LETTER: Academics come last in the Clark County School District

As a inferior attending Clark High School, I often person the accidental to tutor others. Recently, I encountered a chap inferior who needed assistance with Algebra I. And yet I recovered a acold greater occupation than 1 of conscionable x’s and y’s. This peculiar inferior could not adjacent reliably adhd double-digit numbers specified arsenic 17 + 34. Nor could helium accidental the alphabet successful bid aft the missive “g.”

Recently, the Review Journal reported that the Clark County School District people of 2021 had a graduation complaint of 80.94 percent. This means that 20 percent of our students — 1 retired of each 5 who enters our schools — fails to larn the basal skills that they volition request for life. How volition they cognize erstwhile others are utilizing their illiteracy to unit them into signing harmful contracts? How volition they cognize erstwhile they are being cheated retired of their rightful pay?

For excessively agelong we person ignored this occupation successful our schoolhouse district. Rather than effort to guarantee these students person the skills they request to thrive, the leaders of the territory person allowed these students to beforehand done courses adjacent if they person not learned the essentials. And, much recently, our leaders person chosen to betterment however grades are measured alternatively of genuinely improving the acquisition of students.

It is clip that we travel unneurotic arsenic a assemblage to clasp our leaders accountable for our students’ acquisition and to assistance each students get the basal skills they request truthful that, truly, “No Child is Left Behind.”