CCSD welcomes back students for 1st day of school
Excitement was the overriding emotion Monday as more than 300,000 Clark County School District students started a new school year, though a bit of nervousness also was evident amid the worsening COVID-19 pandemic.
Schools are operating with full-time in-person classes for all grade levels for the first time in a year and a half. Distance learning options are also available through 12 schools and the district’s online Nevada Learning Academy at CCSD.
At a noon briefing, Superintendent Jesus Jara said the nation’s fifth-largest school district, which had 307,605 students enrolled as of Monday, experienced no significant problems on day one, though a handful of air-conditioning issues forced some kids to be moved to cooler areas.
He also said the district intends to keep the schools operating, despite the recent surge in coronavirus cases, deaths and hospitalizations in Nevada and, especially, Clark County.
“We’re going to stay open,” he vowed.
He said the goal is to have as close to a normal school experience as possible, including access to performing arts and sports.
There also will be a lot of catching up to do academically and with social-emotional health, Jara said.
In addition to a mandate for all staff and students to wear masks inside and on buses, Monica Cortez, an assistant superintendent, said social distancing is being practiced as feasible in classrooms.
Prep for testing, quarantines
The district has six sites at high schools to provide COVID-19 testing for students and employees who are symptomatic or have been exposed, she said.
More than 20,000 of the district’s roughly 42,000 employees had uploaded a completed COVID-19 vaccination card as of Friday, Cortez said.
Any quarantines will happen on a case-by-case basis, she said, pledging that parents of affected students will receive a personal phone call with notification of an exposure.
Jara joined Jennifer Vobis, the school district’s director of transportation, at an earlier event at the district’s Arville Transportation Yard, sending hundreds of bus drivers on their way to transport kids shortly after 5 a.m..
“Today is a great day,” he said. “… We are going to open up our schools, do a great job. Our staff is ready. Ready to welcome our students to have a great year in our classrooms.”
He later said that 87 percent of the buses were reported as being on time Monday morning — a little lower than normal.
He said the district is still hiring seeking to fill more than 200 driver vacancies to help cover the district’s more than 1,500 bus routes.
After the bus yard event, Jara and other officials attended a red carpet welcome for students at Matt Kelly Community Elementary School on the Historic Westside, joined ribbon-cutting ceremonies at new schools in Henderson and Las Vegas, and participated in a discussion with about 20 student leaders at Shadow Ridge High School in the northwest valley.
At Matt Kelly, the line to enter the school grew to more than 100 masked students and parents before the kids began shuffling down the red carpet and into the building, accompanied by DJ Khaled’s “All I do is win.” Each student received snacks, school supplies and backpacks from volunteers, including local officials, police officers and UNLV athletes.
‘Just amazing’
The dignitaries then dashed to ribbon-cuttings at Brown Elementary School in Henderson and Gunderson Middle School in Mountain’s Edge.
About 100 people attended the Henderson event. “Welcome to Bear Country” was written on the front windows in lime green letters, a nod to the school’s brown bear mascot.
Brown Elementary, which has 46 classrooms and cost $25.7 million to build, has a capacity of 720 students.
Among those at the ceremony were school namesake Hannah Marie Brown, Principal Michele Wooldridge, Henderson Mayor Debra March, Democratic Rep. Susie Lee, school board Trustee Lisa Guzman, Jara and Nevada Superintendent of Public Instruction Jhone Ebert.
Brown told the crowd she has always loved education, but never believed she’d have a school named after her. She said she attended Westside Grammar School in Las Vegas during segregation. “To just have your life come together like this is just amazing.”
Brown, who has served on numerous education-related committees and boards, has raised nearly $400,000 in scholarships for local students since 1999, according to the school’s website.
She also secured a grant to transform the historic Westside Grammar School into a cultural center and created a Saturday school tutorial program at Kelly Elementary.
March said the new school project was a long time coming and involved years of conversation, including about how to put a school in the middle of an existing neighborhood. She said she’s amazed with the end result.
No-one is more deserving of having a school named in their honor than Brown, Lee said, describing the school namesake as a civil rights leader in Nevada and a champion for quality, equitable education.
Throughout the ceremony, Brown occasionally reached into her back pocket to pull out a tissue to wipe tears from her eyes.
Before the ribbon cutting, Melissa Brimmer waited with her two children, fourth-grader Trey, 9, and third-grader Bella, 8, outside the school.
Her children, who previously attended Twitchell Elementary, didn’t return to classrooms in the spring, opting to continue with distance education. That meant Monday was the first time they had attended in-person classes in a year and a half.
Trey said he’s excited about the new school year, but “a little nervous too.”
“Not me,” Bella chimed in.
Brianna Buckmeyer, who was with her fifth-grade daughter Alabama, 10, said the new school building is beautiful.
“Yeah, it’s really cool,” Alabama said, noting she was also looking forward to meeting her new teachers.
Buckmeyer said she feels good about safety protocols and her daughter has already been inside the building over the last two weeks as a “student ambassador.”
Ready for a ‘fresh start’
Principal Pamela Lindenuth said the new $59.2 million Gunderson school, which has 73 classrooms and a capacity of 1,750, will be “an incredible place for students, staff and this community.”
School namesakes Barry and June Gunderson joined staff members, Jara, Lee and Ebert at the event.
“The first day of school is always an exciting time,” Lee said. “It’s a time of opportunity, of new beginnings and expectations. After being out of school for so long, I think some of the students here can agree that this is even more exciting this year.”
A.J. Brown, an eighth-grade student and president of the student council, echoed those sentiments.
“It’s been a fun summer, but it’s about time to go back to school,” Brown said after the event Monday morning. “I’m pretty excited. I feel like after the pandemic and staying at home, everybody wants a fresh start at school.”
It also was a big day for Kaidyn Kuzyk, Gunderson’s student body president.
“I can’t believe that we’re in a new school right now and that I’m going to be the first student body president,” Kuzyk said. “I hope to lead a good path for other students.”
Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writers Jonah Dylan, Glenn Puit and Dylan Svoboda contributed to this report.
