Public Recognition 

Following public comment at the opening of the December meeting expressing thoughts on agenda Item 8 regarding the possibility of later High School start times, President Felicia Ortiz began her report of the President’s business. President Ortiz acknowledged the past month and how there were many pieces of recognition across the state, including all Purple Star Schools. Purple Star Schools are recognized for their desire to help students of military families cope with their education and social-emotional health. Schools that have been helping out with military children can apply for this upcoming year to shine some light on what their school does when it comes to helping out, the applications will be open in April and November of 2023. Another well-deserved recognition is our very own Board Member, Superintendent Jhone Ebert was awarded UNLV College of Education Alumni of the Year. Following these two well-deserved public spotlights, President Ortiz also brought to attention the most recent election regarding our Governor-elect, Joe Lombardo. As he has consistently told the press that he cares very much about Nevada’s educational system, President Ortiz assures that she will make sure that Mr. Lombardo holds up to his word. 

After the President’s Report, we moved to the next item of business, the Superintendent’s Report. Superintendent Ebert spoke very fondly of her visits to various schools and districts (17) across the state, where she had the opportunity to ask students of all ages what their needs were, in hopes of possibly fulfilling those needs soon. The last piece of the business Superintendent Ebert discussed was the results of the CCR (College & Career Ready) Survey, where we heard from many teachers, staff, and parents, but unfortunately not a lot of students. Although this was the case, the board will soon be revisiting this topic and come to a collective choice on which test will be distributed to the High School Juniors for the school year of 2023-2024. 

High School Start Times

Agenda item 8 had gained much attention from not just the audience in the room but various news stations. As this was just a discussion, many key points show possible changes for upcoming years. According to many sources earlier start times for high school students can cause a cascade of events to happen. Behavior, mental health, and lack of education interest become very high due to something so small but so important, sleep. Taking into account that we are a couple of years into coming back from the pandemic, many high schools are facing the rough Chronic Absentee Rate, where there is a good portion of students who are not attending school. Something that adds to these numbers is the underlying problem of students not showing up to their first couple of periods in the morning, without explanation. It could be something such as late nights due to piles of homework or extracurriculars or having to be a caretaker to younger siblings in the morning. Regardless of these circumstances, it is clear that a later start time can make a very noticeable difference. President Ortiz plans on holding a workshop for all stakeholders (staff, parents, students) to speak their points, after this workshop takes place the board will further discuss the logistics of this possible change. 

Goals and Benchmarks of Student Achievement

Next, the Board received a presentation from NASS (Nevada Association of School Superintendents) where Dr. Jesus Jara (CCSD) and Adam Young (WPCSD) share the logistics into what goals should be taken to improve the data throughout the state. There were 6 goals in total, early childhood, effective educators, academic growth, globally prepared graduate, transparent funding, and safe environments. Different activities and indicators were provided such as student-led conferences, service activities, career goals, etc. All detailed information can be seen in the presentation link. 

Following this presentation, President Ortiz had gone further into student achievement seeking approval for our Board’s Position Statement, which will be looked at for the 82nd Legislative Session. As every member had gone over it, we had concluded approval. “The following State of Nevada representatives are committed to the action steps required to increase funding with accountability and explore other ideas which will improve Nevada’s delivery of a high-quality education to all students and thus improve our national education ranking.” 

The entire meeting materials can be found HERE. The next State Board of Education meeting will take place on January 12th, 2023. Happy New Year, NASC!