By Vernon Robison
Moapa Valley Progress
The Moapa Valley High School held its annual fall Open House event on Wednesday, September 15. Parents were invited to come to the school that evening and meet with their children’s teachers to learn about expectations for the 2010-2011 school year.
The event began in the school’s Ron Dalley auditorium with a brief presentation given by MVHS principal Grant Hanevold on the status and recent achievements of the high school.
Hanevold began with what he called several reasons to celebrate. He focused on areas where the school’s Empowerment status had saved it from many of the most painful effects of recent state budget cuts. The Empowerment program will have brought over a million dollars in additional private funding to the school over the three years of Empowerment status, Hanevold said.
This additional funding has meant that the school has been able to maintain its staffing levels amid general budget cuts throughout the district. “What it all comes down to is that we have three or four teachers here in the building that wouldn’t be here anymore without the funding and autonomy of Empowerment,” Hanevold said.
Because of Empowerment resources the school has also been able to keep its block schedule, Hanevold said. “That is a very big deal,” he said. “The block used to be pretty common for high schools in the district. Now there are only three high schools in the district that still run the block; us and the other two Empowerment high schools.”
The preservation of block scheduling makes possible the school’s partnership with CSN on dual credit college classes, Hanevold said.
“That partnership has made the local CSN center the most successful rural center in the CSN system, and one of the few that is operating in the black,” Hanevold said. “I don’t think that I am exagerating in saying that Empowerment has saved the local CSN building.”
Hanevold also celebrated the fact that MVHS, once again made its Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as measured by the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The school was one of only 12 schools in the district that was designated in the High Achieving category. “We are the only comprehensive high school in the district that has made AYP for eight years running,” Hanevold said.
“It is easy to overlook the benefits that Empowerment has brought to us,” Hanevold said. “It seems like we have just maintained the status quo in a lot of areas. But that, in itself, is a big achievement given the current budget environment we have been living through. Many schools in the district have not come through half so well.”
Hanevold said that the school’s high achieving academic performance has not been by accident. He said that the school has been focusing on very specific things to get there.
In the area of remediation for struggling students, MVHS has taken a proactive approach, Hanevold said.
“We don’t want to wait for a student to fail the proficiency exam to provide remediation,” he said. “We are working to catch them early and get them the help they need.”
The school provides an extra fundamental math class to incoming freshmen that have struggled with math in middle school. Special proficiency classes for juniors and seniors in the areas of math, science and writing are also offered for those struggling with the proficiency exam. The school also offers study skills and mentoring programs.
MVHS has also made strides in the area of enrichment for proficient students, Hanevold said. He listed off course offerings like 40 honors classes, 12 dual credit college classes through CSN, a junior studies/college prep course which includes an online CSN class paid for by empowerment funds and extensive ACT Prep courses.
Hanevold concluded his presentation by expressing appreciation to the parents for their support and involvement in the school. He then sent them out to meet with the teachers.
