>> CAN NEVADA'S LOW LITERACY RATES IMPROVE WITHOUT ADDITIONAL EDUCATION FUNDING?

THAT'S THIS WEEK ON "NEVADA WEEK."

[THEME MUSIC] >> SUPPORT FOR "NEVADA WEEK" IS PROVIDED BY SENATOR WILLIAM H. HERNSTADT.

>> WELCOME TO NEVADA WEEK.

I'M AMBER RENEE DIXON.

THE NATIONAL LITERACY INSTITUTE SAYS LOW LEVELS OF LITERACY COST THE UNITED STATES UP TO $2.2 TRILLION PER YEAR.

THEIR IMPACTS ON POVERTY, CRIME AND HEALTH ARE ALSO WELL DOCUMENTED.

RIGHT NOW, IN THE CLARK COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, ONLY 39% OF THIRD GRADERS ARE PROFICIENT IN READING.

SO WHAT HAS TO HAPPEN TO DRAMATICALLY INCREASE THAT NUMBER?

JOINING US TO ANSWER THAT ARE TIM HUGHES, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF TEACH FOR AMERICA NEVADA; ANNA COLQUITT, DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION POLICY AT THE GWYNN CENTER, AND ERICK CASALLES, ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS DEPARTMENT AT CCSD.

THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING NEVADA WEEK.

>> THANK YOU.

>> TIM, I WANT TO START WITH YOU.

YOU WROTE AN OPINION PIECE FOR THE NEVADA INDEPENDENT TITLED NEVADA MUST DOUBLE LITERACY RATES BY 2030.

WHY 2030?

>> YEAH, WELL, FIRST WE MET WITH OUR COMMUNITY.

SO WE DID THESE LISTENING TOURS SEVERAL YEARS AGO AND REALLY TRIED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT FEELS MOST IMPORTANT AND SUBSTANTIAL IF WE WERE TO FOCUS OUR ENERGY AND EFFORTS.

AND LITERACY WAS A THING WE KEPT HEARING OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN, MAINLY BECAUSE IT'S SO TIED TO SO MANY OTHER OUTCOMES IN LIFE.

SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE STATISTICS -- AND THIS IS WHY WE FOCUS SO MUCH ON THIRD GRADE READING -- BECAUSE IF STUDENTS AREN'T PROFICIENT BY THIRD GRADE, THERE'S MANY OTHER, THAT'S PREDICTIVE OF MANY OTHER LIFE OUTCOMES THAT WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO CHANGE.

AND SO WE FEEL URGENT ABOUT THIS.

AND SO LARGE-SCALE CHANGE ALWAYS TAKES A LONG TIME.

SO WE KNOW IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN OVERNIGHT, AND WE KNOW WE ALSO CAN'T TAKE OUR FOOT OFF THE GAS BECAUSE OUR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES ARE DEPENDING ON US IMPROVING THIS.

SO WE WANTED TO SET BOTH A BOLD AND AMBITIOUS GOAL AND ONE THAT WE THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, WAS GOING TO BE TOUGH TO REACH BUT ALSO FEASIBLE.

>> FEASIBLE, OKAY, SO FIVE YEARS AWAY FROM NOW YOU BELIEVE THIS CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED.

>> WELL, WE STARTED SORT OF RIGHT BEFORE THE PANDEMIC AND THAT OBVIOUSLY PUT A WRENCH IN THINGS AND SO WHEN YOU MENTIONED THE CLARK COUNTY LITERACY RATES ARE AT 39%, WHEN WE STARTED THIS WORK WE WERE AT 32% AND SO WE ARE SEEING SOME INCREMENTAL PROGRESS TO BUILD ON AND SO WE'RE ALREADY A FEW YEARS INTO THE WORK AND SO ARE HOPEFUL THAT YOU KNOW THAT WILL BE A MORE EXPONENTIAL GROWTH OVER TIME.

>> AND YOUR STRATEGY -- WELL, THERE ARE TWO PARTS TO YOUR STRATEGY.

ONE OF WHICH IS EXPANDING ACCESS TO QUALITY EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS.

ANNA, YOU ARE THE AUTHOR OF THE GWYNN CENTER'S REPORT ON NEVADA'S EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION SYSTEMS.

HOW ACCESSIBLE DID YOU FIND THOSE EARLY CHILDHOOD SYSTEMS TO BE?

>> YEAH, IN NEVADA WE HAVE OVER 60 ENTITIES THAT ARE INVOLVED IN THE EARLY CHILDHOOD SPACE AND THEY OPERATE UNDER 26 CHAPTERS OF THE NEVADA REVISED STATUTES AND UNDER 40 STATE BUDGET ACCOUNTS.

THAT IS AN INCREDIBLY COMPLEX SYSTEM WITH A LOT OF PLAYERS IN THE GAME AND LITTLE TO NO ALIGNMENT AMONG THOSE SYSTEMS.

SO OUR EARLY CHILDHOOD SPACE AS IT EXISTS TODAY IS INCREDIBLY SILOED AND REALLY NEEDS THE ALIGNMENT.

>> HOW DOES THAT IMPACT FAMILIES?

HOW HAVE YOU FOUND THAT TO IMPACT?

>> YES, SO THIS HAS HUGE IMPACTS ON FAMILIES.

