CCSD superintendent addresses school start time concerns in first State of the District address

LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Clark County School District Superintendent Jhone Ebert delivered her first State of the District address Thursday morning.

The address, held at the Las Vegas Academy of the Performing Arts, addressed improvements in staffing and student achievement, while acknowledging ongoing challenges with chronic absenteeism. Supt. Ebert also addressed reporter questions about changes to middle school start times.

The address comes after CCSD launched “Dream Sessions” to gather community input on the district’s future. The district has planned seven in-person and virtual sessions throughout January and February, building on input from thousands of survey responses and conversations with community leaders.

During the address, Ebert shared that the district has achieved its lowest number of teacher vacancies in about a decade, with 98% of classrooms now staffed with licensed teachers. Teacher retention rates have also improved, with the district fully staffed with nurses and school police, and the bus fleet having fewer than 10 vacancies.

CCSD teachers are currently earning an average salary of about $84,000 with approximately $40,000 in annual benefits, according to Ebert.

Student performance improved across all grade levels in English, math, arts, and science, Ebert reported. The graduation rate increased by about 5% to 86.5%. A record high 7,000 graduates completed college-ready coursework last year, representing about 30% of the graduating class.

Chronic absenteeism has decreased over the past four years, though about one in four students in the district remains chronically absent. Ebert said the district continues partnering with local businesses to address truancy, calling the initiative relatively new and helpful.

About a quarter of middle school students are proficient in math, a number Ebert says she wants to improve as a former middle school math teacher.

When asked about recent changes to middle school start times, Ebert acknowledged the district could have better communicated that bus scheduling was one factor in the decision.

“One of the things with the survey that I think we could have done differently is to make sure that everyone knew that was one piece of data,” Ebert said. “We absolutely could have done a better job in saying this is one piece of data that we’ll use.”

Ebert recognized that while sixth and seventh graders generally do not require as much sleep as high school students, eighth graders begin to show similar sleep pattern needs.

Attendees at the address included members of the CCSD Board of School Trustees, district leadership, Public Education Foundation Board Chair Peter Guzman, and elected officials and representatives from throughout Southern Nevada.