Special sendoff for Superintendent

SkorkowskyNeed a Cure for the Summertime Blues?

MEET OUR NEW SUPERINTENDENT

SCHOOL’S OUT FOR SUMMER!

With the new school calendar in place, students and school staff will enjoy an earlier summer break this year

Congratulations to the Class of 2018 p. 14-15

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Teacher Appreciation Week Highlights p. 16-17

Vegas PBS has the Cure for the Summertime Blues! p. 8-11

Students Won’t Go Hungry This Summer p. 12-13

2018 Heart of Education Award Winners p. 20-21

Around the District p. 22-23

Dr. Jesus Jara Joins CCSD as the New Superintendent p. 4-5

CCSD Bids Farewell to Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky p. 6-7

Awards and Accolades p. 18-19

DR. JESUS JARA JOINS CCSD AS THE

The Clark County School District Board of School Trustees have voted to appoint Jesus. F. Jara, Ed.D. as CCSD’s next superintendent. The vote came after the board conducted an extensive community outreach campaign to select the next person to lead the nation’s fifth-largest school district. Dr. Jara is expected to begin in June prior to the start of the 2018-19 school year.

Dr. Jara will be leaving the position he’s held since 2012 as Deputy Superintendent in Orange County Public Schools, the ninth-largest urban district in the nation with 191 schools, 24,000 employees, and more than 200,000 students. In 2014, Orange County Public Schools won the Broad Prize for Urban Education. Sharing the accolade and the $1 million dollar prize with another district, they received $500,000 in college scholarships for seniors graduating that year for demonstrating the greatest overall performance and

improvement in student achievement while narrowing achievement gaps among low-income students and students of color.

Previously, Dr. Jara served as the superintendent of Monroe County Public Schools, a smaller school district in Florida. During his tenure, student achievement reached the highest levels in the history of the school district which Dr. Jara credits to a focus on student success, “our core business.”

As an executive at The College Board, he led a statewide initiative to improve college readiness for minorities and underserved students across the State of Florida.

Dr. Jara began his career with roles as a teacher, dean, assistant principal, and principal. He later taught at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and the University of Central Florida.

NEW SUPERINTENDENT

Welcome, Dr. Jara!

“I am grateful for this very important opportunity, and I’m humbled and honored to be chosen as superintendent. I’m looking forward to working with the District’s Trustees, educators, and families to build on the progress CCSD has already realized with a clear focus on student achievement.”

Students at Don E. Hayden Elementary School closed out the Week of Respect in October by showing their love and support for all of Las Vegas.

SCHOOL’S OUT FOR SUMMER... SCHOOL’S OUT

FOREVER!

CCSD says farewell to Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky, marking 30 years of service with special celebrations

The Superintendent was surprised with a special gift created in his honor – a mural depicting the personal motto that has defined his 30-year career at the Clark County School District: “Every student in every classroom, without exceptions, without excuses.” The mural was painted outside of his very first classroom at C.C. Ronnow Elementary School, where he began his career as a first-grade teacher in 1988, and features handprints of the Superintendent and Ronnow students.

All employees were invited to a farewell reception on Friday, May 4. Special thanks to our generous community sponsors who made the event possible!

The Green Valley High School Madrigals, directed by Kimberly Barclay Ritzer, surprised the Superintendent with a performance of “School Years of Love,” a special rendition of his favorite song from the Broadway musical “Rent.”

Liberty High School art teacher Kathleen Finch and her students surprised the Superintendent with a one-of-a-kind work of art, a hand-painted tenor sax, on behalf of all the students of CCSD.

East Career and Technical Academy hosted the open house reception for the Superintendent. ECTA’s culinary team, led by Chef David Watkins, wowed guests with a dazzling display of delectable treats.

WATCH YOUR FAVORITE

PBS KIDS SHOWS ANYTIME!

PBS KIDS offers safe and

educational children’s television

programming weekdays from

6:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on

Vegas PBS Channel 10.

PBS KIDS is also available online

24/7, where kids can play games

and watch videos from Daniel

Tiger, Wild Kratts, and their

other favorite PBS KIDS shows!

PBS KIDS also offers a huge

variety of free apps to

download to your mobile device

for fun on the go!

