Las Vegas NowNEW: Progress Report on Clark County Schools

NEW: Progress Report on Clark County Schools

(Jul. 26, 2007) -- More schools in the Clark County School District met federal standards this year than in past years. The latest Adequate Yearly Progress report was released Thursday showing that 216 schools out of 339 met the federal standards.

Click here to see how Clark County schools rank in their AYP

AYP is a measuring stick used by the federal government as part of its No Child Left Behind Act. It requires schools and districts to meet annual targets for academic improvement in several areas, including English and math test scores, test participation rates, attendance rates and even graduation rates.

The Clark County School District says the list of Exemplary and High Achieving Schools has grown. The schools on the Exemplary list include: Bartlett Elementary, Bendorf Elementary, Booker Elementary, French Elementary, Goolsby Elementary, Lamping Elementary, Sandy Valley Elementary, Staton Elementary, Twitchell Elementary, Wolff (Elise) Elementary, Agassi Prep. Academy and Odyssey Elementary (charter school). Only six schools were on the Exemplary list in 2005-06.

Thirty two Clark County high schools did not meet standards and were either put on a Needs Improvement list or a Watch list, where they will be more closely monitored in the upcoming year. School district officials say this was due largely to the changes in the math scoring.

In 2005-06, the number of schools meeting AYP increased by more than 50%, from 115 to 183. There were 216 schools that met the standards in 2006-07.

This year's results are not official until they are approved by the school board.

But statistics only paint part of the picture. You have to go beyond the numbers to get the best part of this story -- and Eyewitness News found it Thursday in a classroom at CP Squires elementary.

In Mrs. Jordan's fourth grade classroom, there is a prevailing philosophy. "We work as a team. There is a lot of teamwork," said Rose Ballard, assistant. principal.

And it's that same philosophy that Ballard says has lifted her North Las Vegas inner-city school off the watch list -- right past the AYP mark -- and onto the list of high-achievers.

"We call ourselves Team CP Squires. Our outstanding teachers who are committed to the cause, our students who give their personal best every day and our parents who instill in our children a value for education," said Ballard.

And that triple cocktail, so to speak, has become their magic potion for success.

"The magic potion really is all three working together," said Susan O'Hanley, a parent.

Although 4th grader Jurain Villa says the real magic is no secret. "There is no secret! Our class is great. We have a really good teacher."

More than 800 students attend CP Squires year-round. The school, which first opened its doors in 1959, has a high population of students whose primary language is Spanish. But the school's total immersion approach to English, its before and after school tutoring and its team spirit have catapulted these students to the top.

"And that's what makes it all worthwhile," shared Ballard. "It's not the paycheck, and it's not the recognition. It's the students and as long as they're successful, then I'm happy."

And at the top is where these Tigers say they plan to stay.

"CP Squire Tigers are Tigerrrrriiiifffiiiiccc!!!" shouted the students. But with all the good news, the school district also cautions that the standards will be raised again next year.

And there are still 123 Clark County schools that have yet to achieve AYP, even though many of those schools showed significant improvement in many of the 37 different areas that are measured.

Email your comments to Reporter Alyson McCarthy.