-This program brought to you in part by the Erika Lewis Endowment Fund.

(Maria Silva) Coming up on Student Spotlight, meet Mr.

Carter.

This music and dance teacher at Clyde Cox Elementary School was once a student at the same school.

Plus... Strikes, spares, and defending a state title, we hit the lanes with Palo Verde High School's bowling team.

Then... Helping students and their families see better-- Learn more about the nonprofit EyeCare4Kids.

And can you spell champion?

Meet the 6th grade winner of the CCSD Spelling Bee.

Student Spotlight starts right now.

[swiping sound] -Ready?

(students) Okay!

-Hannah Brown, hit it!

-Hanna Brown, the place to be.

We're learning, growing [indistinct], you'll see.

[cheering] -Yea!

Nice job, and what a great way to kick off our show.

Thanks to the cheer team here at Hannah Marie Brown Elementary School, and thank you for joining us.

I'm your host, Maria Silva.

Well, February is Black History Month.

And we are here for a very special reason, so we can introduce you to the fabulous Ms.

Brown, the school's wonderful namesake.

Ms.

Brown, by the way, broke barriers.

She's a trailblazer, an inspiration, and a very important part of our community.

And ever since this wonderful school opened up in 2021, Ms.

Brown has made it her mission to visit her students every chance she gets.

Walk inside Hannah Marie Brown Elementary School, and you'll likely be greeted like this: (students) Welcome to Hannah Marie Brown Elementary School.

-Especially on days when Ms.

Brown, the school namesake, is there for a visit.

(Hannah Brown) Oh, it's the light of my life.

I was telling one of the parents one day, I was out front, I said, This is really fun for me, because I didn't have any grandchildren.

And she said, Well, you have 650 of them now.

So, but it's-- What makes me happy is that they're happy to see me.

Good.

Good.

Is she making you work hard?

-Yeah.

-All right!

-Take a stroll down just about any hallway, and it's a trip down memory lane: the walls adorned with proclamations, awards, medals.

You'll also find trophy cases full of vintage photos, newspaper articles, and her yearbooks.

-From Rancho High School.

I was-- I was student body secretary at Rancho High School.

I went to Rancho in 1954, the first year it was open.

-All important mementos in Ms.

Brown's incredible life and career, all donated to the school.

One of her proudest moments, finding out a CCSD school would be named in her honor.

-I shared with you that we're a four-star school, and that was after our first year, you know, so they're surrounded, they're surrounded in an environment that feeds love and knowledge and learning.

(Emily Rose) What I love about Ms.

Brown is that she's so kind and sweet and protective.

(Katey May) Yeah.

I think it's really cool, because she always, like, visits our classroom and reads books to us.

-Yeah.

It's so sweet.

When I grow up, I wanna just be like you.

-Ms.

Brown has been a part of the lives of students like twins Emily Rose and Katey May Gertner since the school opened in 2021.

-Yeah.

I knew her since kindergarten.

When I first saw her, I was like, Oh, my gosh, she's going to be such a, so nice and kind.

-I know.

And she is!

She's so kind.

I love her so much.

-This education advocate's love and commitment to helping students dates back decades.

-What made you want to help kids learn?

-It's a labor of love for me.

-Witnessing the love she has for her students, like 3rd grader Samya Davis... (Samya Davis) When Ms.

Brown visits, I give her a big hug.

-...it's easy to see why the students admire her and love to give her those big hugs... -What I love about Ms.

Brown is she's really kind.

-...and why the kind Ms.

Brown... -What do you really like about this school?

-I love all the teachers.

I love all the students.

I love the building, but not as much as the teachers and the students.

-...visits her students and teachers, and not just once or twice a month.

-Are you kidding me?

[laughter] Like, like more like two or three times a week.

[laughter] We do group hugs, too, yeah.

-Love those group hugs.

So sweet.

And listen to this: For the past 27 years, Ms.

Brown has been making a difference in the lives of hundreds of Nevada students, thanks to a scholarship named in her honor.

And later in our show, we will introduce you to the principal at this school who is going to tell us about all their award-winning programs that they have here, including the cheer team and their robotics team.

And speaking of winners, I had the honor of meeting the Clark County School District 6th Grade Spelling Bee champion.

And let me tell you, this 12-year-old is super smart.

So back in the day when I was your age, this is what we used.

Nowadays, kids don't use these anymore.

What is this?

(Sam Romualdez) It's called a dictionary.

