Charter school to get state funding for six more years

Only 29 percent of the charter school’s students passed Nevada standardized tests in reading last year.

Math performance wasn’t much better at the 100 Academy of Excellence, where 45 percent of students made the grade.

But the Clark County School Board, seeing great promise in the school’s future, unanimously signed a contract Thursday that will provide state funding to the school for six more years.

“I feel like we’re on the right track,” Academy of Excellence President Ron Grogan said of the kindergarten through eighth-grade school near the North Las Vegas airport.

The school has undergone major staff changes in the past two years.

“Clearly we’re not there yet,” Grogan added.

Grogan said proof of a promising future is evident in the enrollment, which jumped from 345 students at the end of last school year to 558 this year. Parents aren’t forced to put their students in the academy, where 79 percent of the enrollment consists of black students from the neighborhood. They choose to do so.

Charter schools are public and independent of the Clark County School District. They’re autonomous and operate through a charter granted by the state or a school district but must still meet Nevada student performance standards. If not, their charter could be revoked.

Behind most of the academy’s changes is its new principal, Peggy Selma, who was a superintendent in Los Angeles. The school, started in 2005, now has a staff of highly qualified teachers and an assistant principal and is focused on using data to drive instruction.

And the school faced 31 compliance issues in 2010, showing it fell short in meeting regulations for student safety, teacher quality and record keeping. It now has just six minor compliance issues.

That is the second-best record among the seven charter schools monitored by the district, said Dan Tafoya, coordinator of the district’s Office of Charter Schools.

“We have a lot of hope for this school,” he said, noting that it serves struggling families.

Board members all voiced their praises for the school’s turnaround.

“It’s like a cloud has lifted off the school,” board President Linda Young said.

But the board is not giving the academy six years to improve. The academy’s state test scores must show improvement by the end of next school year. If not, the board may revoke the charter.

Other contracts, including those with EdisonLearning Inc., are also up this year. But the School Board has been torn over what to do.

At the seven schools managed by EdisonLearning, an average of half of students are at grade level in English. Proficiency rates hover between 44 percent to 76 percent for mathematics but fall to
18 percent to 44 percent in writing.

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