New administrative position created to oversee English language learners

Clark County School District Superintendent Dwight Jones has created an assistant superintendent position to oversee a new English Language Learner department.

The district has 53,000 ELL students. The annual salary range for the new position is $88,000 to $97,000.

Jones named Lucille Keaton to the position, which is funded by Title III dollars. She has been principal of Hewetson Elementary school, near Bonanza Road and Eastern Avenue, since 2005.

The purpose of the federal program is to ensure students with limited English skills attain English proficiency.

ELL previously wasn't its own department but a program run by Director Norberta Anderson within the deputy superintendent's instruction unit. ELL is being pulled out of the instruction unit to function on its own, with Anderson remaining as a director, meaning an administrative position is being added, district spokeswoman Amanda Fulkerson said.

She said the change was made to address a growing student demographic. "And when you get kids to English faster, it contributes to long-term success."

Jones said, "Lucille Keaton has demonstrated that she can, in conjunction with our staff, close the education gap we so often see among English language learners."

Keaton was born in Mexico City and was an ELL student herself before becoming a bilingual kindergarten teacher and earning a master's degree in education. She was named a National Distinguished Principal by the National Association of Elementary School Principals in 2010 for the dramatic gains made at Hewetson, where 85 percent of students are Hispanic. Almost all fall below the federal poverty line qualifying them for free or reduced-price lunches.

Once ranked among the lowest-performing schools in Nevada, with fewer than 25 percent of its students at grade level in math and only
15 percent reading at grade level, the school became a National Title I Distinguished School and was on the National Honor Roll of High Performing Urban Schools.

During her time at the helm, Hewetson improved, with 91 percent of third-graders proficient in math, according to state tests. About 80 percent of third-graders read at grade level.

"As a native Spanish-speaker, this work is close to my heart, and I understand the challenges first-hand that our students face," Keaton said.

Contact reporter Trevon Milliard at tmilliard@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279.