-Inside the library at Sig Rogich Middle School is where I met 12-year-old Samuel... -And let's start easy?

-...or, as he likes to be called, Sam.

(Nathan Tannenbaum) So let's begin the 6th Grade Spelling Bee.

We'll start with Ezra from Mannion Middle School.

Come on up, Ezra.

-I was feeling very nervous.

I wasn't sure if I was going to win.

I could feel my heart beating.

-Sam was one of a handful of 6th graders from across the school district to make it to the spelling bee finals, taped at the Vegas PBS studios.

-And that brings us to Samuel.

Got your first spelling word.

It is adorned.

-Sam's parents were there watching... (Resty Romualdez) The most intense part is if he got it right or wrong.

(Ceroline Romualdez) So we're always waiting for that green-- Is it right, or is it wrong?

-A-d-o-r-n-e-d, adorned.

[bell chimes] -You got it.

Thank you, Samuel.

-...along with Rogich Middle School spelling bee coordinator, Ms.

White.

(Cynthia White) I tell you, Sam has, he's got, he's got curiosity and he wants to learn, and you can tell that he retains knowledge.

And something he has that really makes him stand out is he knows how to explain.

-Soon it came down to just two students, Sam and Kylee from Guinn Middle School.

-Samuel, your next spelling word is assonance.

-So my word was assonance, which is spelled a-s-s-o-n-a-n-c-e, assonance.

I got it right, and I won.

[bell chimes] -Ladies and gentlemen, the top speller in the 6th grade in the Clark County School District is Samuel, and second place is Kylee.

Give them both a round of applause!

-So back at the school library... I'm actually nervous.

Like now you are quizzing me.

...you can understand why I was the one now feeling a bit nervous.

Like my heart's pounding.

I'm not joking.

-Poikilocyte.

-Oh, come on!

P-o-i-k-i-l-o-s-y-t-e.

-You were so close!

-S-i-t-e!

-Very proud of him.

So excited, and he represents our school so well.

Now on to State.

-All right.

You stumped me, Sam.

High five there, my friend.

I need to ask you before we leave, do you think I have a career as a spelling bee champ?

-You have a chance.

-I have a chance!

-You have a chance, but you need to study.

-I will study.

I promise, Sam.

And a big congratulations to all the CCSD grade winners.

And you can watch the CCSD Spelling Bee Finals on the Vegas PBS website, vegaspbs.org.

So impressed.

All right.

Let's head to Spring Valley High School for our first "News Break."

-Hi, my name is Gianna, and I'm from Spring Valley High School.

-And I'm Emma, and we're here with your first "News Break."

-Reset your alarm clocks.

The school district will now have new start times starting next year.

Generally speaking, middle schools will start at 7:30 a.m., high schools will start at 8:30 a.m., and elementary schools will start at 9:15 a.m.

District leaders made the change using research and community input.

They say the new school start times align better with sleep schedules for high school students like me.

-Superintendent Ebert held the State of the District Address at Las Vegas Academy of the Performing Arts.

She highlighted how the Clark County School District is working to become the destination district for students and families in Southern Nevada.

The superintendent talked about how members of the community contribute to the future of the district.

(Jhone Ebert) Becoming a destination district requires all of us.

-This was Superintendent Ebert's first State of the District Address.

-When we come back, we'll feature a report from our business network, our award-winning newscast here at Spring Valley High School.

-More on that later.

But for now, let's send it back to Maria.

-Thank you, Spring Valley High School.

So talented.

We will see you again later in our show.

Now, we first met this teacher that I'm about to introduce you to when he stopped by our Vegas PBS studios with his students to tape a segment for our holiday show.

His music students from Cox Elementary School performed "Ooey-Gooey Cinnamon Bun."

Loved that performance.

So very talented.

Now, when we found out that Mr.

Carter was once a student at Cox Elementary School, we knew we had to go visit his alma mater.

And what I witnessed in his classroom, let's just say, had me singing and dancing.

Check it out.

[students singing] (Maria) ♪ Did you ever see a music teacher ♪ ♪ inspire his students like Mr.

Carter ♪ [students singing] (Kaymen Carter) I can't hear you.

♪♪ -Okay, okay.

I promise to leave the singing to these talented students.

I can tell you that it's hard not to want to belt out a tune or two when you step inside Mr.

Carter's music class at Cox Elementary School.

♪♪ (Ricardo Diaz) He's the best music teacher ever because he's funny and he's fun to hang out with.

-I see that smile.