WHEN THERE ISN'T ALIGNMENT BETWEEN THE SYSTEMS, WHEN FAMILIES ARE TRYING TO ACCESS SERVICES, THEY ARE NEEDING TO ACCESS EACH ONE OF THESE ENTITIES INDIVIDUALLY TO KNOW WHAT THEY QUALIFY FOR, WHAT THEY'RE ELIGIBLE FOR, HOW TO GET THE SERVICES THAT THEY NEED, AND THEN APPLY FOR EACH INDIVIDUALLY.

WE DON'T HAVE UNIVERSAL APPLICATIONS.

WE DON'T HAVE A NO-WRONG-DOOR APPROACH.

ALL OF THESE THINGS THAT WOULD HELP WITH ACCESSING THE VARIETY OF SERVICES THAT KIDS NEED DOESN'T EXIST IN OUR STATE RIGHT NOW.

SO PARENTS AND FAMILIES ARE LEFT TO NAVIGATE THIS ENTIRELY ON THEIR OWN.

>> ERICK, I SEE YOU NODDING.

WHAT RESONATES WITH YOU?

>> WELL, I AGREE WITH A LOT OF THOSE THINGS, BUT IN CCSD, WE HAVE OUR FUNDING FORMULA HERE, WHICH ALLOWS FOR THAT, AND WE HAVE EL-WEIGHTED FUNDING, AT-RISK FUNDING, AND OUR PRINCIPALS AS INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERS GET TO DECIDE WHICH PROGRAMMING THEY WANT FOR THEIR SCHOOLS BASED ON THE NEEDS AND THE POPULATION OF THE STUDENTS THAT THEY SERVE.

SO FROM THERE, THERE ARE PRE-K PROGRAMS IN SOME OF OUR SCHOOLS, BUT AGAIN, MORE OUTREACH AND MORE ADVOCACY ON HELPING OUR PARENTS HOW TO NAVIGATE THOSE SYSTEMS, I AGREE WITH AS WELL AS SOMETHING THAT WE DEFINITELY CAN IMPROVE ON AS A SYSTEM.

>> WHAT IS THE AVAILABILITY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING PROGRAMS FOR PRE-K IN CLARK COUNTY?

>> WELL, HERE PRE-K -- HERE IN CCSD, PRINCIPALS DO GET THE ABILITY TO CREATE THOSE SPACES FOR THOSE STUDENTS THERE.

I DON'T HAVE THE DEFINITE NUMBER OF THAT, BUT WE TYPICALLY DON'T KNOW IF A STUDENT IS AN EL UNTIL THEY ACTUALLY REGISTER FOR KINDERGARTEN BECAUSE THAT IS FEDERALLY WHEN WE START TRACKING AND THEN WE START IMPLEMENTING THE HOME LANGUAGE SURVEY AND THEN GIVING LANGUAGE ASSESSMENTS.

WE DON'T GIVE LANGUAGE ASSESSMENTS IN PRE-KINDERGARTEN.

SO IT'S KIND OF A QUESTION MARK, THAT'S KIND OF UP IN THE AIR RIGHT NOW.

>> AND THE PRINCIPAL OF THAT SCHOOL GETS TO DETERMINE HOW THEY WANT TO USE THAT FUNDING AND PERHAPS THERE ARE OTHER NEEDS INSTEAD OF RIGHT INSTEAD OF THAT.

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION.

WE HAVEN'T ESTABLISHED THAT YET.

TIM, WHY IS THAT ONE OF YOUR STRATEGIES?

>> YEAH, WELL, WHEN WE TALK TO TEACHERS, PARTICULARLY IN THE EARLY GRADES, ONE OF THE THINGS WE HEAR OVER AND OVER AGAIN IS IT'S OFTEN TIMES MANY STUDENTS ARE NOT PREPARED TO START DAY ONE IN THE K-12 SYSTEM.

SO IF YOU IMAGINE THE WORK WE'RE ASKING OUR OUR K-12 SYSTEM TO DO AND OUR TEACHERS TO DO, THEY'RE STARTING OF HAVING TO FILL A LOT OF GAPS IN KNOWLEDGE BEFORE STUDENTS, THEY'RE VERY FORMATIVE EXPERIENCES IN K-12.

AND SO IF YOU THINK ABOUT TEACHERS ARE SORT OF WORKING ON THOSE SKILLS FIRST AND THEN GETTING TO WHAT TYPICALLY THEY WOULD LIKE TO START THE KINDERGARTEN YEAR WITH, A LOT OF TIME IS BEING WASTED.

AND SO IF YOU IMAGINE IF MORE AND MORE STUDENTS WERE COMING PREPARED FOR KINDER ON DAY ONE, OUR K-12 SYSTEM WOULD BE IN SUCH A DIFFERENT PLACE AND BE ABLE TO BUILD UPON THOSE FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS.

AND SO EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMMING, WHEN YOU LOOK TO OTHER STATES WHO HAVE DONE THIS AND HAVE EXPANDED PRETTY SIGNIFICANTLY, YOU DO SEE THE BUMP IN THE INCREASES IN THE K-12 SYSTEM BECAUSE MORE STUDENTS ARE ENTERING PREPARED.

>> OKAY, IF IT IS IMPORTANT, WHY IS THE PARTICIPATION RATE OF THE EXISTING PROGRAMS IN NEVADA SO LOW?

THAT IS SOMETHING THAT YOU HAD TO ADDRESS AFTER RELEASING YOUR REPORT, CORRECT?

>> ABSOLUTELY.

