Monday, Dec. 9, 2019 | 11:18 a.m.
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As we approach the end of 2019, I would like to share some reflections about the Clark County School District’s accomplishments and our goals for the upcoming year.
As the fifth-largest school district in the nation, serving 320,000 students and their families, we face many challenges. Many of our children come to school facing adult issues that go beyond academic achievement, we have overcrowded schools with aging infrastructure, and our principals and teachers need support systems that provide the tools to help students succeed.
We should all acknowledge the hardships, but we should not forget to celebrate all we have accomplished thus far. As promised during my State of the Schools address in January, we have begun to move the needle, and I can confidently say we are heading in the right direction thanks to our hardworking employees.
As a district, we have focused on instructional excellence, have initiated action to address issues of equity and access, have created efficiencies in our operations, have invested in our aging infrastructure and have continuously engaged in shared governance with the board of trustees, building on an open culture of accountability.
We are building systems of support and job-embedded coaching for our teachers and building leaders. We are forging partnerships to provide infrastructures for instructional leaders to grow and focus on high-quality instruction. I hired 40 instructional leaders and met with all principals to discuss student achievement. We are investing in our people so they can maximize learning for students.
We have changed admission criteria for our magnet programs to expand access. Additionally, we will continue talking with our partners in higher education and workforce development to enhance opportunities for all students to access postsecondary education or enter the workforce prepared for the new economy.
We are also channeling our dollars into the classroom and creating efficiencies in our processes and operations. We reorganized the central office, reducing the number of supervisors and streamlining the communication between my office and our principals. We have a cabinet with talented and experienced professionals in their respective fields who have already shown innovative thinking and are action-focused. We have budgeted to improve our ending fund balance to 2% of total revenues by 2020 through cutting open non-teaching positions, restructuring key departments and implementing a more stringent budget process. Thanks to the support of Gov. Steve Sisolak and our legislators, Senate Bill 543 has created a committee to look at a pupil-centered funding formula for our state, modernizing Nevada’s funding formula for the first time in more than 50 years.
We have begun investing in our aging infrastructure. On Nov. 14, the board of school trustees approved a revision to the capital improvement program to realign it with our infrastructure needs and begin renovations at 290 schools that are 20 years or older. This addresses the demands of the student population with two new Career and Technical Academies in North Las Vegas and Henderson that also will alleviate some of our capacity issues.
We have worked this past year to set up systems to receive continuous stakeholder input through advisory committees and other mechanisms. I constantly meet with community members, parents, teachers, principals and students to get their input and keep them informed of our efforts. In 2020, we will continue to build our communication systems to improve responsiveness and engagement with both internal and external partners.
Every month, we have reported on our progress on the Focus: 2024 strategic plan at the CCSD Board of School Trustees meetings and have set up a website to keep our community apprised (focus2024.ccsd.net). We will continue to update the plan as needed to keep us on track for the future and will continue to engage with all of our stakeholders toward transparency and shared governance. High expectations, accountability and integrity remain some of our key core values.
During the Jan. 31, 2020, State of the Schools address, I will share more details on our progress and the work ahead. While there is so much to be done, I am proud of the accomplishments we have made. Our almost 41,000 instructional and support professionals show up every day at our 360 schools, yards and administrative centers to make a positive difference in our children’s lives. I am proud to be superintendent of our district and I remain personally committed to making CCSD No. 1 for kids.
Jesus Jara is superintendent of the Clark County School District.
