Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

School District taps 24-year veteran as new deputy superintendent

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Pat Skorkowsky

Associate Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky was introduced Monday as the next deputy superintendent of instruction for the Clark County School District.

A 24-year veteran of the School District, Skorkowsky has moved up the ranks from teacher and principal to academic manager and associate superintendent. During his tenure as associate superintendent, Skorkowsky worked with 108 of the district’s 357 schools on curricula and aligning resources.

As the deputy superintendent, Skowkowsky will work closer with Superintendent Dwight Jones as part of his “reform”-minded cabinet to boost classroom instruction.

“(Skorkowsky) believes in the path we have taken to raise the academic bar and ensure every child is ‘Ready by Exit’,” Jones said in a statement. “Pat’s professional motto is ‘Every student, every classroom, without excuses, without exception.’ I think that’s just right.”

Skorkowsky replaces Pedro Martinez, who was tapped to lead the Washoe County School District. Martinez – who was with Clark County for just over a year – begins his first year as superintendent of the Reno-based school district on Wednesday.

Under Martinez, the School District demonstrated improvements in student achievement, including gains in test scores and graduation rates. The district – considered by Education Week as a “drop-out epicenter” – increased its graduation rate by 6 percentage points to 65 percent this past school year.

Skorkowsky vowed to continue to raise student achievement and the educational initiatives introduced by Jones and Martinez in their first year leading the fifth-largest school district in the country.

“I believe that CCSD is on the right track to ensure that every child is ‘Ready by Exit,’ and I look forward to working with our staff to continue our path of reform initiatives,” Skorkowsky said in a statement. “We need to stay the course, make corrections where we need to and let the reform vision for the District take root so each and every one of our students benefit from increased academic rigor.”

Skorkowsky worked closely with Martinez this past school year putting in place sweeping changes to the School District, from reorganizing schools into “performance zones” to executing a school rating system, Martinez said.

“I have the ultimate confidence that he will continue the work Dwight and I have started,” Martinez said Monday morning. “Not only Pat, but the team surrounding Pat are individuals who have roots here and believe in the work we’ve started.”

School Board President Linda Young echoed Jones’ support for Skorkowsky. “My fellow trustees and I welcome Pat to this leadership role,” Young said in a statement. “He will make an exceptional leader for the District and partner for the Board as we move the Clark County School District from the fastest-growing to the fastest-improving district.”

Skorkowsky – an Oklahoma native – received his associate’s degree from St. Gregory’s College, his bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Oklahoma State University and his master’s degree in education administration from UNLV.

Skorkowsky begins his new role on Wednesday.

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