Excitement was the overriding emotion Monday as more than 300,000 Clark County School District students started a new school year, though a bit of nervousness also was evident amid a worsening COVID-19 pandemic.
Schools were operating with full-time in-person classes for all grade levels. Distance learning options also were available through 12 schools and the district’s online Nevada Learning Academy at CCSD.
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Superintendent Jesus Jara and Jennifer Vobis, director of transportation, kicked off a busy day just after 5 a.m. at the district’s Arville Transportation Yard, sending hundreds of bus drivers on their way to transport kids just as the sun was starting to rise.
“Today is a great day,” Jara said. “Aug. 9, opening school for our kids, bringing all of our students back, face to face with our teachers and our educators, so we are excited. Parents right now, I’d ask you to be flexible. We are going to open up our schools, do a great job. Our staff is ready. Ready to welcome our students to have a great year in our classrooms.”
Jara said the district is prepared for a mandate for students and employees to wear face masks indoors and on school buses.
“Our kids will be wearing masks in our schools, our bus drivers, our staff is ready to keep our kids and our staff safe to make sure our children have a great academic school year,” Jara said.
Jara said in the spring and summer “Our kids followed through. They followed direction. They wore their masks in our classrooms. I have full confidence our children will follow the rules we have in front of them.”
The superintendent later attended a red carpet welcome for students at Matt Kelly Community Elementary School on the Historic Westside and attended a ribbon cutting at a new elementary school in Henderson.
At the former, the line to enter the school grew to over 100 masked students and parents before the kids began shuffling down the red carpet and into the building, accompanied by DJ Khaled’s “All I do is win.” Each student received snacks, school supplies and backpacks from a slew of volunteers, including local officials, police officers and UNLV athletes.
Ribbon-cutting in Henderson
During an outdoor ribbon cutting ceremony before classes began at Brown Elementary School in Henderson, a couple dozen fourth- and fifth-grade student ambassadors lined up along the side of the building, all wearing backpacks and school T-shirts.
About 100 people attended the event. “Welcome to Bear Country” was written on the front windows in lime green letters, a nod to the school’s brown bear mascot.
The school, which has 46 classrooms and cost $25.7 million, has a capacity of 720 students.
Officials in attendance at the ceremony included school namesake Hannah Marie Brown, school principal Michele Wooldridge, Henderson Mayor Debra March, Democratic Rep. Susie Lee, school board Trustee Lisa Guzman, Jara and Nevada Superintendent of Public Instruction Jhone Ebert.
Brown told the crowd she has always loved education, but never believed she’d have a school named after her.
She said she attended Westside Grammar School in Las Vegas during segregation. “To just have your life come together like this is just amazing.”
Brown, who has served on numerous education-related committees and boards, has raised nearly $400,000 in scholarships for local students since 1999, according to the school’s website.
She also secured a grant to transform the historic Westside Grammar School into a cultural center and created a Saturday school tutorial program at Kelly Elementary School.
March said the new school project was a long time coming and involved years of conversation, including about how to put a school in the middle of an existing neighborhood. She said she’s amazed with the end result.
No-one is more deserving of having a school named in their honor than Brown, Lee said, describing the school namesake as a civil rights leader in Nevada and a champion for quality, equitable education.
Throughout the ceremony, Brown occasionally reached into her back pocket to pull out a tissue to wipe tears from her eyes.
Jara was to deliver an update on the first day of school at noon after visiting other schools, including another ribbon-cutting at Gunderson Middle School in Las Vegas.
Before the ribbon cutting at Brown Elementary, Melissa Brimmer was waiting with her two children, fourth-grader Trey, 9, and third-grader Bella, 8, outside the school.
Her children, who previously attended Twitchell Elementary School, didn’t come back to the classroom in spring, opting to continue with distance education. That meant Monday was the first time they had attended in-person classes in a year and a half.
Trey said he’s excited about the new school year, but also “a little nervous too.”
“Not me,” Bella chimed in.
Brianna Buckmeyer, who was with her fifth-grade daughter Alabama, 10, said the new school building is beautiful.
“Yeah, it’s really cool,” Alabama said, noting she was also looking forward to meeting her new teachers.
Buckmeyer said she feels good about safety protocols and her daughter has already been inside the building over the last two weeks since she’s a student ambassador.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at [email protected] or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Glenn Puit contributed to this report.