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MVHS Ranked As 5-Star School

By Vernon Robison

Moapa Valley Progress

Moapa Valley High School was recognized with a five-star ranking in the new School Performance Framework released last week by Clark County School District. Photo by Vernon Robison.

The Moapa Valley High School was ranked last week among the top high schools in the Clark County School District (CCSD). This announcement was made on Thursday, May 24 when CCSD officials unveiled a new School Performance Framework (SPF) that compares all of the district’s high schools to their counterparts.

Thursday’s announcement was the second part of the district’s SPF ranking system of schools. The first part, ranking Elementary Schools and Middle Schools, was released back in February.

Under the system, schools are placed in a ranking system of 1-5 stars. A 5 star school designates a high performing school while a 1 star ranking goes to low performing schools.

Moapa Valley High School received a five star ranking. The local school was one of only 14 other high performing schools in the district.

Eleven of the other five star schools were magnet schools, or schools requiring students to make special application for acceptance.

The three 5-star schools that were not magnet schools were all from small, rural areas of the district. In addition to MVHS, these included Boulder City and Indian Springs high schools.

Virgin Valley High School in Mesquite also received a high ranking with 4 stars or “Exceeding Expectations”.

In an interview with the Progress, MVHS principal Grant Hanevold said that he saw some significance in the fact that all three comprehensive high schools that made the 5-star cut were rural schools. He pointed out that the smaller schools allowed for smaller class sizes and more focus on individual students’ needs. But he also stressed that it was because of the engagement of rural communities in education.

“It is, first of all, really a testament to everybody working at the high school,” Hanevold said. “We have a dedicated faculty, many of whom are former MVHS graduates. That is one thing that makes us unique and you can’t replicate that in the big schools of Las Vegas.”

“But beyond that, you can’t overstate the importance of the parent involvement and community support here,” Hanevold added. “We have parents who send kids to school who are well read, well prepared, well fed and well behaved. So while I feel that the school is deserving of its ranking, it never would have happened without support of this wonderful community.”

Under the high school SPF system, schools received scores based on performance in several different categories.

Twenty percent of a schools score was determined by Nevada Growth Model data. This recently developed system tracks individual student academic growht from year to year using various demographics. Data used for high schools compared academic performance of the school’s sophomore class with how the same class performed at their 8th grade level.

Only 14% of the SPF ranking was based on the schools’ graduation rate. Graduation rates at MVHS have traditionally been well over 90%.

Other factors measured students’ involvement in college dual credit offerings and career/technical education programs. Also tracked was how well students are keeping up with credit sufficiency throughout their high school careers as well as the percentage of 10th graders who pass the high school proficiency exam.

“For our high schools, the School Performance Framework captures more than just academics,” said CCSD Superintendent Dwight Jones. “While test scores are a factor, we know that the high school experience is about more than standardized testing. The ranking show us which schools are doing a great job at educating students in and out of the classroom.”

Principals of 5 star schools will be given more flexibility on decisions regarding curriculum, budget and day-to-day operations. These schools will also be used as a model for lower ranking schools to improve.

“The goal of the School Performance Framework is to allow educators to work together and learn from each other,” said CCSD Board of Trustees President Linda Young. “The system gives us an opportunity to recognize our areas of excellence while focusing more attention and resources on schools that need improvement.”

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