SO IN OUR REPORT, WE PROVIDE STATISTICS FOR ELIGIBILITY VERSUS UTILIZATION OF EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS.

AND ONE OF THOSE IS THAT 15.8% OF ELIGIBLE CHILDREN PARTICIPATE IN PRE-K PROGRAMS IN NEVADA, WHICH IS AN INCREDIBLY LOW NUMBER.

SO AFTER THIS, WE HAD A LOT OF QUESTIONS: WHY IS THAT?

WHAT IS HAPPENING?

AND WE WERE ABLE TO NARROW IT DOWN TO A FEW FACTORS.

ONE IS, OF COURSE, FUNDING.

THE FUNDING GAPS FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS IN NEVADA ARE ABOUT $1 BILLION, SO THAT IS A SIGNIFICANT GAP IN FUNDING THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED.

BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT, IT IS THINGS LIKE INFRASTRUCTURE AND KNOWING THAT WE WE DON'T EVEN HAVE THE SEATS, THE PROGRAMS, EVERYTHING THAT'S NECESSARY FOR THESE KIDS.

WE ALSO LACK ALIGNMENT IN OUR SYSTEMS, AND SOME OF THAT IS DUE TO THINGS LIKE NOT BEING ABLE TO HAVE ACCURATE WAIT LISTS BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT TO PUT OUT WAIT LIST, OR WE DON'T WANT TO PUT OUT, YOU KNOW, DO TOO MUCH OUTREACH TO WHERE WE HAVE THESE INCREDIBLY LONG WAIT LISTS THAT GIVE THE IMPRESSION THAT PEOPLE ARE GOING TO ENTER THESE PROGRAMS WHEN WE KNOW THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE SEATS AVAILABLE TO THEM.

SO WHY SPEND THE RESOURCES ON OUTREACH IF WE KNOW THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE SEATS AVAILABLE OR THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO PROVIDE THE PROGRAM?

AND I THINK LASTLY, WHICH WAS TOUCHED ON, IS KIND OF THIS LACK OF ACCESSIBILITY AND EVEN KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT EXISTS AND WHAT PROGRAMS ARE AVAILABLE.

AND ELIGIBILITY IMPACTS THAT IN MAJOR WAYS, BUT ALSO JUST PARENT INFORMATION AND KNOWING THAT THEY HAVE TO FIGURE THIS OUT ENTIRELY ON THEIR OWN.

AND SO HOW CAN WE EASE THAT PROCESS?

>> REALLY QUICK, ONE OF YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS INVOLVED -- I FORGET THE TERMINOLOGY -- BUT SOME SORT OF A ONE-STOP.

>> YES.

>> WHAT WAS THAT?

>> SO A NO-WRONG-DOOR APPROACH OR UNIVERSAL APPLICATION.

YES, WHICH WOULD EASE, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE NEEDS OF CHILDREN AND OFTEN TIMES, IF A CHILD NEEDS EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES AND THEY NEED PHYSICAL THERAPY AND OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, AN EDUCATIONAL SETTING, THE PARENT HAS TO NAVIGATE EACH OF THOSE SYSTEMS INDIVIDUALLY.

AND THEN WHEN YOU BRING IN NUTRITIONAL FACTORS OR WIC OR TANF OR ANYTHING ELSE, PARENTS ARE APPLYING FOR EACH OF THOSE PROGRAMS INDEPENDENTLY.

SO A NO-WRONG-DOOR APPROACH OR UNIVERSAL APPLICATION WOULD REALLY STREAMLINE THAT PROCESS SO THAT WHEN PARENTS RECEIVE HELP FOR THEIR CHILD OR THEIR FAMILY IN ONE ASPECT, THEY WOULD KNOW EVERYTHING THAT THEY ARE ELIGIBLE FOR AND BE ABLE TO APPLY FOR IT KIND OF IN A SIMPLER WAY.

>> OKAY.

AND I DO WANT TO GET BACK TO THE EARLY EDUCATION FUNDING POSSIBILITIES THAT ARE PRESENT IN THIS LEGISLATIVE SESSION, BUT LET'S GO BACK TO THIS ISSUE SEEMS TO IMPACT THE ELL COMMUNITY BEGINNING IN KINDERGARTEN MORE SO THAN PRIOR TO IT, CORRECT?

>> RIGHT.

>> SO WHAT DO YOU NEED WITHIN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT TO IMPROVE THOSE LITERACY RATES AMONG ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS?

>> THAT IS A -- THAT IS THE QUESTION THAT MANY PEOPLE ACROSS THE COUNTRY LIKE ME WHO ADVOCATE AND WORK ON THE BEHALF OF ENGLISH LEARNERS AND EMERGING BILINGUALS AND MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS WANT TO HAVE THE ANSWER FOR.

WE KNOW THAT IN ADDITION TO FUNDING, WE NEED TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAMS TO PREPARE TEACHERS TO KNOW WHAT THAT FEELS LIKE, RIGHT?

TO HAVE SUPPORT SYSTEMS IN PLACE AND TO HAVE INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERS AND TEACHERS IN PLACE TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THOSE STUDENTS THAT ARE THERE BECAUSE THOSE NEEDS ARE VERY DIVERSE.

ENGLISH LEARNERS RANGE ALL THE WAY FROM A NEWCOMER STUDENT WHO'S BRAND NEW TO THE COUNTRY TO A LONG-TERM ENGLISH LEARNER WHO REALLY JUST NEEDS TO MASTER ACADEMIC ENGLISH LANGUAGE SKILLS.

