A Sun Devils’ celebration: Eldorado’s class of 2015 earns diplomas
John Anzalone came to Eldorado High School in 2012 with a mission to improve the east valley school’s 45 percent graduation rate.
Three years later, about 57 percent of Eldorado’s class of 2015 celebrated graduation, with 230 of 404 eligible students crossing the stage during Monday’s ceremony at the Orleans Arena.
“We’ve come a long way from where we started,” Anzalone said. “And we hope this is just the beginning.”
Valedictorian Aaron Cruz-Castro, 17, was one of the hundreds of maroon and gold-clad Eldorado students at Monday’s ceremony.
An advanced honors student with a 4.7 GPA, Cruz-Castro wore a predominately white cap and gown in recognition of his academic achievements and displayed four medals around his neck.
“We are ready to take action and make a difference in this society, regardless of the size or quality of the contributions,” he told a crowd of roughly 3,000 people.
Cruz-Castro will attend UNLV in the fall. He wants to major in engineering and computer science and pursue a career in graphic design.
“My mind is set toward being successful and working to help the next generation be successful. We need the help here, in Vegas,” Cruz-Castro said. “It’s rewarding to see your people grow, to see progress.”
He added: “If everybody just cared to help, we would be at a much better place as a society.”
Salutatorian Norma Arellano, 18, is also headed to UNLV — and could be the first in her family to earn a college degree, too.
With a 4.6 GPA and membership in Eldorado’s Key Club community service group, Arellano dreams of being a high school math teacher.
“It’s just a fun environment,” she said. “Teachers are helpful, and they care.”
Eldorado’s graduation rate is among the highest posted in the past 20 years for the east valley school, falling short only of 2014’s graduation rate of just under 70 percent.
Monday’s pomp and circumstance wasn’t the last bell for the class of 2015, though. Credit-sufficient seniors have through November to pass the Nevada High School Proficiency Exam, which will add to a final graduation tally taken in December. Passing the exam is a requirement for earning a diploma in Nevada.
When the Sun Devils’ class of 2015’s final numbers are published in January, Anzalone expects the graduation rate to be closer to last year’s record high.
“Sometimes this time of the year is like pulling teeth,” Anzalone said. “But we”ll have more, and if we could hit 70 (percent) again this year, that’d be great.”
Counting against Eldorado’s graduation rate this year were nearly 50 “unsuccessful transfer” students, or students that left the school without notifying administration and couldn’t be found, Anzalone said.
“If we found even half of those students enrolled elsewhere, it’d boost our rate 5 to 10 percent,” he said.
Though his staff has used Facebook and now Twitter to track down unsuccessful transfers, Anzalone believes a schoolwide adoption of Gmail in the fall will keep more students connected to Eldorado, even outside the classroom.
“Right now we don’t even have email addresses on file for our kids,” he said. “Google will help us.”
Starting in the fall, the school also will offer a magnet program for the first time. It will be focused on video game technology and Web design, and new AP classes including music theory and human geography.
With more potential students coming from out of outside of Eldorado’s zone, the school could add up to 200 magnet students to its current student body of roughly 2,000.
With more flexibility for families to choose in Clark County School District, Anzalone hopes Eldorado’s balance of tradition and its aggressive approach of a modern, “fun” education will make it an attractive choice.
“You’re not going to find a school with all the elements that we have.” Anzalone said. “We teach students to value both those who came before them, along with the new technology and a fresh look at education.”
“There are high schools that are more well-balanced than we are,” he added. “But we provide the best of both worlds, and that’s hard to find.”
Contact Chris Kudialis at ckudialis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283. Find him on Twitter: @kudialisrj.
