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

(Maria Silva) On this special episode of Student Spotlight, we take a look back at some of our favorite stories from 2025.

We visited so many schools, met some amazing students, teachers, and staff members.

Our "Year in Review" starts right now.

♪♪ [swiping sound] -Happy new year!

Hope your 2026 is off to a great start.

I'm your host, Maria Silva.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Well, typically, I host our show from one of our incredible CCSD schools, but for this episode, I'm inside our Vegas PBS building where I will be your tour guide showing you around.

Fun fact: Nevada Learning Academy at CCSD is housed here in our building, so technically, we are at a school.

Nevada Learning Academy offers online learning to students from elementary to high school.

Well, this month, we wanted to highlight some of the wonderful stories that we shared with you in 2025.

And we are here at NVLA because our first story from our February show has to do with our amazing teachers.

Many high schools around the school district offer a CTE program called Teaching and Training.

At Rancho High School, listen to this, more than 300 students are enrolled in that program.

And here's what makes it unique: Rancho also offers real-world experience as part of Rancho's Future Educators Academy.

(Rachel Ruttan) The purpose is to inspire students at the early age of 14 to become teachers.

-Inside Rancho High School's Future Educators Academy... -This is an internship classroom where students come and they prepare for their student teaching internship.

-...high school students are hard at work, students like senior Elvin Jimenez... (Elvin) The Future Educators Academy at Rancho High School is, in my opinion, the biggest kept secret in CCSD.

-...and senior Aaliyah Lopez.

(Aaliyah) In my culture, it's more like, you finish high school and then that's it.

Like, congrats.

Like, that's the most you can get.

But I feel like just being given the opportunity to go to college, it's like, pretty amazing.

-The Academy offers high school students a chance to earn college credit and learn firsthand what it's like to be a teacher in the Clark County School District.

-I think growing our own teachers is important because we're growing loyal teachers.

These are students who are from our communities, and they understand the backgrounds and the values of CCSD students.

So we are putting them out into the workforce, ready to work with students that they're already familiar with.

-Twice a week, Rancho students leave the high school campus and travel just down the road to C. C. Ronnow Elementary School... (Daniel Rivera) Every time she walks in, it's, "Miss Lopez!

Miss Lopez!"

-At Ronnow, the high school students are paired with a teacher.

-They already understand that she's here to teach them, and she's also learning from them, which is a great opportunity I wish I had when I was in high school too.

-...and then help teach in the classroom.

-When I started my internship over there, just like seeing all the children as you walk into the room, "Miss Lopez," all the hugs, like, it's really what pushes me and, like, I just know I'm meant for it.

(Shelly Cruz-Crawford) I have actually been investigating for over a decade on how to recruit and retain teachers.

-Shelly Cruz-Crawford is a principal at C. C. Ronnow Elementary School.

-Yeah, we know apprenticeship models work, and when our students get to see what this job looks like, it does two things: It inspires them to become educators, and it also tells them like, hey, maybe this isn't for me, and they get to shift their career path in a timely manner before they-- before they go to college.

-For Aaliyah, the experience has not only inspired her to teach... (Saii) Miss Lopez, she helps us.

-...but to teach in Las Vegas.

-Yes, I want to stay in CCSD.

I can relate to a lot of the students at Ronnow.

My dad went there to school.

I grew up with the CCSD, so I feel like it's truly mind changing, like I want to be their role model.

I want to be someone they can look up to.

-The Academy provides valuable, real world experience... -As a teacher, you're always learning.

Every day you learn something new, and I think that's the beauty in it.

-...and exposes high school students to what could become a lifelong and rewarding career.

-They're going to be fabulous teachers.

They're going to be better than me one day.

They are.

They're just fabulous.

-What an amazing program.

And here is something else that is pretty amazing, our Vegas PBS studios.

As you can see, we are now on the other side of the building where all the video production happens.

We are right outside Studio B. Shhhh.

Quiet on the set.

As you can see by the light behind me, they're recording in there right now, and it's in Studio B where Superintendent Jhone Ebert and her special guest tape "Destination District," a CCSD podcast once a month.

