[olecapt]

Originally Posted by Tool Shed

http://www.lasvegassun.com/from.ed/2001/dec/27/photos/P000050370.jpg (broken link)
That will have to do for now.

And you read the attached story....?


December 27, 2001

Valley set to meet air quality standards
By Jace Radke <jace@lasvegassun.com>
LAS VEGAS SUN
Despite the hazy cloud of smog that drapes the winter sky, the Las Vegas Valley is set to meet key federal clean-air requirements for two dangerous pollutants, Clark County officials said.

Aided by smog tests, cleaner burning fuels and dust controls, air quality officials have driven down the amount of poisonous carbon monoxide and dust in the air. If the numbers continue through Monday, the county will be off the Environmental Protection Agency's list of troubled areas that fail to meet the standards for the two pollutants.

Dennis Ransel, an analyst with the county's air quality management team, called it a "success story."

.............................

At least you are in the right pew....

[dude66]

Originally Posted by scoop89

My friend was raising 3 kids in Summerlin. Those 3 kids were Honor Students in Las Vegas. When my friend was transfered to Indiana, two of his kids were average, and one had to be held back. Las Vegas schools are bad, even in an upper class neighborhood.

Stay in Chicagoland.

For it's worth, I have a co-worker here in Vegas raising kids. He told me he went to a PTA meeting recently (for his son in 5th grade) and the teacher told him that in all her years she's never seen schools as bad as they are in Vegas. She said her students were WAY behind the level they should be at compared to other schools she taught at in other states.

I have no kids myself, so this doesn't personally affect me. But my co-worker was definitely stressing about how this might be screwing up his kid's future. The teacher also said she hadn't gotten a raise in 5 years, not even cost of living.

So yeah, it's great Nevada doesn't take state tax out of our paychecks, but good Lord - what price are we paying for it? Stupid kids and a horrible school system? I'd gladly lose a few cents in my pay if it meant they could afford to fix the whole mess.

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by dude66

For it's worth, I have a co-worker here in Vegas raising kids. He told me he went to a PTA meeting recently (for his son in 5th grade) and the teacher told him that in all her years she's never seen schools as bad as they are in Vegas. She said her students were WAY behind the level they should be at compared to other schools she taught at in other states.

I have no kids myself, so this doesn't personally affect me. But my co-worker was definitely stressing about how this might be screwing up his kid's future. The teacher also said she hadn't gotten a raise in 5 years, not even cost of living.

So yeah, it's great Nevada doesn't take state tax out of our paychecks, but good Lord - what price are we paying for it? Stupid kids and a horrible school system? I'd gladly lose a few cents in my pay if it meant they could afford to fix the whole mess.

Which school? Which Teacher? Maybe he/she should find another line of work?

I have a couple of clients who teach in Las Vegas. One at Lummis in Summerlin. She will tell you that it is a fine school and that her children who came through Lummis and the adjoining middle school are doing great. Older child is off to University on a full ride scholarship. Does this suggest that all children in the CCSD get full ride scholarships? Of course not. Then again not all fifth graders are performing well below grade level.

How did you friend let his kids get to the fifth grade performing badly? Does he/she have no idea of what a fifth grader should be able to do?

I think Las Vegas and Nevada would be wise to pay at the median salary level for the US and we should pay the taxes needed to do this. But the system ain't all that bad. Just in need of improvement.

[lvkewlkid]

It all depends on the parent and the kid. If the parent pushes for success and the kid wants to learn, then he will be ahead and on track. If not, then it doesn't matter and they will be left in the dust. I don't really think it depends on the school but on the parent, student, and teacher.

[RedWingsFan]

In the schools in Las Vegas it's easy to have a kid get to the fifth grade and not know much. It's actually quite common. It's darn near impossible to fail a student there. And the kids know it. They can do what they want and they WILL be passed through elementary and middle school grades. That's the policy, afterall, we wouldn't want to hurt Jonny's feeling for holding him back after he hasn't worked hard all semester. :-)

It would be REALLY hard for a student to get held back in the lower grades in that city. It's not like when we were growing up and you would be held back if you didn't do the work. Nope, today kids can sit and pick their nose all semester and they will get moved to the next grade.

After spending two years working in the school system there I have talked to many teachers there. The resounding message over and over was that the schools were a mess, which I could see myself from being there day in and day out.

[olecapt]

Where are the parents? All gone deaf, dumb and blind?

[RedWingsFan]

Originally Posted by olecapt

Where are the parents? All gone deaf, dumb and blind?

Looks like it. That's one of the biggest problems school districts across the country face (not just CCSD). Parents are not involved in their child's education and they stick up for the kid no matter what. The hands of schools are often tied, or so they feel that way. A student today can tell off a teacher in a way that children when I was a kid wouldn't have dreamed of doing. Why? It's allowed. If the school tries to do something about it the parents then want to get involved to stick up for the kid and their bad behavior. Heaven forbid we ever hold kids accountable anymore for what they do or don't do.

[PinkString]

Originally Posted by RedWingsFan

Parents are not involved in their child's education and they stick up for the kid no matter what. The hands of schools are often tied, or so they feel that way. A student today can tell off a teacher in a way that children when I was a kid wouldn't have dreamed of doing. Why? It's allowed. If the school tries to do something about it the parents then want to get involved to stick up for the kid and their bad behavior. Heaven forbid we ever hold kids accountable anymore for what they do or don't do.

Finally, something we both agree on.

[lvkewlkid]

That is exactly true, everytime a student is expelled from my school, we see them the next day because the parents won't hear of it! There are just some students that definitely need to be removed and the parents don't want to hear it or don't believe it. It is really sad, because everyone else has to suffer.

[RedWingsFan]

Originally Posted by lvkewlkid

That is exactly true, everytime a student is expelled from my school, we see them the next day because the parents won't hear of it! There are just some students that definitely need to be removed and the parents don't want to hear it or don't believe it. It is really sad, because everyone else has to suffer.

Exactly! Those students ruin it for many others. Then occassionally they get sent to the specialty schools that exist for kids that are kicked out everywhere else. They go there for a little while and go right back to the regular school. If schools could hold kids accountable then they would be better off. But this really is a problem across the country, not just in Vegas. It's like the students are ruling the schools today. That creates a really bad sitution and poor learning environment.