Nevada Ed-Watch: Washoe County School District 1/28/25

Lupon ng mga Tagapangasiwa ng Washoe County School District

Ano ang Board of Trustees at ano ang kanilang pananagutan? Ang Lupon ng mga Trustees ng Distrito ng Paaralan ng Washoe County ay inihalal ng publiko na mga gumagawa ng desisyon para sa distrito ng paaralan. Responsable sila sa pagbibigay ng pangangasiwa sa Superintendente at pagtatatag ng patakaran sa buong Distrito. Ang mga trustee ay may pananagutan na makipagtulungan sa kanilang mga komunidad upang mapabuti ang tagumpay ng mag-aaral.

Mag-click dito upang matuto nang higit pa at makakita ng listahan ng mga kasalukuyang Trustees .

Gaano kadalas nagpupulong ang Board of Trustees? Ang mga trustee ay nagpupulong dalawang beses bawat buwan (pangalawa at ikaapat na Martes) sa ganap na 2 ng hapon at sa Central Administration Building Board Room, 425 E. 9 ^th St., Reno, NV 89512.

Mag-click dito para sa buong listahan ng mga pulong ng Trustees.

Maaari bang makisali ang mga miyembro ng komunidad sa mga pulong ng Trustee? Malaki ang pakinabang ng mga katawan sa paggawa ng desisyon sa pakikinig ng pampublikong input at maraming pananaw. Sa kasalukuyan, ang mga miyembro ng publiko ay maaaring magsumite ng mga komento sa agenda at mga item na hindi agenda sa pamamagitan ng email o voice recording. Maaaring magbigay ng pampublikong komento nang personal o sa pamamagitan ng email. Ang mga komento sa email ay dapat isumite sa publiccomments@washoeschools.net .

Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Pagpupulong ng Lupon ng mga Tagapangasiwa ng Washoe County School District

Mag-click dito upang makita ang agenda ng pulong.
Panoorin ang pag-playback ng pulong.

Ano ang nangyari sa pagpupulong na ito?

Inaprubahan ng mga Katiwala ang Agenda ng Pahintulot

Kasama sa mga highlight ng agenda ng pahintulot ang:

• Several appointments for Board of Trustees members to councils and committees
• Approval of the 2025 Second Quarter Report of Average Daily Attendance and Pupil-Teacher Ratios
• Renewal of the charter agreement with Sierra Nevada Academy Charter School
• Maraming mga item sa pasilidad

Galugarin ang agenda ng pahintulot dito.

Trustees Discussed the Alignment of Academics for the 2025-26 School Year to Adopt a Targeted Approach to Improve the Quality of Education in Support of the District’s Strategic Plan

 Superintendent Ernst and staff provided an update on aligning academics for the 2025-2026 school year to improve the quality of education in support of the District’s strategic plan. Staff provided an overview of the process, including reviewing capabilities and contracts, reviewing the organizational model, and providing thoughtful analysis.

An organizational design compass was also outlined, with items such as organizational alignment, focused leadership, financial stewardship, alignment with guiding principles, continuous improvement, and improving operational efficiencies.

The 2025-2026 organizational model will include chiefs of Secondary Education, Elementary Education, Student Development and Success, and Student Services. Next steps include continued change management and engagement with employees, repeating the process for other areas within the District, ensuring strong transitions and cross-departmental collaboration, and monitoring, evaluating, and adjusting to ensure alignment with goals.

Galugarin ang presentasyon .

Trustees Received a Presentation on Progress Made on Strategic Plan Pillars

 Trustees received a presentation on progress made on the pillars of the District’s strategic plan. Highlights included:

• Pillar A: Strong Curriculum and Instruction: (1) Supports Highest Needs Schools, (2) High Quality Instructional Materials in Use, (3) Professional Learning for Educators
• Pillar B: Strong Partnerships among Families, Schools, and Community: (1) Communication with Families, (2) School Choice, (3) Parent Teacher Home Visits, (4) Community Partnerships and Collocated Services
• Pillar C: Elevating Educators: (1) Began 2024-25 with a teacher in every classroom, (2) streamlined recruitment, licensing, benefit and other HR processes, (3) Professional learning for administrators and teachers
• Pillar D: (1) Culture of Excellence and Accountability: Launched new predictive analytics dashboard for graduation monitoring, (2) Hundreds of data visualizations provided to support planning and monitoring, (3) Needs assessment of central office services (focus groups, survey) to identify strengths and areas to improve customer service.

