Las Vegas Sun

Touro University is seeking Henderson's approval to issue $23.5 million in tax-exempt bonds to refinance the university's debt from purchasing its two-building campus in Green Valley.

Last week, about the time Wall Street was teetering on the brink of collapse, a young woman sat in the back of a current events class at UNLV, spending most of the 50 minutes on her cell phone, e-mailing or text messaging.

Admissions standards debated When UNLV opened on Maryland Parkway with a single building in 1957, few people could have imagined it would swell to become a campus of 28,000 students in just 50 years.

Last school year’s dismal results fueled controversy, principals’ distaste
By Emily Richmond
The exams were intended to test math. After a disastrous performance last school year by middle and high school students, the “common semester assessments” have become a test in damage control for Clark County School District administrators.

The Clark County School District’s enrollment has grown by just under 1 percent this year, according to the head count taken Friday.

Board member: Make exams for college credit a requirement
Clark County high schools are among the best in the nation in boosting their enrollment in Advanced Placement courses, challenging classes that are seen as key to improving student achievement. But at least one member of the Clark County School Board says students aren’t getting the full benefit of the courses.

Hispanic law students help others up Siria Gutierrez remembers opening the door to her honors English class in her first year of junior college and thinking, “Whoa — where are all the brown people?”

Hoping to dampen emotions, district may rewrite rules for process
Clark County school officials are considering rewriting their policy for naming schools amid concerns the process has devolved into a popularity contest.

The allegations of abuse at the Variety School were disturbing. The allegations of abuse at the Variety School were disturbing. A 1998 lawsuit accused staff members at the Las Vegas campus for students with emotional and cognitive disabilities of pinning two boys to the floor and kneeling on their backs to control their outbursts.

By Charlotte Hsu
UNLV has until Dec. 31 to meet its 7-year-old goal of raising $500 million. The good news: At least eight philanthropists are reviewing or will be reviewing within a month written proposals for multimillion-dollar gifts

Nearly one of every 22 Clark County School District teachers on the first day of classes was a long-term substitute. It amounted to 676 substitute teachers, many of whom have no specialized education in the subjects they were assigned to teach, or even a college degree.

Campus crime declined significantly at Clark County schools during the 2007-08 academic year, according to a new report obtained by the Sun.

By Emily Richmond
Adults tend to idealize the back-to-school rituals — the new clothes and friends, the fresh starts and high hopes that come every fall. But many Clark County adolescents who return to the classroom today appear far from carefree.

When a boat is dangerously overloaded, do you jettison the life preservers to lighten the load? Sounds crazy, but that is what’s happening in Nevada. Shortchanging education creates a long-term problem. It wastes human capital, diminishes quality of life and secures Nevada’s place at the bottom of many lists. We may not have thrown all life preservers overboard yet, but it is a certainty there are not enough to go around.

Still, Rulffes found a new topic to tout — empowerment schools
For the first time since taking over as superintendent of the Clark County School District in 2005, Forget the $9.5 billion capital campaign he had expected to promote. The School Board decided to put off the bond measure until 2010, rather than ask voters to support the endeavor during a period of slow growth and economic troubles.