SO YOU THROW IN ENGLISH LEARNERS IN THE MIX AND IT'S A VERY WIDE SPECTRUM, A VERY WIDE UMBRELLA OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF STUDENTS THAT WE NEED TO HAVE.

SO WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHO THOSE STUDENTS ARE AND THEN WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE NEEDS ARE AND THEN PRINCIPALS CAN THEN REACH OUT TO US AND WE CAN HELP KIND OF PROBLEM SOLVE AND SAY, "OKAY, THIS IS YOUR EL POPULATION, YOUR MULTILINGUAL LEARNER POPULATION.

HOW CAN WE SERVE YOUR NEEDS AND HOW CAN WE SUPPORT YOU IN DOING SO?"

>> IS THERE PERHAPS ONE ISSUE OR REQUEST THAT YOU FIND MORE OFTEN THAT YOU ARE RECEIVING THAN OTHERS?

>> THE BIGGEST REQUEST WE GET IS WE GET A NEW STUDENT WHO DOES NOT SPEAK THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AT ALL AND THEY SAY, "CAN WE PLEASE HAVE THE MATERIALS IN SPANISH OR TAGALOG."

AND OUR ANSWER IS THAT SHOULDN'T BE THE GO-TO BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE PROFICIENT IN THEIR NATIVE LANGUAGE.

OUR PROBLEM WITH PRACTICE IS WE WANT THEM TO BE PROFICIENT IN ENGLISH, RIGHT?

SO, HOW CAN WE HELP AND EQUIP YOU IN GIVING THOSE SKILLS TO DO SO, AND ELA LITERACY IS THE ONE THAT WE KIND OF FOCUS ON THE MOST.

>> OKAY, SO TO BE CLEAR, YOU DO NOT THINK THAT IS THE BEST APPROACH WHEN TEACHERS ARE ASKING FOR MATERIALS SPECIFIC TO THAT CHILD'S LANGUAGE?

>> IT DEPENDS ON THE PROGRAM.

SO THERE ARE DUAL LANGUAGE PROGRAMS IN THE STATE THAT IS FLEDGLING RIGHT NOW AND DEVELOPING, BUT THAT'S A DIFFERENT SETTING.

BUT IF YOU'RE IN AN ENGLISH IMMERSION PROGRAM, LIKE 99% OF OUR SCHOOLS IN NEVADA, THAT IS THE METHOD IN WHICH WE APPROACH IT, IS YOU GET ENGLISH INSTRUCTION, STRUCTURED ENGLISH INSTRUCTION AND SUPPORTED ENGLISH INSTRUCTION AS WELL.

>> AND AS I UNDERSTAND IT, THERE'S DEBATE ON BOTH SIDES AS TO WHICH IS BETTER.

TALKING ABOUT MATERIALS, THAT FITS IN, TIM, I BELIEVE, WITH YOUR FIRST STRATEGY, IMPLEMENTING SYSTEMIC CHANGES TO IMPROVE LITERACY INSTRUCTION.

WHAT ARE THOSE SYSTEMIC CHANGES?

AND ALSO, I GAVE IT AWAY BECAUSE YOU TOLD ME ABOUT MATERIALS.

>> THAT'S RIGHT, THAT'S CERTAINLY ONE OF THEM.

SO SOME FOLKS WHO'VE BEEN FOLLOWING THE NAEP SCORES CAME OUT RECENTLY, AND IT'S ALSO CALLED THE NATIONS REPORT CARD, LOOKS AT FOURTH AND EIGHTH GRADE LITERACY AND MATH.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, THE RESULTS ARE NOT GREAT ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND THERE ARE A FEW OUTLIER STATES, THOUGH, AND WHEN YOU LOOK OF THOSE OUTLIER STATES WHO ARE OUTPERFORMING OTHER STATES, THEY HAVE INVESTED IN SOME SYSTEMS-WIDE APPROACHES AND STRATEGIES, AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS.

AND SO MAKING SURE THAT ALL THE MATERIALS THAT TEACHERS HAVE ACCESS TO AND THAT OUR STUDENTS ARE UTILIZING ARE USING THE LATEST SCIENCE-BASED RESEARCH ABOUT HOW KIDS LEARN TO READ.

AND PARTICULARLY IN THE YOUNGER GRADES, THAT SHOULD INCLUDE A SYSTEMATIC AND COMPREHENSIVE PHONICS APPROACH, WHICH HAS NOT ALWAYS BEEN TRUE OF SOME OF OUR PAST PROGRAMS.

BUT THE MATERIALS ALONE AREN'T ENOUGH EITHER.

WE HAVE TO REALLY INVEST IN OUR TEACHERS AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE EQUIPPED TO EFFECTIVELY UTILIZE THOSE MATERIALS BECAUSE JUST, YOU KNOW, JUST HAVING THE MATERIALS IN OUR CLASSROOM DON'T TEACH KIDS.

AND SO TEACHERS HAVE TO BE ABLE TO SORT OF BRIDGE THAT GAP BETWEEN THE STRATEGY AND THE MATERIALS AND THEN WHAT THEIR STUDENTS NEED.

>>ERICK, CAN YOU TOUCH ON MATERIALS, BECAUSE YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT IT, BUT THAT SOUNDS SO COMPLEX.

>> IT IS VERY COMPLEX.

