Good morning, and welcome to the Indy Education newsletter. I’m Rocio Hernandez, The Nevada Independent’s K-12 education reporter.

This newsletter provides a recap of the latest education stories and highlights interesting educators, students, programs and other events and resources throughout the state. Click here to subscribe to the newsletter and receive it each week via email.

I want to hear from you! Send questions, comments or suggestions on what I should be covering to [email protected].

News briefs

❌ Clark County DA declines to pursue charges against former school board trustee — Weeks after investigators found that Katie Williams, a former Clark County School Board trustee, was no longer living in the district she represents and her eventual resignation on Sept. 11, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said he won’t pursue charges against her. 

According to documents released last week, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department had sought an arrest warrant against Williams on suspicion of “wrongful exercise of power” after finding evidence that she had moved to Nebraska. The evidence included the enrollment of Williams’ daughter at a Nebraska school, a change of address filed with the U.S. Postal Service and an analysis of Williams’ financial records and energy consumption at her North Las Vegas property. 

But Wolfson said he denied the request citing his office’s large workload, and the limited consequences Williams might have faced if they had moved forward with the case. 

“The real goal was to get her out of office,” he said in an interview with KLAS. “We achieved that goal."

🗣️ Washoe County schools receive a grant to support multilingualism in schools — The U.S. Department of Education has awarded the Washoe County School District (WCSD) a Native American Language grant for $1.2 million over the next three years while the district supports Natchez Elementary School’s ongoing efforts to revitalize the Numu language.

The elementary school is located on the sovereign lands of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, where 98 percent of the 130 pre-K through fifth grade students are federally recognized members of the tribe. The school’s Young Mustangs — Strong Futures Project will provide a variety of classroom activities centered around learning the Numu language and incorporating it into instruction about the culture, storytelling, history, art, music and daily activities of the ancient peoples who lived at Pyramid Lake. 

“The Numu language is the soul of our Paiute identity,” said Doug Gardipe, Reno-Sparks Indian Colony Tribal Chairman. “Just as the boarding school era was designed to remove language and culture, current tribal efforts can restore what was taken.” 

School Spotlight

New Douglas County superintendent labels himself as a ‘cycle breaker’ who doesn’t shy away from turmoil

Becoming a superintendent was a lifelong goal of Frankie Alvarado, the new head of the Douglas County School District. 

Alvarado, who was raised by his grandmother in a low-income household in Southern California, said his passion for education was inspired by his upbringing.

“I picked education because I myself am a cycle breaker,” he said. “I had a lot of strong educators that helped lead me to a path of success and taught me that education really does open up doors of opportunities and access to not only my dreams and goals, but also to changing the dynamics of my life.” 

It’s been four months since the board's 4-3 vote to appoint Alvarado, the former assistant superintendent of human resources of the Ukiah Unified School District in Northern California, as the district’s new leader. The trustees who voted against his appointment said they were concerned that he wouldn’t be committed to the district long term as his resume showed Alvarado has moved across various California school districts to climb up in the ranks.

On July 9, the board approved a four-year contract with Alvarado. It included a base pay of $175,000. He started at the district the following day. 

During an interview with The Nevada Independent, Alvarado, 42, said for him, this job is not a stepping stone, and he has no plans to go anywhere else. 

“I would love to be in this position long term, but it's up to the trustees,” he said. 

The superintendent position opened up this summer after former longtime Superintendent Keith Lewis resigned following months of strife between him and the school board including his concerns about high legal fees after the board hired failed Republican gubernatorial candidate Joey Gilbert as legal counsel. Lewis had previously put out a public statement distancing the district from a proposed policy by the board related to transgender students. 

Before selecting Alvarado as the next superintendent, the board attempted to appoint its interim superintendent, Jeannie Dwyer, and a controversial former California superintendent to the role. 

Alvarado said that “turmoil” only motivated him more to want to become the district’s superintendent. 

“I do really well with conflict, helping to bridge conflict, helping to have shared decision-making, and I do really well with unifying staff and unifying the community,” he said. 

Alvarado called the district “one of the best organizations” he’s stepped into. He said whatever issues happened before his arrival are in the rearview mirror, and his focus is on what’s ahead. 

He said he’s spent his first three months cultivating relationships within the district and outside in the community, learning more about the district and listening to concerns and feedback from all of the district’s constituents including staff as part of his 100-day plan. 

“I'm learning in my first couple months that the district is in need of a reset,” he said. “We need to review our vision and mission statement. We need to redevelop a strategic plan. We need to seek input from our students, from our teachers, from our community members, our parents and our administrators on what is the best direction forward.”

Among the issues Alvarado is most concerned about is figuring out what’s behind the district’s student enrollment declines. Last school year the district had 5,000 students, about 1,000 students less than it had during the 2016-17 school year, according to data from the Nevada Department of Education. Alvarado said projections estimate student enrollment could fall to about 3,500 students in about five years. 

“That's very concerning,” Alvarado said. “If we're continuing to have these low enrollments … we're going to have to make some tough decisions.”

He said the board recently approved staff to conduct a study to learn about what’s driving enrollment declines and, if possible, what the district can do to get students back in its schools. 

As for Alvarado, he’s doing his part as a superintendent by making sure students also feel heard by district leaders. He recently worked with the board to review applications for the board’s first student member. That student, Ender Dempsey, took their seat on the board for the first time at its last meeting on Sept. 10. 

“That's one thing that I've really enjoyed is making sure that every voice matters,” he said. “Having a leader like that, I think, is something the Douglas County community appreciates.”

Have a student or staffer who we should feature in the next edition of School Spotlight? Share your nominations with me at [email protected].

Reading Assignments

Clark County School District estimates it has a $20M potential budget shortfall

The district’s interim superintendent said the potential district level shortfall will be offset with funds from its unassigned ending fund balance, approximately $163 million. She also clarified that the district is not asking schools to make up that deficit with their carry-forward funds from the prior year. 

Extra Credit

From the Las Vegas Review-Journal: Sparking a new future: Welding school helps those with troubled pasts

Events

🍎 Clark County School Board meeting — Oct. 10, 5 p.m. 

The agenda includes a discussion on the state of the district’s budget. 

🥕 Giant Student Farmers Market — Oct. 16, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. 

The farmers market hosted by the Green Our Planet nonprofit features produce and crafts grown and made by students. The event will be held at the Clark County Government Center on 500 S. Grand Central Parkway. All profits are reinvested into school garden programs.  

Featured social media post

Check out our Aug. 26 edition of the newsletter to read more about the high school student-led nonprofit organization, Giving 2 Kids, that helped contribute to the building of a new school in Cambodia.