And every December, Studio B is transformed into Winter Wonderland as we tape our Student Spotlight holiday performances.

Talk about a multi-purpose studio, the long-running program Varsity Quiz is also taped in there, and we are taking you behind the scenes.

♪♪ (Mark Argento) I'm from Advanced Technologies Academy, also known as A-Tech, and I'm participating in the Silver League Semifinals for the 2024-2025 Varsity Quiz season.

-How do you feel?

-I'm excited.

I'm a little nervous.

(Kevin Lee) Oh, I'm from Palo Verde, and today I will be competing on Varsity Quiz with my teammates.

(Sheila Parise) Varsity Quiz is actually in its 56th year.

So it's one of the more seasoned, I guess activities, at CCSD.

It's run in like three rounds, kind of like Jeopardy.

There's-- but we do have, like, because we have four students compete on a team on television, we have a bonus round, which is the second round, so the teams can confer.

That's a little bit different than Jeopardy.

(Nathan Tannenbaum) Coming up next, it's Palo Verde... [cheers and applause] ...taking on A-Tech!

[cheers and applause] This is Varsity Quiz!

♪♪♪ -I got involved because I really like learning new stuff, and I also like sports.

And I feel like Varsity Quiz really combines those two in a fun and interesting manner.

It also helps our critical thinking skills, because we need to think on the moment and really just come up with answers that nobody really thinks that we can.

- Varsity Quiz is about inclusivity of a huge amount of information.

And so what ends up happening is you have people who are relatively good at certain topics, and so I think that the specialization of each of the team members that we have is going to end up carrying the day.

[buzzer] -That's A-Tech, Mark: Ovid -Well, for the students, they just have a lot of fun.

It is a lot of fun, and you get to do-- we get to do, like, competitions every week.

They get to look forward to it, they get to practice, you know, and they look really smart on TV when they-- and they are.

They're super smart.

And that's what I think is good for the community is a lot of times we, you know, cheer on athletes and those, you know, with physical abilities.

But these guys are academically gifted, and these are the kids going to MIT and Harvard and just doing some amazing things.

And I think, you know, our-- to showcase the things that are happening in our public schools when there's a lot of bad news going around about public schools, I think this is absolutely wonderful, the community to see these kids.

And people watch it.

[crashing sound] -Final score: Palo Verde 60, A-Tech 140.

Thank you to both teams, an incredible match.

[applause] -This year's Varsity Quiz competition is already underway.

The first episode of this year's Varsity Quiz will air on February 16, at 7:30 p.m.

And speaking of smart students, let's talk about future scientists.

Once a month, students at John S. Park Elementary engage in exciting and hands-on science projects.

So cool.

Check it out.

-I was thinking we don't need the rubber bands yet.

-In Ms.

Todechiney's 4th grade class, students are building something really cool.

-We tie them at the top.

-Okay.

-We make a pyramid.

-Okay.

What do you guys think about that?

(Francesco Curcio) Today, we're trying to build a skyscraper, and we need it to stay still to survive a simulation earthquake.

So basically, we're using sticks and rubber bands.

And then there's this plate that shakes, so we need to tie the sticks to the rubber bands.

-So you guys have to move it 20 times, and if it falls, did you pass?

-No.

-No.

-Once a month, John S. Park Elementary celebrates Science Rotation Day.

(Amber Martin) We feel like a lot of science kind of falls by the wayside.

Most schools concentrate on ELA and math, reading, that kind of thing.

And science just kind of gets left behind.

The fact that we're doing hands-on experiments in elementary school, we're trying to get that love of learning started early so they continue that throughout their educational career.

-It feels like we're above grade level because we're doing complicated projects like this.

-How do you get them to stay on the board, huh?

-During these experiments, the students not only get lessons in science... -Yes.

And then you could use these.

-...they also learn valuable life lessons.

-What are some things that you need to remember as a teamwork?

-To not build your own.

-You're not building your own.

-Yeah, let's tie these two together, and then we'll build up from there.

-Yeah, like a square.

-Yeah.

-Teamwork... -Hold it.