Who's having fun?

-Mr.

Carter's love of music started, in part, when he was a student at Cox Elementary.

-I would say a mix of CCSD, a mix of Disney, and a mix of church.

So it's like three, mix those three together, and then you got me.

Our pulse is in our heartbeat, right?

In music, we have pulse, which I heard, which is a heartbeat, and we heard the clock, which is steady beat, and that ties into rhythm.

What's rhythm?

I wanted to come back to Clyde C. Cox because I feel like it's a good community thing to do.

These kids are me, the reflection of me.

Get into it!

Two times, one-two.

-Thanks to Mr.

Carter, students like 2nd grader Ricardo Diaz already have a deep appreciation of the arts, even at such a young age.

-I love Mr.

Carter's music class because I get to play drums.

-Hands up.

You better get crazy.

So I try to promote like, if you can, go into music, because you develop so many skills: social skills, you develop how to practice on your own, how to learn stuff on your own.

♪ I love music ♪ (students) ♪ I love music ♪ -No.

Like we need music to help grow the brain, to help feed the soul.

We-- It has to be there, or I just feel like you're just gonna have a cloud of sorrow.

Sorrow.

We need, we need music.

It's such a love, and it's a good passion.

-There's no doubt that this pre-K to 5th grade music specialist is really passionate about what he does.

♪ -So-la-la ♪ (students) ♪ So-la-la ♪ -A graduate of the Las Vegas Academy of the Arts, Mr.

Carter is a proud triple threat.

-I did choir there, and then I just had a love for singing and dancing and acting.

So I've done plays.

I've done pop songs.

I've done all this stuff.

A lot of my students are triple threats.

They do sing.

They dance.

They perform.

They do it all, kind of like me.

-Speaking of dancing... (students) We're the Vibing Cubsterz.

-The Viding Cubsterz dance team, one of Mr.

Carter's two after school programs.

-Are you ready?

Hit it!

Break it down like... Since I do dance and have a small dance background, okay, I was like, well, I can have a dance team, too.

And I know kids like to dance, so I wanted to create something if you didn't have the vocal chops, then there was a chance to do dance as well for those who just like dance and maybe not like to sing.

-One of the students who loves showing off her dance moves... -Is that all you got, Cellena?

-...4th grader Cellena Harris.

-I love dance because it gives me a way to express how I feel.

And every dance move I do is made basically like how I feel.

-Mr.

Carter's students appreciate that he is a performer at heart.

-He has interesting and very, like, unique dances and choreography.

The thing that makes Mr.

Carter special is his sassiness, and he really just wants to make us smile every day.

-And even if these students don't follow in his dancing footsteps, Mr.

Carter hopes music and dance will continue to play an important part in their lives.

-The kids that I do run into, they'll always say, Oh, I remember doing those dances.

Oh, I remember singing those songs.

I miss--and I still hear it today--I miss being in music.

That's, that's the positive thing.

You leave that impact.

That's why it's important.

I want to leave the impact, because it was left for me when I was in music here.

It's just great to see.

-Are you ready?

-Talk about a superstar teacher, take a look at this: Mr.

Carter also produces and tapes from his own kitchen the school's morning announcements.

Way to go, Mr.

Carter.

And by the way, he is also the school's DJ.

He goes by "DJ Kutn Up."

Multitalented.

Well, there is no doubt that CCSD has some incredible community partners whose mission is the health and well-being of our students.

One of those community partners is EyeCare4Kids.

What happens inside the EyeCare4Kids mobile vision clinic, aptly named Seemore... -Head goes in.

All right.

Try not to squint, okay, because that's gonna mess up your glasses.

-...life changing for CCSC students, like 3rd grader Elena Perdomo.

(Elena Perdomo) I need glasses because I can't really see from far away.

-Since 2014, the EyeCare4Kids mobile vision clinic has been making the rounds at CCSD schools like Helen Marie Smith Elementary School.

(Dawn Blinder) A lot of our parents, not all of them have transportation.

A lot of them work, so just finding time to make that eye appointment is very difficult.

So if I can help them with that and provide that resource and take that stress off their plates, it's just a win-win situation for everybody.

(student) She looks like a pirate.

(student) I am.

-Do you see that green line?

-Yeah.

-Go ahead and read the seven letters underneath the green line.

-EyeCare4Kids' Executive Director Stephanie Kirby shares why this program is so vital to our community.

(Stephanie Kirby) The statistics are alarming.

