory. Nevada officially became a state in October 1864. Upon request of the Nevada Legislature in 1866, the boundary was revised, and Congress allowed an additional degree of longitude to be added to the eastern border of Nevada. This became Lincoln County. Its boundaries changed three more times over the course of the next 43 years.  Today in Lincoln County School District, our biggest challenge is providing educational experiences with the minimal resources that are available to us. With our 950 students at widespread school sites, it is challenging to provide rich opportunities in painting and drawing, drama, music, band, and other programs related to the arts. Attracting and retaining quality teachers for all subjects and grade levels is an on-going concern.

Despite our challenges, the Lincoln County School District has once again been able to achieve Adequate Yearly Progress at all nine of our school sites. Five of our eight public schools were designated as “High Achieving.” We have great students and great teachers. “Educational Success for ALL Students” is not only our mission statement, it is our practice.

Lyon County School District, with more than 9,400 students, is the second fastest growing county in the nation and the fastest growing district, per capita, in the State of Nevada. We boast an innovative staff of enthusiastic educational staff who will stop at nothing to assist each of our students in achieving academic and social success. Our District made Adequate Yearly Progress—with four schools designated as “High Achieving” and one as “Exemplary.” In spite of our hard work, our toughest challenge is developing the skills of our students with special needs in the areas of English Language and mathematics.
Teachers and administrators have implemented a comprehensive lesson design program and conducted over 13,000 classroom visitations in addition to more than 3,000 coaching observations, to assist our teachers with more effective instructional strategies. Lyon County recently passed a 10-year Rollover Bond to support new construction as its communities grow, while looking forward to the continuation of a high quality education for its children.

Mineral County School District serves the communities of Hawthorne, Luning, Mina and Schurz.  With more than 650 students attending three schools, we are focused on moving from “Good to Great” through the use of advisory councils that involve educators, non-instructional personnel, and the community. 

The District has completed the development of new organizational management systems that will fully enlarge the needed processes and procedures to ensure that as new challenges arise, systems are in place to address them.  Along with taking a systems approach, the District is also implementing strategies for greater local involvement.

During the first three months of 2008, we have reconsidered our beliefs, vision, and mission statements.  Our work is being done with the following in mind: Mineral County School District invests in creating a positive learning community where everyone contributes to the successful development of life-long learners.

Nye County School District is the largest geographical district in the contiguous 48 states at 18,400 square miles. Currently, it is the only district with a pre-employment drug screening policy for all new employees. The District’s Volunteer Program won the National Magna Award in 2005 and presented its program at the National School Board Association Conference in Chicago. Rosemary Clarke Middle School is the only middle school in the State having an operational wind turbine that generates electricity for educational purposes. The Transportation Department has more than 100 buses that travel over 1.2 million miles per year transporting the District’s 6,400 students. Last year, Nye County School District’s “Water Conservation Program” saved over 59 million gallons of water in Pahrump alone. During the past 12 months, Dr. Rob’s Ranger Readers’ Program recorded over 10,000 books read by first through eighth grade students throughout Nye County.

Fueled by desire, dedication, hard work and an eager eye toward the future and present needs of its students, the Pershing County School District utilizes its small size as a strength to provide an excellent learning environment.  It is a small town atmosphere with big town programs!

The District provides educational services for approximately 725 students enrolled in pre-K through grade 12 in two elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. In addition, PCSD has a collaborative agreement with the adjoining Humboldt County School District to educate approximately 250 Pershing County resident students because of their location. 

Whereas the District’s enrollment has declined by almost 25% during the past decade, student achievements and successes have not dwindled.  The dropout rate remains low, the graduation rate remains high, and steps along the way encourage and support student growth and learning.

Pershing County is approximately 6,031 square miles, located along the I-80 corridor about 90 miles east of Reno.   Free daily tours are available. Please contact the Superintendent at (775) 273-7819.

The history of Storey County is, to some extent, the history of the whole State. Legends of the Old West don’t get any richer than they are in Storey County. We are steeped in history going back to 1859 when miners discovered the largest deposit ever found of gold and silver. This saga gives our teachers a unique opportunity when teaching history which, in turn, leads to an increased student appreciation for life on the Comstock—past and present. Another unique feature in Storey County is our size. We have about 450 students in our four schools. Our average class size is around 18 or 19, which gives every child the chance to have critical one-on-one instruction with each teacher. In Storey County, everyone really does know your name. Parents love that everyone knows everyone else and that personal contact with District personnel—from the teachers to the superintendent—is possible and is, in fact, encouraged. One of our primary challenges is that Storey County is quite large and spread out over 264 square miles. This can make inclusion of all kids a dilemma. We’ve been able to use special funding from the Nevada Legislature to provide after-school transportation to our students who live miles away from our schools in order to bring all of them into our school community.

The Washoe County School District is the second largest district in the State of Nevada, encompassing the Reno/Sparks metropolitan area, Incline Village, Gerlach, Empire and Verdi.

The District serves approximately 63,000 students in 64 elementary schools, 15 middle schools and 12 comprehensive high schools in addition to Truckee Meadows Community College High School (a magnet school), Washoe HIgh School (an alternative school), and the Regional Technical Institute.

The District employs about 7,200 people, of whom 4,105 are certified teachers or counselors. Fewer than 5% of the district's employees are administrators. Over 2,200 of its teachers have Master's degrees or above, and 99% of them teach in their area of licensure.

Washoe County School District students consistently outpace both Nevada and the Nation on ACT, SAT, and ITBS/ITED scores. For six consecutive years, WCSD has recieved the Government Finance Officers Association's Certificate of Excellence in Finanacial Reporting.

All 11 of the District's comprehensive high schools were recognized by Newsweek magazine as among the nation's top public high schools, and Reno High School was selected by U.S. News & World Report for its list of the top high schools in the country.

White Pine County School District faces unique challenges in almost every aspect of education because of our remote location. Recruiting staff, attending training and conferences, and having students attend competitions and sporting events are challenging because the nearest competitor is about 200 miles away. Most of our facilities are at least 50 years old; hence, it is difficult and expensive to keep them maintained and repaired to the level we expect for our students and staff. Despite our financial limitations and fluctuating enrollment, the District has adopted the Professional Learning Communities Model, which has greatly benefited our teachers and student achievement. By using early release Wednesdays for professional development at all schools, mandatory tutoring, staff mentoring, and various alternative instruction programs, student achievement has been accelerated. As a result, all of the District’s schools have made Adequate Yearly Progress.