-...an important part of the science experiments.

(Keira Jordan)I love science because I get to do the experiments and work together.

-Holy moly!

-Even the littlest Panthers... -Everybody pick up your Teddy bear.

-...like the students in Ms.

Morales' kindergarten class, get in on the science fun.

-All right, let's see.

Drop it in your water.

[cheers] -It floats!

-All right, show me what you learned.

-It floats.

-You see the light bulbs go off and the kids are like, Oh, I get it, it's just amazing.

It's-- that is what is great about elementary school kids, especially.

They share that joy in their face.

-It sinks!

-We love science!

-I love science too.

I can tell you that I had a blast hanging out with these very smart students.

Well, check this out, guys.

We are now in one of our two studio control rooms.

There are so many monitors, so much to see here.

This is where our director and producer work when we are taping in the studio, directing cameras and timing the show.

And it is here where we move into the month of May and share the incredible stories of high school seniors getting ready to graduate.

I had the honor of meeting twins Christian and Cameron from Sunrise Mountain High School.

Both awarded life changing scholarships, their story of loss and hope will touch your heart.

(John Mowbray) Congratulations, boys.

You've won it, both of you.

-Twins Cameron and Christian Egbo-Cruz, each surprised with the $100,000 Charles and Phyllis Frias Legacy Scholarship.

This scholarship, not your traditional scholarship.

-Not based on grades.

You know what it's based on?

(Christian Egbo-Cruz) Personality.

-Grit.

Character, character.

It's based on character.

They wanted to help out the candidates that would not normally qualify for a four-year all-paid scholarship.

They wanted to help kids that they had promise in that they could see that they had a chance to do better and kids that may have faced some adversities.

-Adversity and loss, something the twins have had to deal with at such a young age.

(Camron Egbo-Cruz) I want to shout-out my mother.

She's always been here.

She passed last summer.

-When their mother, Sophia, passed away, their future uncertain, that is, until family friend Saunya Bonner, lovingly known as Auntie, opened up her home.

And it's at that home where those big checks are now proudly displayed.

(Saunya Bonner) My friend is not here anymore, and they're kids.

What are they going to do since their mom is gone?

And I was like, their mom would want them to finish school.

-Saunya, mom of five children of her own and dealing with the recent death of her husband, also cares for the twins' six-year-old brother, Anthony.

-Whenever we need something, she's there to help us out.

Even with Anthony, where he has a heart condition and he can't really eat as like us, she does her best to help him out, take him to the appointments he needs.

-They did what they were supposed to do, especially with their little brother.

That's a lot to carry on their shoulders.

-If you needed another reason to admire these young men, here you go: -I also do volunteering events like the Martin Luther King parade.

-They volunteer, work at the Sunrise Mountain High School cafeteria, have an after-school job, and are active in several school organizations and sports like the school's volleyball team.

Their coach also plays a very special part in Christian and Cameron's success story on and off the volleyball court.

-You're driving them to school and everything else.

You're remarkable.

You are remarkable!

Thank you, Coach.

-I love you, Coach.

-Love you too.

-We definitely felt the love in the room.

Cameron and Christian, surrounded by their big support system, from their coach and teachers to UNLV Upward Bound counselors, the Frias Charitable Trust team, and the Public Education Foundation mentors.

(Beverly) Have you guys been accepted-- -Yes.

- --to the University of Nevada?

Yes.

U-N-L-V Go, Fight, Win!

[laughter] -The twins are being set up for success.

And, boy, do they have some big dreams.

-I definitely want to go to UNLV.

I want to double major in Hospitality Management and Marketing, and I want to possibly minor in Film.

-I want to major in Business Finance, so it's not just going to investment banking.

And I also want to make connections with big people.

So it'd be like, for example, like superstars, NBA stars.

And if I could help control their money, then I could have money for myself.

-Any big stars you want to-- athletes you want to work with?

-I haven't thought about that yet.

-LeBron.

[laughter] -There's no doubt those big dreams will come true, also thanks in part, to a little help from up above.

-I feel like she's watching over me, especially given this scholarship.

