In Carson City, lawmakers, lobbyists and others are eagerly anticipating two, beautiful words — sine die — signaling the end of the 79th Legislature.

But they’re not the only Nevada residents gearing up for a celebrated ending.

It’s graduation season, meaning high school seniors are taking their last exams, participating in their final field days, bidding their favorite teachers goodbye and preparing to accept that coveted diploma that’s been 13 years in the making.

As these soon-to-be graduates reflect on their fond (and maybe some not-so-fond) school memories, The Nevada Independent visited three Southern Nevada high schools. We posed this question to seniors at Green Valley, Chaparral and Advanced Technologies Academy: If you could do anything to improve education, what would it be?

They didn’t hold back. First on their list: Reducing class sizes.

“Class sizes are really big,” said Robyn Myers, a Green Valley High School senior who attributes overcrowded classrooms to lackluster learning. “If you decrease the class size, then you have more range for discussion.”

Not to mention a desk. Green Valley students described chaotic first days of class, scrambling to find a desk and, if unsuccessful, a chair somewhere else in the room. When all else failed, the floor became a makeshift workspace — at least until the school altered schedules or brought more desks to the heavily populated classes. It’s a common narrative across the school district. The state has class-size ratios for kindergarten through third grade, but no such limits exist for upper grades.

Sydney Tresvant, a senior at Chaparral High School, said her anatomy and physiology class boasts roughly 45 students, making learning difficult and distractions plentiful.

“Of course we have great teachers who notice when students aren’t doing what they’re supposed to be doing, but it does give students a little bit more leeway to get distracted and not actually stay on task,” said Tresvant, who’s looking forward to more intimate classroom settings at California Lutheran University, where she will be a criminal justice major in the fall.

While large class sizes can be irritating, the Chaparral students expressed much appreciation for a privately funded organization called the Fulfillment Fund, based in their school, that provides college counseling to students, including campus visits. Leticia Ibarra, 17, joined the program after learning about it this year. She said schools should do a better job advertising valuable programs, especially ones that help students flummoxed by the college-application process.

Ibarra credits the Fulfillment Fund with helping her visit campuses and pay the application fees. She plans to attend College of Southern Nevada, study business management and play collegiate soccer.

A theme that surfaced in every conversation: Students want more knowledge applicable to the “real” world.

Green Valley students yearned for more information about personal finance — whether it be managing income, handling credit or paying taxes. Students at Advanced Technologies Academy, meanwhile, urged the state to revamp its sex-education policy. As it stands now, Nevada is an “opt-in state,” meaning students’ participation in sexual education requires written consent from their parents. It’s a long-standing, controversial policy that elicits hours of animated discourse at public meetings any time the topic surfaces. So far, parents against changes to the policy have won the battle.

Earlier this spring, a bill proposed by Democratic Assemblywoman Amber Joiner that would have made sex education “opt out” ran into opposition. Ultimately, an amendment softened AB348, maintaining the state’s opt-in policy. The Senate Education Committee passed the bill on a 4-3 vote Saturday evening.

But even with consent, students complained the abstinence-based curriculum lacks substance. They favor comprehensive sexual education, covering topics such as sexual development, sexually transmitted diseases, birth control methods and healthy relationships.

“It’s something that needs a lot more emphasis,” said Joshua Padilla, who attends Advanced Technologies Academy.

He barely finished his thoughts before his peers chimed in with their full-fledged support.

“A modern emphasis — not just from like a 1980s perspective,” Andrew Shepherd said. “It’s a real problem people are having.”

The students weren’t only concerned about improving the academic environment for themselves, though. Seniors at Advanced Technologies Academy rattled off a list of burdens educators face each day: Teaching large classes. Running student organizations. Grading copious amounts of papers and tests. Paying for classroom supplies. Dealing with ungrateful students and parents.

“Teachers are the most undervalued position in the entire country,” said Stanley Yip, who’s headed to Brown University in the fall and is undecided between an aerospace engineering or computer science major. “We’ve seen firsthand how much a good teacher that’s dedicated can do to your life.”

So what to do about it?

Shepherd suggested the state give teachers a stipend to cover classroom-related expenses. Their classmate, Sarai Luna, put the onus on parents as well, saying children should be taught from a young age to admire and respect teachers. Her strong feelings on the subject come from a place of gratitude: Luna, who’s joining the Army after graduation, said teachers played a key role in her academic success.

“They understood exactly what I could do and put me up to certain challenges,” she said.

While most of the improvement recommendations revolved around reducing class sizes, bolstering academic and extracurricular participation, making the curriculum more interesting and useful and supporting teachers, one student offered a different take.

Mackienzy Kahl, a Green Valley senior, wants a shorter summer. It’s an idea he pitched during a mock government exercise last summer in Carson City. His proposed legislation didn’t garner enough support and died, but his enthusiasm hasn’t wavered.

Kahl’s rationale boils down to academic retention and student well-being. A shorter summer — no longer than a month — would prevent the so-called summer slide, in which students forget material they learned the prior year, he said. On top of that, it would ensure students don’t go hungry during long stretches without guaranteed meals at school.

“Often the first month of school is review,” he said. “ We wouldn’t have to review if we didn’t have two and half months or so of complete break.”

Despite his articulate reasoning, Kahl’s classmates didn’t endorse this particular suggestion.“Dang, that’s harsh, bro,” one quipped.

After all, their sine die is just days away as well.

Feature photo: Advanced Technologies Academy graduating seniors Andrew Shepherd (left), Stanley Yip, Joshua Padilla and Sarai Luna share stories at the school on Thursday, June 1, 2017. Photo by Jeff Scheid.