INTERACTIVE WORKSHOPS

Vegas PBS Ready To Learn will

offer free ScratchJr coding

workshops at locations

throughout the valley. Through

the free PBS KIDS ScratchJr app,

kids can learn how to code their

favorite PBS KIDS characters,

creating their own interactive

stories and games.

Check out the Vegas PBS Ready

To Learn workshop dates

and times on the Vegas PBS

event calendar. (Please note

that iPads are required and

seats are limited to

15 participants per session.)

Vegas PBS has the Cure

for the Summertime

Blues!If you’re looking for ways to keep

students engaged and learning

this summer, Vegas PBS offers

programming, online content, parental

resources, and special workshops

throughout the summer break.

Congratulations to Vegas PBS for 50 years of excellence!

FUN ACTIVITIES AND CRAFT IDEAS

PBS Parents offers parenting

resources and tips on topics

like raising children, planning

birthday parties, and food and

fitness, and provides a wide

variety of kids activities.

The PBS Parents YouTube

channel offers videos with fun

activities, family recipes to try,

and do-it-yourself kid craft

ideas, like the fairy glow jars

pictured below!

FOR K-12 STUDENTS

ONLINE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSES FOR

TEACHERS

Various online courses are available to

assist teachers with license renewal,

salary advancement, and to

expand professional knowledge.

In addition, through the support of

the Great Teaching and Leading Grant,

teachers may apply for acceptance

into a special series of eight leadership

courses in the Learn to Lead:

Building Great Educators through

Leadership Pathways program.

For more information,

visit VegasPBS.Learn.com.

FIND EDUCATIONAL MEDIA AND OTHER

CLASSROOM RESOURCES

PBS LearningMedia makes learning

easy and fun for PreK-12 and beyond!

Access to over 99,000 free,

innovative, standards-aligned and

curriculum-targeted digital resources

for teachers, students, parents,

and home-schooling families.

PBS LearningMedia’s digital resources

add significant value to student

knowledge, engagement, and

higher-order thinking skills

and help teachers work smarter

and more effectively.

For more information, visit

VegasPBS.org/Learn.

JOIN THE NATIONWIDE

VOTE TO DECIDE AMERICA’S BEST-

LOVED NOVEL

Celebrate the power of reading

this summer with The Great

American Read on Vegas PBS.

America’s 100 best-loved

novels (as chosen in a national

survey) were revealed in the

series premiere on May 22.

Visit VegasPBS.org/the-great-

american-read to explore

the list and vote for your

favorites all summer long!

Vegas PBS has the Cure

for the Summertime

Blues!

Teachers can also find a wide variety

of inspirational and

instructional resources to help prepare

for the next school year!

FOR TEACHERS

Congratulations to Vegas PBS for 50 years of excellence!

Summertime shouldn’t be a time for our children to go hungry. During the summer break, CCSD Food Service will serve free breakfasts and hot lunches in select schools for all children in our community, age 18 and younger. There is no need to enroll and no cost for families. 

“This is something we offer every year, and we’ve grown to over 100 sites this summer” said David Wines, Director, Food Service Department. “We just wish more families would take advantage of the program. Any child in our community up to age 18 is welcome. You don’t even have to be registered for a CCSD school.”

A variety of menu items will be rotated throughout the summer. For locations and serving times, visit CCSDfs.info/summer or text “Summer Meals” to 97779.

Even more summer information is available at ccsd.net/summer!

Free breakfasts and lunchesare available this

summer to all children 18 and younger

Only a few days left to register for

SUMMER SCHOOL

CCSD offers both online and traditional summer school options for CCSD students and non-CCSD students. Click here for more information on

registration, course offerings, costs, and school sites.

On May 18, more than 500 community volunteers helped 12 CCSD schools get new gardens and 40 CCSD schools participated in the largest student-run farmers market in America. NFL quarterback Drew Brees and other celebrities joined in to support our schools.

GREEN OUR PLANET’S

GREAT GARDEN BUILD

AND GIANT STUDENT

FARMERS MARKET

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS OF 2018! CCSD graduations are in full swing. Check out the CCSD graduation schedule.

Three CCSD Students Named Presidential ScholarsThree Clark County School District (CCSD) students are a part of the 54th class of U.S. Presidential Scholars, recognizing only 161 high school seniors in the nation for their accomplishments in academics, the arts, and career and technical education fields.