I feel like everything that's built up to this point means, like, all the work she's did paid off for us, and I'm just proud of myself and proud of what she's done.

-When she left, I feel like as if she left us with a blessing with our auntie, with our little brother, with our other siblings.

-Speaking of Auntie, they're definitely not forgetting her when they hit it big.

-She wants us to do the best.

So I could tell her that I love her.

Thank you so much.

And one message I give is that when we come up, you come up too.

So-- -Hey.

[laughter] Preach.

-Incredible young men.

I have a great update, by the way.

Both are attending UNLV and thriving.

Cameron is studying Business and Finance, and Christian is studying Hospitality Management.

So proud of you, Christian and Cameron.

Well, check this out.

We have moved, once again, from the control room to a video edit bay.

This one is where our talented videographers edit our segments like the one we did on these wonderful twins.

This year, about 15 seniors will be receiving the Frias Legacy Scholarships.

Applications, by the way, are now open.

Well, now let's take a look at one of the District's newest schools, South CTA, or should I say, CSI South CTA.

The Biomedical Science Technologies program is one of nine programs being offered at this new career and technical academy.

We visited South CTA in September as the new school year began.

♪♪ This lesson in forensics, part of the Biomedical and Sports Medicine program at South CTA.

(Enzo Corona) The thing that inspired me to go to South CTA was the fact that it was new, and also the program I was looking into was offered here.

-And so Corona... -Bumped her head on the table.

-...and his classmates, some of the more than 450 9th graders in South CTA's history-making class, the class of 2029.

-We're setting the tone for our school and building the foundation as other younger students, they come into the school and look at us.

We're the leaders, and we set the example for the school.

-Heading up the Biomed and Sports Medicine program, Mr.

Hamburg... (James Todd Hamburg) So our program is unique in that we have a combined program of Biomed and Sports Medicine.

All of my students have to go through the Biomed program so they get the science basis, and then they go through the Sports Medicine program so they get more of a hands-on medical basis.

So they get both combined programs as they go into college.

-...an athletic trainer who brings a wealth of knowledge to the classroom.

-Right there, you're going to come to their feet.

You might measure to the head also.

-Mr.

Hamburg started his CCSD career at Northwest CTA.

-Our program at Northwest, we had kids that are pharmacists and physical therapists and athletic trainers, and I have kids in med school all over the country.

And there's a bunch of nurses, different in town, and in dental school.

So whatever field of medicine they choose, this is open for them to go through in this program.

And so it's great.

And we get to see more and more kids stay local and go through, start in high school and then finish here and actually work in the medical field here, which is huge and great for us to have.

-Mr.

Hamburg also happens to have another cool job and is the only NFL employee working in the school district.

-He's a concussion spotter, which I thought was really cool, and that he has experience within the field that he's teaching as well.

So when he comes in here and he gives us the information and how it works, it gives us a better understanding of how, like, the career in sports medicine could work.

-Enzo even wants to follow in Mr.

Hamburg's footsteps and wants to be an athletic trainer.

-A lot of the other questions you have, I promise we're gonna address as we go through this next month.

Okay?

Are you guys ready for the next group?

-Yep.

-All right.

Let's go.

-CSI: South CTA.

-What an incredible program and pretty awesome school.

Here on our show, we also love to shine the spotlight on our wonderful teachers.

One of those teachers was named the 2026 Nevada State Teacher of the Year.

Ali Jun is the music teacher to more--listen to this--than 900 students at Tyrone Thompson Elementary School.

And it was her students who helped surprise her when that big announcement was made.

I got the chance to stop by one of her music classes, and what I witnessed was, well, music to my ears.

(Ali Jun) When you conduct, you are in charge.

-From becoming mini conductors with glow sticks... -Up, down, in, out.

-...to reading rhythms with the Monsters, Inc.

theme.

-It sounds like this: [drum beat] So the kids today have to help me save myself from Randall, because I'm Boo, and they'll be reading rhythms and having to work together to figure out the correct rhythm to make the puzzle pieces to put Randall together.

-Mrs.

Jun's music lessons are always an adventure.