SO I CAN SPEAK ABOUT WHAT WE'VE DONE IN CLARK COUNTY.

WE'VE IMPLEMENTED TIER ONE PROGRAMS OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS, AND WE UTILIZED OUR ESSER FUNDING TO DO SO, SO WE PURCHASED ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS MATERIALS, MATHEMATICS MATERIALS, SCIENCE, SOCIAL STUDIES MATERIALS, SO THE ROLL OUT OF THAT HAS BEEN TO CREATE SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, SUPPORTING OUR PRINCIPALS WITH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND HOW TO SUPPORT THEIR TEACHERS IN DOING SO.

BUT THERE'S A WHOLE SYSTEM AND PROCESS TO DOING THAT.

WE'RE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF IT.

YOU KNOW, IN EDUCATION, WE THINK THAT THINGS NEED TO HAPPEN TOMORROW, BUT IT TAKES THREE TO FIVE YEARS TO IMPLEMENT SOMETHING.

AND THEN IT TAKES SEVEN TO 10 TO REALLY EVALUATE ITS EFFECTIVENESS.

AND BY THE TIME THAT HAPPENS, SOMETHING ELSE IS ON THE HORIZON.

SO THAT'S KIND OF THE CONSTANT CHALLENGE THAT WE'RE ALWAYS FACING.

AND IT'S A GOOD CHALLENGE THOUGH.

>> FOR OUR VIEWERS, WILL YOU CLARIFY WHAT ESSER FUNDING IS WAS.

>> THAT WAS THE EMERGENCY FUNDING THAT WAS GIVEN TO SCHOOLS FEDERALLY FROM THE GOVERNMENT DURING THE PANDEMIC.

>> OKAY, THAT LEADS ME TO, IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT EVALUATING RESULTS, THE NEED FOR DATA, ACCURATE DATA, AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT YOUR REPORT ALSO ADDRESSES AS WELL.

WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATUS OF HOW SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN NEVADA ARE RECORDING THIS KIND OF INFORMATION?

>> SO WE RECENTLY PUBLISHED IN OCTOBER A REPORT ON THE PUPIL CENTERED FUNDING PLAN AND HOW SCHOOL FUNDING HAS PLAYED OUT ACROSS THE STATE, AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE REALIZED VERY QUICKLY WAS SOMETHING YOU NOTED THAT WE SHOULD NOT BE DRAWING CONCLUSIONS RIGHT NOW ABOUT HOW THE PCFP, OR THE PUPIL CENTERED FUNDING PLAN, HAS PLAYED OUT.

WE SHOULD NOT BE MAKING FUTURE DECISIONS ABOUT THE CURRENT STATUS BECAUSE IT IS SO NEW IN IMPLEMENTATION.

>> IT WENT INTO EFFECT IN 2019?

>> YES, IT WAS APPROVED AND THEN AFTER THAT.

>> SIX YEARS LATER, IT'S STILL TOO NEW.

>> WELL, BUT IT'S SLOWLY GONE INTO EFFECT.

SO, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THESE WEIGHTED CATEGORIES, THE AT-RISK WEIGHTED CATEGORY, THE DEFINITION JUST CHANGED IN THIS PAST SCHOOL YEAR.

SO TO BE ABLE TO DETERMINE ANY TYPE OF TRUE IMPACTS OF THIS FUNDING REALLY DOES TAKE TIME BECAUSE THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME WE HAD CHANGED FUNDING SINCE THE NEVADA PLAN, YOU KNOW, IN OVER 60 YEARS.

SO MASSIVE CHANGE, AND IT NEEDS TIME TO BE ABLE TO PLAY OUT.

AND IN TERMS OF DATA, THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT WE FOUND VERY QUICKLY ON, WAS JUST HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO ACCESS STATEWIDE DATA THAT DEMONSTRATES HOW THIS FUNDING PLAYS OUT ON THE SCHOOL LEVEL.

BECAUSE HERE IN CCSD, AS IT'S BEEN NOTED THAT PRINCIPALS HAVE FULL AUTONOMY OVER THEIR BUDGETS, BUT THAT'S THE ONLY DISTRICT WHERE THAT'S THE REALITY.

IN EVERY OTHER DISTRICT IN NEVADA, ALL OF THESE DECISIONS ARE BEING MADE ON THE DISTRICT LEVEL FOR FUNDING.

AND SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT STUDENT LEVEL OUTCOMES BUT DECISIONS BEING MADE ON THE DISTRICT LEVEL, THERE'S A DISCONNECT THERE THAT WE HAVE TO KNOW HOW THAT FUNDING IS PLAYING OUT MORE CLOSELY TO THE STUDENT.

>> SO ONCE THE STATE GETS AN ESTABLISHED SYSTEM OF RECORDING DATA, AT WHAT POINT -- YOU SAID TEN YEARS FROM NOW?

WHAT ARE WE THINKING IS A GOOD TIME TO EVALUATE IS THE PER PUPIL FUNDING PLAN WORKING?

>> WE SHOULD ABSOLUTELY BE TRACKING THAT RIGHT NOW, WHICH WE DO IN OUR REPORT.

WE START TO -- WE NEED A BASELINE, RIGHT?

WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW TO BE ABLE TO DETERMINE TRENDS AND IMPACT LATER ON IN EIGHT YEARS AND TEN YEARS, WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE.

BUT I THINK WE SHOULD BE SEEING IMPACTS SOONER.