The CCSD students are:• Andrew T. Wang – Ed W. Clark High School (Presidential

Scholar in Academics) • Alisha M. Yi – Ed W. Clark High School (Presidential Scholar in the Arts)• Leah Yim – West Career and Technical Academy (Presidential Scholar in Academics)

The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars selects scholars annually based on their academic success, artistic excellence, essays, school evaluations and transcripts, as well as their efforts in community service, leadership, and demonstrated commitment to high ideals.

Nationally, 3.6 million students are expected to graduate from high school this year, according to the U.S Department of Education. From those students, more than 5,200 candidates qualified for the 2018 awards.

Created in 1964, the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program has honored almost 7,500 of the nation’s top-performing students with the prestigious award given to honorees during the annual ceremony in Washington, D.C. The 2018 ceremony will be held June 24, when each honoree will receive a Presidential School Medallion.

Class of 2018 Star GraduatesLearn about this year’s Star Graduates like Gabriela Machado of Durango High School, an English language learner who moved to the United States from Columbia four years ago. Gabby has worked especially hard to earn a 3.25 GPA and to earn the Millennium Scholarship. She attributes her ability to learn English quickly to her time spent in Durango’s Air Force Junior ROTC. She will be the first person in her family to graduate high school and attend college in the United States. Gabby plans to continue her education and become a dentist.

#CCSDGoesTo social media campaign encourages students to share their college plans

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Thank you to all of the business and

community partners who helped CCSD

to recognize great teachers with

school surprises and special offers

during 2018 Teacher Appreciation WeekTEA

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CIA

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Seven first-year CCSD teachers received the “New Educator of the Year” award for their outstanding performance in the classroom.

It was a packed house for this year’s University of Family

Learning Ceremony of Achievement. The FACES

department celebrated 206 family members

who completed 17,451 hours participating in

workshops at 10 schools throughout the District.

Governor Brian Sandoval, Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick, and School Associate Superintendent Jeffery Hybarger recognized some of the CCSD 5th-graders who earned the Great American Award this year. To earn the award, students must complete a variety of steps, including reciting by memory the Preamble of the United States Constitution, all 50 states and capitols, and all Presidents of the United States in order.

Anthony Saville Middle School student Marissa Lassard was selected as Nevada’s finalist for Google’s #Doodle4Google art design contest.

Arlee Brooks of Jim Bridger Middle School

learns he is the CCSD national finalist for the

Do the Write Thing Challenge, which gives

middle school students an opportunity to examine

the impact of youth violence on their lives.

Congratulations to East Career and Technical Academy for being named the nation’s top magnet school by Magnet Schools of America (MSA), receiving MSA’s highest recognition, the Dr. Ronald P. Simpson Distinguished Merit Award.

& AwardsAccolades

Congratulations to all the finalists in this year’s Heart of Education Awards, presented by The Smith Center for the Performing Arts and The Rogers Foundation. Thousands of teachers received nominations from parents, students, alumni, PTA, administrators, and the public. Nominated teachers then completed applications that were judged by a group of community leaders who selected 799 finalists. Twenty of the finalists were named as this year’s Heart of Education award winners, and each received a $5,000 prize, a special award, plus $1,000 for a program of choice at their schools. The finalists were honored during a special evening at The Smith Center on April 20, with performances by Mac King, Eddie B, and Frankie Moreno.  

Special thanks to the Rogers Foundation and The Smith Center for the Performing Arts for creating this program to honor teachers in the Clark County School District!

2018 AWARD WINNERS

Heart of Education

There was a breakout of Vegas Golden Knights fever across the District!

C.V.T. Gilbert Elementary School celebrated with student performances at their Spring Carnival.

The Las Vegas Raiders paid a special visit to Gene Ward Elementary School. CCSD administrators at schools across the District worked with students to allow them to express themselves as part of national student protests against violence in schools.

500 students celebrated their hard work to get back on track to graduate at the annual Reclaim Your Future breakfast on May 4. Eleven students were rewarded with more than $16,000 in college scholarships!

BOARD OF SCHOOL TRUSTEES

Deanna L. Wright, President Carolyn Edwards, Vice President

Lola Brooks, ClerkLinda P. Cavazos, MemberKevin L. Child, MemberChris Garvey, Member

Dr. Linda E. Young, Member

Pat Skorkowsky, Superintendent

Wishing all of our school staff, students, and families

a safe and restful summer break!