So 1 in 4 kids do need some type of corrective vision, and a lot of times they don't know that.

They don't know that not everybody may see blurry, or they can't see the leaves clearly on the trees.

And so they start to adapt.

They'll hold stuff closer.

They'll squint.

But that's really maladaptation, and that creates behaviors that you don't want to see in a child.

You don't want to see them struggle.

But it's not just academic, it's also social.

It's behavioral.

It's physical, and they get headaches, you know?

And so it's so incredibly important.

-The goal each school visit, offer eye care services free of charge to 28 to 30 students.

-If a student has failed their vision screening, then they are often referred.

Parents can refer if they're noticing that their kids are squinting.

Or teachers can refer as well.

Or sometimes a child might self-refer and say, I'm seeing blurry, can you help me?

Or what do I do with that?

-But not all screenings... -This machine is going to measure your reaction to an image, which is a hot air balloon.

And it's going to measure how your eyes react to that image.

-...and exams... -Two or three?

-They're both blurry.

-Equally blurry?

-...result in the need for eyeglasses.

[indistinct] -Nope.

You have perfect eyes.

You're right eye sees a little bit blurry, but not enough to need glasses yet.

-As for Elena... -There's one that I really like.

It's black and white!

-She did need new glasses and got to pick out her stylish frames.

-I picked these because I really like the color black, and I like how it blends in white, gray, and black.

And it really matches my style.

-...this grateful fashionista... -I like it.

I like it.

I'm very thankful for this, because I can finally wear glasses like I wanted to in 1st grade, because I really needed them.

-...has a very special message for the wonderful EyeCare4Kids team.

-I hope I see you next year, because all of you guys are really sweet and I really liked it here.

But now I think it's time for me to go, because I'm really hungry.

Thank you, EyeCare4Kids.

-Elena, I love those stylish glasses on you.

Good choice, by the way.

And listen to this: During the 2024-2025 school year, EyeCare4Kids visited 113 schools, providing nearly 5,300 pairs of eyeglasses.

Wonderful organization.

And for more information, just head to eyecare4kids.org.

Earlier in the show, we introduced you to Ms.

Brown, the kind and caring school namesake.

And thanks to Ms.

Brown's equally amazing daughter, Ms.

Kay Brown, who also visits this school--and let me tell you, I witnessed firsthand how much the students love her as well--they were able to get not one, but two of these pianos...[vocalizing] ...donated to the school.

Now, to tell us more about this awesome school and its many programs, I'm bringing in Principal Sensibaugh.

Come on in!

I need piano lessons.

I'll have to come back for that.

(Megan Sensibaugh) Yes.

We'll work on it.

-Principal Sensibaugh, tell us about what does it mean to have Ms.

Brown and her daughter here on a weekly basis?

-It is phenomenal to have her and her daughter here on a weekly basis.

They show kids firsthand kindness.

There's not anything that either of them won't do for students.

They read to kids.

They hem our cheer uniforms.

They lead our Halloween parade each year.

There's nothing she won't do for our students.

-Such an inspiration.

All right.

You mentioned your cheer team.

They kicked us off, the show.

Let's talk about that award-winning cheer team.

Go!

-They are fantastic.

So they were in our Winter Fest parade, they were at the Foothill parade, and they won first place prizes in both of those parades.

But the best thing is they will be in the Disney parade in California in just a few months.

-I'm so proud, and I can't wait to learn that cheer.

Award-winning, also, your robotics team.

-Yes.

Fantastic robotics team.

They're working so hard.

Two of our teams have made it to State, and we're hoping a third will join them.

-Oh, and let's talk about--again, you have so many programs.

I can't believe you're an elementary school--your theater program.

-Yep.

So brand new this year, our theater program is working on Wonka Kids.

We will have a show in April.

It is fantastic.

The kids are singing and dancing.

They're learning so much.

-I love that they do so much outside of the school.

I saw on your Facebook, they visited-- -A retirement home, yep.

Yep, and they were singing holiday music for them.

It was fantastic.

-Well, thank you for what you do.

You have a wonderful school.

Thank you so much Principal Sensibaugh.

All right.

Now we're heading over to Spring Valley High School for our second "News Break."

-Hi, I'm Taytem from Spring Valley High School.

-And I'm Lana from Spring Valley High School, and we're here with your second "News Break."

-We have an award-winning video production program right here at Spring Valley High School.

We'd like to share one of our stories with you.

-We're extremely proud of our Performing Arts here on campus.