IT'S THAT WE SHOULDN'T EXPECT IT TO BE AT ITS FULL POTENTIAL RIGHT NOW.

WE SHOULD BE LOOKING TO CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE.

WE SHOULD BE LOOKING HOW WE CAN REFINE, HOW WE CAN MAKE IT BETTER AND BETTER KNOWING THAT WE HAVE MADE HUGE STRIDES WITH THE PCFP.

BUT OUR WORK'S NOT DONE.

>> OKAY.

DO YOU WANT TO ADD SOMETHING, TIM?

BUT ALSO I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT THE MATERIALS AND THE QUALITY, WHAT IS THAT STATE RIGHT NOW WITHIN NEVADA?

ARE THEY WHERE THEY SHOULD BE?

SOME ARE?

MAYBE SOME AREN'T?

AND THEN HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO ACTUALLY GET THOSE MATERIALS INTO A CLASSROOM?

>> YEAH, SO TWO THINGS, I WOULD SAY.

ONE, JUST TO COMMENT ON WHAT YOU HAD SHARED, ANNA, I THINK FROM A DATA STANDPOINT, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS IMPORTANT IS THAT WE HAVE DATA THAT WE CAN CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE FROM.

SO ONE OF THE CHALLENGES WITH A LOT OF DATA SYSTEMS IS THAT IT'S A SNAPSHOT, AND IT GIVES US AN ABSOLUTE NUMBER, BUT THOSE NUMBERS DON'T ALWAYS HELP THE TEACHER IN THE CLASSROOM THINK ABOUT WHAT DO I DO DIFFERENTLY TOMORROW.

AND SO WHEN WE LOOK AT DATA, THAT'S KIND OF THE GRANULAR DATA I THINK WE NEED TO START APPROACHING APPROACHING WITH, BECAUSE THAT'S GOING TO HELP TO START MOVE INSTRUCTION IN A QUICKER WAY.

ON MATERIALS FRONT, I MEAN, I WOULD SAY IT IS A LONG PROCESS, AND ONE OF THE THINGS, AGAIN, THAT WE HEAR FROM TEACHERS AT TEACH FOR AMERICA, YOU KNOW, SCHOOLS BELIEVE IN THIS AND THEY, FOR THE MOST PART, CCSD IN PARTICULAR, RECENTLY HAS ADOPTED NEW LITERACY MATERIALS IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS THAT IS MUCH MORE ALIGNED TO RESEARCH-BASED PRACTICES.

AND SO WE SORT OF ACCOMPLISHED THE FIRST PART OF THAT, AND REALLY RIGHT NOW WE'RE WORKING ON HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT TEACHERS FULLY UNDERSTAND HOW TO USE THOSE MATERIALS.

AND THERE'S BEEN TRAININGS, THERE'S BEEN SUPPORT PROVIDED, BUT THAT IS A PROCESS WHEN YOU WERE, AS AN EDUCATOR, LEARNING TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENTLY OR SORT OF A NEW SET OF MATERIALS AND A NEW APPROACH.

YOU HAVE TO, LIKE ANY PROFESSION, YOU HAVE TO EVOLVE YOUR PRACTICE OVER TIME, GET COACHING AND FEEDBACK, AND THAT ADULT LEARNERS TAKE TIME TO EVOLVE AS WELL, AND SO WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO INVEST IN THAT.

AND THAT IS A MULTI-YEAR PROCESS, FOR SURE.

>> OKAY.

BACK TO WHEN WE SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR RESULTS.

IT WAS ONLY A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, 2023, WHEN GOVERNOR LOMBARDO SAID: I AM GOING TO INVEST AN HISTORIC AMOUNT OF MONEY INTO NEVADA'S EDUCATION SYSTEM; HOWEVER, THERE WILL BE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR IT AND IF IN TWO YEARS I DON'T SEE THE RESULTS, I'M GONNA BE STANDING BACK UP HERE ASKING FOR -- WELL, HE HASN'T QUITE DETERMINED WHAT HE IS GOING TO DO.

SO THERE'S THE ACCOUNTABILITY ASPECT OF MEASUREMENTS AND WHAT EVERYONE IS REQUIRED TO REPORT AS FAR AS WHAT HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED.

BUT WHAT SHOULD THE CONSEQUENCES BE?

AND I DON'T THINK HE HAS YET FIGURED THAT OUT.

DO ANY OF YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE?

>> I CAN SPEAK -- I CAN'T SPEAK ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES, BUT I CAN SPEAK ABOUT THE LEVELS OF ACCOUNTABILITY THAT WE HAVE.

SO WE HAVE THE NSPF, AND THAT BASICALLY MEANS EVERY SCHOOL GETS A REPORT CARD AND THAT'S HOW WE HAVE OUR STAR RATING SYSTEM.

SO WE SHOULD SEE GROWTH, AND WE'VE SEEN MANY OF OUR SCHOOLS GROW OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS POST-PANDEMIC, WHICH HAS BEEN GREAT TO SEE.

BUT I DON'T THINK IT SHOULD BE A CONSEQUENCE BUT MORE OF A SUPPORT PLAN.

HOW DO WE SUPPORT THOSE SCHOOLS THAT HAVE NOT MADE GROWTH?

HOW DO WE ENSURE THAT THEY HAVE THE BEST TEACHERS?

HOW DO WE ENSURE THAT THEY HAVE LEADERS THAT ARE REALLY THERE TO SUPPORT THE STUDENTS AND BE VERY STUDENT-CENTERED?