(Jermon Farmer) She always tries her best to make every music lesson fun, and it always ends up in a fun activity and us having a fun time.

-Now, conduct however you feel it!

I teach melody, harmony, playing instruments.

I run choirs, so a lot of vocal technique.

We have Boomwhackers.

-Wait.

A boom, what?

-Ooh, Boomwhackers are tuned percussion instruments that are really fun for the kids to play and experiment and improvise with.

It's great.

[Boomwhackers] -Spending just a few minutes inside Mrs.

Jun's fabulous music themed classroom... -Music is a universal language.

It's everywhere, and it's such a big world to explore.

-...it's easy to see why she was named the 2026 Nevada State Teacher of the Year.

-You know, she is the best teacher.

She deserves this.

(Mia) She cares about other people.

She makes learning fun.

-And this fun music teacher plans to continue inspiring future generations of musicians and music teachers for years to come.

-I want them to know that music and teachers and education is a safe place for them to be who they want to be, to figure out where they want to accomplish or what their goals are.

I think it's really important that students know how much their teachers really, really care about them and want them to succeed.

Guys, you're all reading music.

Like, not everybody can read music.

Give yourself a pat on the back.

Say "I'm a rock star!"

-I'm a rock star!

-Thank you for letting me join choir and teaching me how to play music.

-[scatting] Yeah!

That was beautiful, wasn't it?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

-Congratulations, Mrs.

Jun.

Well deserved.

Well, as you can see, we are now back in the studio, this time Studio A. This is where Nevada Week is recorded and our show, as well, when we tape in studio.

And as we wrap up our look back at the past year, it wouldn't be complete without a story about sports.

While pickleball is not considered a CCSD Athletics Department sanctioned sport, there are several pickleball clubs in CCSD schools.

For our November show, I stopped by Mannion Middle School to find out why pickleball is so popular.

Check it out.

♪♪ It is a sport with a fun and quirky name.

-We love pickleball!

-And it's gaining popularity at Mannion Middle School.

-All right.

Just hit me a good one!

-8th grader Bradley Larsen was one of the first students to join the pickleball club.

(Bradley Larsen) I think it's just an amazing environment for everyone to come, and that's just super fun.

-Since its inception three years ago, the number of students who are discovering the club continues to grow.

Nearly 50 students now form part of the pickleball club.

Newcomers like 7th grader Sophia Berggren are really getting the hang of the game.

(Sophia Berggren) This is such a special club because, like, it varies from people who don't know how to play and people who do know how to play.

So if you ever need help, you could just ask somebody and they'll help you.

It's very nice here.

(Jayce Otis) That lob didn't stay in on that one.

-Heading up the pickleball club, Coach Otis.

-Mr.

Otis is super nice, and he's always energetic.

-Pickleball is, it's so unique because, again, you play soccer, when you get to an older age, you can't run the same way, right?

You play baseball, when you get to an older age, you can't throw the same way.

With pickleball, you can play pickleball at a very high level, and you can be all kinds of different ages.

-For Bradley, pickleball is a sport he plans to continue to play for years to come.

-It helps me learn how to do it so I can do it in high school and have fun in high school.

-And the lessons they are learning on the pickleball court... -But if I hit Mark this shot, will he be able to get it?

-...will no doubt help them off the court.

-I just want them to get that friendship, learn how to work with a teammate, because the hardest thing is, you're working as a team.

It's not just you.

You have to rely on your teammate.

You got to rely on someone.

And that character-building is something that's extremely important.

-Both Bradley and Sophia encourage other students to take a chance and join their pickleball club.

-I would give them advice to like, be more like open-minded and like out there, because trying something new takes a lot of courage.

And that's something you need in order to have fun while trying something new.

-Please come.

Just come.

It's so fun, and it will always be fun.

-We love pickleball!

-So much fun!

I loved learning more about pickleball from these amazing students.

I even got a little lesson.

Well, what a great year it has been, and the school year is only halfway over.

We are working on some great stories for February that we can't wait to share with you next month.

And a quick reminder that you can watch Student Spotlight stories on vegaspbs.org or YouTube.

We will see you next month.