Former Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush to tour Las Vegas high school
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a potential GOP presidential candidate in 2016, on Thursday will visit a high-achieving high school in Las Vegas and meet with Nevada education leaders.
Bush is chairman of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, which promotes expanded access to charter schools and vouchers to attend private schools.
Bush plans to tour Advanced Technologies Academy, a magnet school in the Clark County School District.
“Gov. Bush will tour the campus to see how technology and digital learning tools have helped A-Tech become a top school in the state,” Bush’s office said in a press release.
Bush also is in Las Vegas to help raise money for the re-election campaign of Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval.
Bush also plans to attend a private party Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman Sheldon Adelson is holding Thursday inside his airplane hangar at McCarran International Airport.
Bush and other potential presidential candidates are expected to meet with Adelson on the sidelines of the Republican Jewish Coalition’s spring conference being held Thursday through Sunday at Adelson’s Venetian hotel-casino. Adelson is one of the most generous GOP donors, contributing more than $100 million in 2012.
The RJC meeting is mostly closed but will be open Saturday for speeches by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Bush is addressing the opening dinner Thursday night.
After his school tour, Bush will join a panel with education leaders and students to discuss digital learning in Nevada.
Also on the panel will be State Board of Education member Mark Newburn, state Senate Minority Leader Michael Roberson, R-Las Vegas, state Sen. Joyce Woodhouse, D-Henderson, Clark County Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky and
Principal Deborah Kral, as well as at least one student.
U.S. News and World Report awarded A-Tech “Gold Medal” status recognizing the school as the No. 1 public high school in Nevada and 304th in the nation.
The school has a 68 percent minority enrollment “busting myths and proving every child can learn if given the right tools,” said Bush’s education foundation.
During the 2013 legislative session, lawmakers passed SB58, which removed access restrictions to digital learning throughout the state.
Contact reporter Laura Myers at lmyers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919. Follow her on Twitter @lmyerslvrj.