AND I THINK THAT'S THE MOST SENSIBLE RESPONSE AS OPPOSED TO CONSEQUENCE.

>> WHAT COULD CONSEQUENCES BE?

ONE THAT I READ WAS THAT HE MAY PERHAPS NOT APPROVE CERTAIN FUNDING AND DEMAND THAT IT GO TO OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIPS, FOR EXAMPLE, FOR THE FUNDING OF PRIVATE SCHOOLS INSTEAD OF PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION.

BUT DOES THAT SOUND LIKE A LEGIT OR PRACTICAL CONSEQUENCE TO ANYONE HERE?

>> YEAH, I MEAN, THE THING THAT I WOULD SHARE IS, AGAIN, I THINK WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SORT OF, RIGHTLY SO, PEOPLE ARE FRUSTRATED WHEN THEY'RE SENDING THEIR KIDS TO A SCHOOL THAT'S NOT PERFORMING YET LIKE THEY'D LIKE IT TOO.

BUT WHAT I WILL SAY IS MANY STATES HAVE TRIED -- I TALK TO COLLEAGUES ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY -- HAVE TRIED A VARIETY OF APPROACHES TO THIS IDEA OF CONSEQUENCES.

NEVADA HAS A LONG HISTORY OF LOCAL CONTROL, AND SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO GRAPPLE WITH THAT QUESTION AS A COMMUNITY.

YOU KNOW, THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT HAVE WORKED, SOME THINGS THAT HAVEN'T WORKED, BUT WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST IS THAT WE, YOU KNOW, BE VERY JUDICIOUS IN LOOKING AT OTHER STATES AND WHAT THEY'VE TRIED AND WHAT'S BEEN EFFECTIVE OR NOT BECAUSE THERE HAVE BEEN SOME ACCOUNTABILITY AND CONSEQUENCES, MEASURES IN OTHER STATES THAT HAVE NOT GONE WELL AND HAVE NOT MOVED THE NEEDLE FOR KIDS.

AND SO I WOULD JUST CAUTION US TO, YOU KNOW, BE MINDFUL OF WHAT WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM OTHERS BEFORE WE, YOU KNOW, MOVE TOO QUICKLY TO SORT OF THINK ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCE SIDE OF THE EQUATION.

>> WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT LOCAL CONTROL, PERHAPS A CONSEQUENCE WOULD BE THE STATE TAKING SOME OF THAT CONTROL FROM A LOCAL ORGANIZATION, LOCAL DISTRICT, FOR EXAMPLE; IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING?

>> SOME SOME STATES HAVE TRIED THAT APPROACH.

>> OKAY.

AND PERHAPS THAT WILL BE, AS YOU SAID, SOMETHING THAT THEY WILL HAVE TO GRAPPLE WITH UP AT THE STATE LEVEL WHERE ALSO SENATOR NICOLE CANIZARO HAS A BILL, THE TEXT OF WHICH IS NOT YET AVAILABLE, BUT SHE WILL BE PROPOSING UNIVERSAL PRE-K. NOW THE FUNDING FOR THAT, WE HAVE YET TO SEE WHERE THAT WILL COME FROM, BUT I IMAGINE AN ARGUMENT AGAINST IT WOULD BE BACK TO THAT LOW PARTICIPATION RATE.

WHY ARE WE GOING TO PUT MONEY TOWARDS PRE-K PROGRAMS THAT ALREADY ARE NOT BEING UTILIZED THEIR FULL POTENTIAL?

HOW WOULD YOU COUNTER THAT, ANNA?

>> SO AS THE GWYNN CENTER, WE DO NOT TAKE A STANCE ON LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES AND WOULD NOT SHOW UP IN SUPPORT OR OPPOSITION OF ANY BILL THAT'S PROPOSED BUT, RATHER, YOU KNOW, PRESENT OUR RESEARCH AS THIS IS WHAT WE FOUND AND THIS IS WHAT IS HAPPENING IN OTHER STATES.

SO I CAN SPEAK ON KIND OF THIS IDEA THAT LOW PARTICIPATION WOULD NOT DEMONSTRATE A LACK OF SUCCESS IN UNIVERSAL PRE-K. WHAT I WILL SAY ON THAT IS, ONE, AS WE HAVE ESTABLISHED THIS LOW PARTICIPATION IS NOT BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH FOUR-YEAR-OLDS, WHICH IS WHAT THIS BILL IS INTENDING TO BE FOR IS FOR FOUR-YEAR-OLDS TO HAVE ACCESS TO PRE-K, ALL FOUR-YEAR-OLDS, AND THE BUDGET FOR THAT IS AROUND 70% OF ALL FOUR-YEAR-OLDS THINKING THAT THAT WOULD BE THE PARTICIPATION RATE, AND I THINK WITH THE PROPOSAL THAT THIS WOULD BE A MIXED DELIVERY MODEL WHERE THESE FOUR-YEAR-OLDS COULD BE IN DIFFERENT CENTERS, COULD BE IN SCHOOLS OR IN THE FACILITIES THAT ALREADY EXIST, AND HAVING THIS MIXED DELIVERY SYSTEM WOULD ALLOW FOR A LOT MORE ACCESSIBILITY FOR THIS LEARNING TO TAKE PLACE IN THE COMMUNITIES THAT THE STUDENTS ARE ALREADY IN.