And to highlight that success, Jacek and Hosanna take us behind the scenes of Hadestown through the eyes of the stage manager.

Here is their student spotlight.

-It's been a long month of hard work and dedication for Spring Valley's theater department, putting on their play.

I'm Hosanna.

-And I'm Jacek, and this month on "In Focus," we took a look behind the curtain at Spring Valley's rendition of Hadestown.

Despite the cast being the focus of the play, so many different students dedicated their time and effort behind the scenes into preparation.

(Gio) Essentially, my role is just to move things around, help with the actors, anything that's backstage.

-Theater production is a team effort.

And with so many people involved, communication is key.

As an assistant stage manager, Gio plays a large role in preserving communication and balance.

-So trying to make sure that those people can communicate well brings everything together.

And then during the show, we have headsets to communicate with upstairs in our booth and down here, between both of the sides of the stage, making sure that all of us are kind of together in one during a production.

-When it comes to putting together a production, a strong stage manager sets the tone for success of the entire team.

(a student) ...the enemy.

-Knowing that each of your people are good in their situation and that you can trust the people around you working with you, it kind of makes it so that not everything is on you.

Yes, your job is important, but there are also eight other people backstage whose jobs are important.

And they are also feeling the same thing you are.

-The leadership from Gio and the rest of the theater program and their combined dedication led to a full house for their closing performance.

-It's probably the greatest production we put on at this school.

-Thank you, Jacek and Hosanna.

And thank you for visiting our school.

-We hope you enjoyed learning about our school and what we do here.

Now we'll send it back to Maria.

-So proud of you.

Great job!

Well, grab your bowling shoes.

High school bowling season is rolling.

We caught up with the boys and girls team from Palo Verde High School as they hit the lanes for practice.

-Panthers on three.

One-two-three!

-Panthers!

(John Read) I was a student at CCSD back in, I graduated 1993.

There was bowling then, so it's been around as long as I've been a student.

It kind of just fell into my lap.

Nobody else wanted the job, and, you know, I said yes.

And it was one of the best decisions I've ever made as a teacher.

I love it.

(Logan Hollander) My dad was a bowler, so he kind of started me at a young age, and I just loved it from there.

(Caitlyn Bixenmann) My grandma and grandpa were high school sweethearts, and they met on a high school league.

They got me into bowling.

-I think the best part about coaching is it's the interacting with the kids.

As a teacher, you have a certain relationship with the students that you don't get to really get to know them, you know, on a personal level.

But here in the coaching world, I can talk to them as people.

It's a lot more personal, and I really enjoy that.

(Mason-A Koni Tanare) Making friends along the way, like connecting with other people and, you know, just socializing in general, it just, it just helps a lot.

-I like being part of the team.

It's an experience.

You get to, you know, boost each other's confidence.

You get your confidence boosted with the other team.

-I'd say working with a team is probably best.

But if you want to do like solo, you gotta bowl like professionally and whatnot.

-It's usually the mental game.

The mental game is always hard, and it's always just tough every time you don't get a strike.

-Basically, the season goes from Thanksgiving to Valentine's Day.

The boys are defending two-time state champions.

Girls, they did very well last year.

They just came up short in the playoffs.

I think we lost in semifinals.

-Oh, yeah.

They will win State for sure.

I mean, their varsity team is super strong.

I mean, Logan Hollander.

The rest of the cast is spot on.

-Well, we've won at two State in a row.

So hopefully we can get a third, and hopefully we can be the best that we can possibly be.

-I'll definitely go into collegiate bowling, for sure, for UNLV.

-Because I haven't won a tournament in the past, so hopefully I can be a better bowler and learn a lot.

-Hopefully go to college for bowling.

If not, maybe the PBA Tour just immediately or, you know, a couple times.

-It's a wonderful sport.

More kids should play it, especially girls.

There are so many opportunities for college scholarships for girls in bowling.

They just need to get out there and start practicing and playing and get out there and do it.

And it's a wonderful sport.

-We agree.

Bowling is a wonderful sport.

And by the way, have to say this: Go Panthers!

All right.

Before we go, don't forget to tune in to the Black History Challenge right here on Vegas PBS.

CCSD students compete in an academic quiz show for a chance to win scholarships.

So proud of these students and all of our CCSD students.

And a quick reminder that you can find this episode and past episodes of Student Spotlight on vegaspbs.org or YouTube.

Thank you so much to Brown Elementary School for hosting us.

And we will see you next month.