Las Vegas Review-Journal

LETTERS: We're losing students in high school

To the editor:

As a high school teacher in the Clark County School District, I read Friday's Review-Journal ("Rulffes hails gains posted by schools") with a mixture of pride and disappointment. It seems that everyone in the school district is so busy patting themselves on the back for meeting the No Child Left Behind Act standards that they've failed to notice an alarming statistic.

Although the elementary schools, and to a lesser degree the middle schools, are doing amazingly well in producing positive results, people have ignored the lackluster progress made by the valley's high schools.

If you discount the magnet high schools -- Vo Tech, Las Vegas Academy, etc. -- and the ones with relatively small populations -- Moapa Valley, Virgin Valley, etc. -- 29 high schools with "normal" populations remain. Of these 29 high schools, only three made adequate yearly progress: Coronado, Liberty and Silverado.

The school district needs to take a hard look to determine why we are losing students as they march through the grades.

One could certainly make the case that smaller schools are better. After all, each one of the small high schools made the grade. That is an interesting statistic.

William Cuff

HENDERSON