AND SO I DON'T THINK THAT THE LACK OF PARTICIPATION IS A STRONG ARGUMENT BECAUSE IT'S NOT, BECAUSE THERE'S NOT A NEED.

THESE WAIT LISTS ARE INSANE.

>> DO YOU WANT TO ADD TO THAT?

>> WELL, I WAS JUST GONNA SAY, WHENEVER YOU TALK ABOUT FUNDING AND EXPANDING EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, I THINK WE DO NEED TO LOOK AT WHAT ARE THE LONG-TERM GAINS, AND THIS IS WHAT'S ALWAYS CHALLENGING IN EDUCATION IMPROVEMENT, IS THAT IF YOU THINK ABOUT THE TIME IT TAKES TO SEE CHANGE, PEOPLE WANT INSTANTANEOUS CHANGE, RIGHT, AND I GET THAT.

BUT, AGAIN, IF YOU THINK ABOUT ON THE -- AT THE HIGH -- WHEN I TALK TO TEACH FOR AMERICA WE HAVE PEOPLE ALL ACROSS THE K-12 SYSTEM, BOTH AS CLASSROOM TEACHERS, AS PRINCIPALS, AS POLICYMAKERS, DISTRICT LEADERS.

AND ONE THING WE HEAR FROM SECONDARY PRINCIPALS AND LEADERS IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY ARE PUTTING SO MANY INTERVENTIONS IN PLACE BECAUSE STUDENTS ARE ENTERING THEIR SYSTEMS HAVING, YOU KNOW, NOT HAVING SOME OF THOSE FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS.

AND SO LONG-TERM, IT'S A QUESTION ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THAT WHERE YOU START IS, IT'S A CHALLENGE, BUT LONG TERM WE SHOULD BE HAVING THE CONVERSATION ABOUT IF WE'RE INVESTING MORE EARLY ON, DOES THAT ACTUALLY HELP US BE MORE EFFICIENT WITH ALL THE ADDITIONAL INTERVENTIONS THAT WE NEED TO PROVIDE NOW OVER TIME BECAUSE YOU WOULD HOPE THAT STUDENTS WOULD NEED FEWER OF THOSE IF THEY CAME IN MORE PREPARED FROM JUMP.

>> I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW, WOULD THOSE SAME EDUCATORS BE WILLING TO GIVE SOME OF THEIR FUNDING AWAY FOR THOSE EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROGRAMS TO BE IMPLEMENTED?

WE CAN'T ANSWER THAT, OBVIOUSLY.

AND WE HAVE ALMOST RUN OUT OF TIME, BUT I WANT TO END ON: WE ARE APPROACHING NEVADA READING WEEK.

THIS IS A TIME WHERE COMMUNITY MEMBERS WILL GO INTO CLASSROOMS AND READ TO CHILDREN.

AND IT'S SPECIAL; IT'S A NEAT TIME.

WHEN WE SPOKE ABOUT THIS AHEAD OF THIS INTERVIEW, WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY ENGAGEMENT.

AND I ASKED YOU, THAT MUST BE DIFFICULT IF THE PARENTS OF THESE ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH.

AND YOU SAID, OH, CONTRAIR.

HOW SO?

WILL YOU EXPLAIN THAT?

>> YEAH, THE MESSAGE REALLY MEANS LITERACY IS LITERACY, LANGUAGE IS LANGUAGE.

SO WE ALWAYS TELL OUR FAMILIES, IF YOU DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH OR IF YOU DON'T HAVE -- IF YOU DON'T RUN AN ENGLISH-SPEAKING HOUSEHOLD, READ TO YOUR CHILD IN YOUR NATIVE LANGUAGE BECAUSE THAT WILL HELP TO BUILD THEIR LITERACY SKILLS.

YOU KNOW, THERE'S A DUAL LANGUAGE THEORY BY JIM CUMMINS THAT SAYS, "IF YOU HAVE A STRONG FOUNDATION IN YOUR FIRST LANGUAGE, IT'LL CROSS OVER TO THE SECOND LANGUAGE.

AND BY THE TIME YOU'RE IN SECOND OR THIRD GRADE, THAT LINGUISTIC CROSS-TRANSFER HAPPENS, AND THEN MAGICALLY, YOU LEARN YOUR LANGUAGE AND YOU BECOME PROFICIENT."

AND THAT'S KIND OF THE MAGICAL THING ABOUT BEING DUAL BILINGUAL AND BEING DUAL LINGUAL, AS WE CAN SAY.

I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S A WORD OR NOT.

BUT I JUST MADE IT.

BUT THAT'S KIND OF THE MAGIC BEHIND IT.

SO WE ALWAYS ENCOURAGE OUR FAMILIES: READ.

REGARDLESS OF WHAT LANGUAGE YOU SPEAK AT HOME, PLEASE READ TO YOUR CHILD AND TEACH THEM THE LOVE OF READING.

>> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING THIS PANEL.

WE HOPE TO HAVE YOU BACK ON.

WE'LL SEE HOW THIS LEGISLATIVE SESSION GOES.

>> THANK YOU.

>> AND THANK YOU FOR WATCHING.

FOR ANY OF THE RESOURCES DISCUSSED, INCLUDING A LINK TO WHAT THE STATE HAS PLANNED FOR NEVADA READING WEEK, GO TO VEGASPBS.ORG/NEVADAWEEK, AND I WILL SEE YOU NEXT WEEK, RIGHT HERE.