School start time, CCSD calendar changes not off the table for new superintendent

Jhone Ebert’s high school guidance counselor didn’t mind that she was a free-and-reduced lunch kid. He told her he just wanted to make sure she was taking Algebra II and that she knew about Pell Grants.

Raised by a single mother who had her at age 18, Ebert said she can still feel in her bones what it was like to run around UCLA’s grass when she visited for a powwow as a child.

Her mom, she told the Clark County School Board in February, was her first educator. After eight years of college, which Ebert worked her way through as a hotel maid and waitress, a lightbulb went off: She, too, could be an educator.

“Through education and the educators in my life, I was able to move on,” Ebert said at the board meeting.

And move on she did. After 25 years working her way up in the Clark County School District, four as a leader in New York and six as Nevada’s superintendent of public instruction, Ebert is now preparing to become the next superintendent of the Clark County School District. As the leader of the fifth largest school district in the country, she said she hopes to ensure that all students have the opportunity to get a proper education.

Ebert declined an interview request the week after her March 13 selection. Several colleagues spoke of her innovative solutions and learner-focused approach.

The future of learning

As state superintendent, Ebert spearheaded the creation of the Portrait of a Nevada Learner and the Nevada Future of Learning Network.

The platform’s goal is to move away from seat time requirements — having students spend a designated amount of time in class — to a more personalized approach. With competency-based learning, students progress once they’ve gained the skills and knowledge.

“Superintendent Ebert’s vision is really about solving for relevance and learner-centered experiences, and recognizing that the (current) system is not learner-centered and not meeting the moment,” said Jeanine Collins, who co-designed the learning network with the state’s education department.

The efforts broaden the statewide vision for education to include promoting individual academics, durable skills and attributes, community well-being and the foundations of democracy.

“We really see this as transformational work in comprehensive schools,” Ebert said at a launch event in 2023.

Collins and Sean Parker, who run the Center for the Future of Learning nonprofit, hope that when Ebert becomes CCSD’s superintendent, she will inspire more educators to opt in to the future-focused approach.

Ebert is no stranger to change.

When she first started as a teacher at Von Tobel Middle School in 1990, 120,000 students were in the school district. When she left in 2015, that number had grown to 320,000.

“I was blessed and honored to take advantage of the opportunities that were here within the Clark County School District,” Ebert said.

She has entertained delaying school start times, which, she said, research shows benefits students.

Ebert also said Nevada is among the bottom five states in terms of the amount of time students spend in the classroom, and has entertained extending the school day or year. She said some schools have longer days, but that has not been implemented across the district.

A learner-focused approach

Paula Zona, who has known Ebert for 22 years, spoke to the Las Vegas Review-Journal from the education department’s Carson City office, where she said Ebert had a whiteboard with questions about how each decision the team made would affect students.

She recalled watching Ebert read at Seeliger Elementary School in Carson City, where she used to be the principal, for Nevada Reading Week.

“She was so focused on the kids and the experiences they were having, just zeroing in on them and what their needs were,” Zona said.

Ebert’s executive assistant, Jennifer Lindsey, echoed this sentiment.

“Whenever she is doing school visits and she’s interacting with students and staff and educators, she just lights up,” Lindsey said. “Her commitment to the students of Nevada is more than just a professional commitment, it’s a personal commitment.”

Because school districts have so much autonomy, Lindsey said that Ebert will be able to be more hands on as CCSD’s leader than as state superintendent.

Bipartisan strength

Ebert has been praised for her political skills and bipartisan support — something that will be key as she works with the Legislature as CCSD’s superintendent.

Ebert was appointed by a Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak, and Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo kept her on and included her in his cabinet.

“Jhone has the rare ability to connect with others, no matter who they are or how many stripes they have on their sleeve,” Lombardo wrote in a recommendation letter for Ebert in her application. “She engages authentically and as easily with black and white and brown, rich and poor, those of various accents, and with individuals from different political parties.”

On the other side of the aisle, state Sen. Marilyn Dondero Loop, D-Las Vegas, also offered a recommendation based on working with Ebert during three legislative sessions. She said Ebert was “exactly what CCSD is looking for.”

“She has a blend of talent, experience, and skill rarely seen and urgently needed as a leader of the district,” Dondero Loop wrote. “Coupled with that is her passion, vision, and dedication to the students, staff, and families of our community.”

Lindsey said Ebert was not only talented at working with different groups of people, but she enjoyed it.

“She definitely doesn’t shy away from the thorny stuff,” Lindsey said. “She welcomes it, and I think that’s a big part of building trust.”

In her recommendation letter, former CCSD Trustee Linda Young said that when she was a trustee, she knew she could count on Ebert to seek out trustees to brief them in advance of public hearings on policy matters. She also said Ebert was a driving force behind establishment and expansion of magnet schools, career and technical academies, advanced placement and dual enrollment.

“She possesses a clear vision of a reimagined system of public education. Most importantly, she thinks deeply about educational matters in relation to social justice,” Young wrote.

An expensive, yearlong process

The board voted unanimously to select Ebert in the final stage of a multi-round process. The next step will be for the school district to negotiate a contract, which will include determining Ebert’s start date.

Ebert will be the first woman to hold the full-time role. Brenda Larsen-Mitchell has served as the interim superintendent since former Superintendent Jesus Jara resigned in February 2024. Larsen-Mitchell announced in December that she would not put her name forward for the permanent position.

In June 2024, the board voted to pay $80,000 to an outside firm to help conduct a national search for the superintendent. In September, the School Board voted to extend the search, and the total cost is not yet public.

More than 40 candidates applied for the role, and four were selected to interview in late February. Ebert, Nevada State High School charter school CEO Jesse Welsh and Ben Shuldiner, a superintendent in Lansing, Michigan, emerged. They went on to a community forum and final round of interviews. They also met with legislators, business groups, union heads and administrators.

Selecting a state superintendent

For those who have worked with Ebert, it’s a bittersweet goodbye.

“It’s our loss, but it’s a win for the fifth largest school district in the United States,” Lindsey said.

Zona pointed to the box of tissues, which she said will be used a lot when Ebert departs.

Ebert’s new role in CCSD means that the state will be without a top education leader. The State Board of Education will select three people from whom Lombardo will ultimately select the leader. It is unclear who the governor, who recently praised Donald Trump’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and prioritize parental choice, will choose.

“I’m happy for CCSD and just hoping everyone pays attention to what happens at the state level,” State Board member Danielle Ford said.

Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ktfutts on X and @katiefutterman.bsky.social.