Galugarin ang presentasyon .

Trustees Accepted the PreK-8 Study and to Provide Direction to the Superintendent to Implement Recommendations with new PreK-5 Facilities on Pine Middle School and Traner Middle School Campuses

Trustees approved the PreK-8 study and proceeded with the recommendation for the construction of new PreK-5 elementary schools to house the Smithridge, Dodson, Duncan, Lemelson, and/or neighboring schools. These new facilities would meet current District standards and would be master planned with flexibility for expansion to PreK-8.

Community engagement included the PreK-8 steering committee, engaging principals, conducting teacher and family focus groups, student engagement, and community meetings. Research and case studies also factored into the decisions.

Key findings include that PreK-8 has merit, as Nevada PreK-8 students grew from 5,600 to 29,000+ in 15 years, with the majority in the charter sector. Sixth grade ELA and math proficiency trended higher, likely due to the transition year between elementary and middle schools, and rates of chronic absenteeism at Title I schools is consistently lower among PreK-8 vs. Pre-K-5 and grades 6-8. Operational feasibility was reconfirmed at Pine and Traner Middle Schools.

PreK-8, done correctly, requires increased staffing and costs, with adjustments for additional teachers and additional per-pupil costs. Additionally, based on community input, PreK-8 may not be right for Pine or Traner due to vocal, organized opposition and the concern of the perception of safety for younger students in a PreK-8 environment.

The recommendation of the Committee is to close Pine Middle School in 2026, and Traner Middle School in 2029, to enable construction of new PreK-5 elementary schools to house the Smithridge, Duncan, Dodson, Lemelson, and/or neighboring schools, consistent with design standards, incorporating flexible design for future addition of grades 6-8, and if such expansion occurs, planned physical separation by age and separate entrances.

Galugarin ang presentasyon .

Trustees Approved the Temporary Closure of Pine Middle School

Trustees approved the temporary closure of Pine Middle School, in accordance with Administrative Regulation 7087, at the beginning of the 2026-27 school year in order to reconstruct the PreK-5 facility at that location.

Explore the regulation.

Trustees Received a Presentation on the Guinn Center Report on School Funding in Nevada

Highlights of the presentation from the Guinn Center included:

• Advocating for strategic funding based on the report
• Advocating for equity-driven funding using weights for students who may need additional support
• Navigating gaps and need for improvement regarding school resources and funding following the pandemic

Explore the presentation and report.

Trustees Received an Update on the Legislative Session and the Priorities of the Washoe County School District.

The District’s contracted lobbying firm presented a preview of the upcoming legislative session. Highlights from the presentation included:

• Education remains a top priority, and there will be several proposed policies that affect School District business.
• There is overlap in competing visions in education found within the topics of expanding funding for pre-k, eliminating extraneous reporting, and expanded accountability, among other topics.
• There is ambiguity surrounding the WCSD budget allocation regarding the 2025-2027 Governor’s Recommended K-12 Budget.

Explore the presentation and the legislative platform.

Student Representative Report

Kasama ang mga highlight ng ulat:

• Requesting a presentation on developing new CTE schools due to concerns in funding with the current CTE schools
• Assisting setting up a student representative for the Lander County Board
• Actively ready to provide student voice for the district and encouraging others to call upon student opinions

Trustee Report

Kasama ang mga highlight ng ulat:

• Serving as a judge for the “We the people” state competition between eight schools
• Various school visits, events, and activities across the District
• WCSD teacher from Vaughn Middle School, Denise Trakas, receiving the Presidential Award in Excellence in Science and Mathematics

Ulat ng Superintendente

Kasama ang mga highlight ng ulat:

• Serving as a keynote speaker for the Northern Nevada Literacy Counsel on a pilot program to engage students

Pampublikong Komento

• Urge for more support and hiring for special education teachers based on current challenges educators are facing
• Updates from the Nevada Museum of Art regarding opportunities and professional development resources for educators

The next Meeting of the Board of Trustees is scheduled for February 11, 2024, at 2:00 p.m.