LETTER: ‘What’s a dean?’

When I first read that the Clark County School District would lay off 170 deans, my first thought was, “What’s a dean?”

I know well about deans in higher education, but I’ve never heard of a dean in K-12. So I assumed “dean” was a new title for “assistant principal.” But a later news article indicated that schools also have assistant principals.

Perhaps Superintendent Jesus Jara remembers, as I do, that elementary schools never even had assistant principals, who were found only in high schools. There were no deans in any schools, and somehow we managed to get an excellent education without disruption. Schools have gotten top heavy, and cutting out deans is a wise financial move.

To those who worry about discipline in schools, please note that discipline was part of an assistant principal’s job back in my school days.