1, 2, 3, what are we fighting for?
To the editor:
It was with a bit of humor and sadness that I read the article “Students mum on colleges’ budgets” (Saturday Review-Journal).
University chancellor Jim Rogers wants Nevada students to act like the students at Berkeley do when they’re faced with budget reductions. I worked at a University of California campus, and the students only got excited when the university brought in speakers with whom they did not agree.
Regent Howard Rosenberg “urged student leaders to get their peers active.” Of course, he is not urging them to riot. Thank goodness. So far, the students are exhibiting more sense than Mr. Rogers and the regents.
The bit of humor comes from reading that the “University system received more money from the Legislature.” Funny, I thought it was the taxpayers who foot the bill.
SONYA HEALY
LAS VEGAS
Easy explanation
To the editor:
Let me suggest that university system Executive Vice Chancellor Jane Nichols read your recent editorial on university enrollment and save the cost of a consultant to help her determine why enrollment is declining.
Let’s see: higher entrance requirements, no remedial courses, and — in the case of UNLV — a poor reputation while we have employees drawing six-figure salaries. And she wonders why enrollments are down.
Is Ms. Nichols a product of Nevada’s education system?
BILL MOSLEY
HENDERSON
Social promotion
To the editor:
The single most prominent problem plaguing our schools is a policy that has been around for decades: social promotion. It is the excuse used to promote a student to the next grade level despite deficiency in their academic performance. The result is students entering high school unable to perform basic mathematical operations and not reading well enough to learn.
In most cases, it is not the fault of the students’ previous teachers. The problem is in the policy enabling students to coast along and not be held accountable for their academic performance. In elementary school, a student is not required to earn any credits. In three years of middle school, he must earn only three credits. When students enter high school, they must earn 22.5 credits to graduate. If our students are held accountable for their academic performance throughout their education, success will follow.
Here’s how it works: If a student does not demonstrate the necessary academic gains, then he must attend summer school. If he hasn’t caught up by the end of summer, then he must take double-periods in the content area he is struggling with at an alternative school. Begin with students entering fifth and ninth grades. This will decrease enrollment at many middle and high schools, allowing rezoning to open up sites for the alternative schools. The underachievers will either learn to make better choices, or continue to suffer the consequences of their poor decisions. At least the motivated and involved learners won’t have to suffer along with them.
TRAVIS BOWKER
LAS VEGAS
Gifted kids
To the editor:
In response to the Nov. 30 editorial, “No child left behind — unless he’s gifted”:
My testimony regarding No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has often reflected the concern that if K-12 education is going to be measured exclusively by NCLB standards, there is a tendency for test preparation to trump other academic needs. Attention to other disciplines such as the arts, music, citizenship, physical education and humanities may be reduced.
Here is where local leadership in public education is required to assure that all students have the opportunity to graduate with a well-rounded educational experience. The Clark County School District has recently developed a supplemental assessment system called “Quality Assurance Framework” to measure and report student performance, in a quantified format, well beyond NCLB standards.
Moreover, NCLB does not preclude a local school district from committing to programs to support the needs of talented and gifted students. My commitment to this population is to expand and improve opportunities for the gifted population, and we do not need the federal government to tell us how.
WALT RULFFES
LAS VEGAS
THE WRITER IS SUPERINTENDENT OF THE CLARK COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT