Wandering through the crowd at schools Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky’s State of the District address, I saw the business community becoming an active partner in addressing the needs of Southern Nevada’s K-12 education system. Skorkowsky made clear his appreciation of prominent business groups’ and individuals’ help in achievements made in the district’s Pledge of Achievement Program. A close working relationship between the business and education communities is crucial to prepare our children for success.
Glenn Christenson, head of the Nevada Development Authority board, says hard times make it necessary to share resources, such as the new booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
This partnership has been a long time coming, and we are seeing benefits. Concepts that businesses support, such as return on investment and accountability, have become part of the dialogue, making it easier to communicate the district’s goals and strategies to the business community.
Interaction between business leaders, the district and other community partners has made it easier to support research-based solutions that improve student achievement. Collaboration has taken place on solutions such as targeted funding for teacher development programs, “Read by 3” programs, full-day kindergarten, English-language learners, students who live at or below the poverty level and students who qualify for special education.
Skorkowsky has shown exceptional leadership in creating his Superintendent’s Executive Advisory Committee. Beginning last summer, he brought in several business and education leaders to help look at program-based budgeting. The committee quickly morphed into a broader effort to help Skorkowsky manage the third-largest organization in the state.
Skorkowsky created three subcommittees, each tasked with creating a management tool. The first is a template of procedures aimed at ensuring the district gets the most out of every dollar spent. The second: a model that compares outcomes based on student test scores and the costs of each school. The third is a guide for selection, implementation and evaluation of academic programs to determine if the district is getting a good return on its investment as measured by student achievement scores.
As Skorkowsky reviewed a long list of achievements during his State of the District address, it was obvious to me that we are progressing toward returning our school district to prominence. There is much to do, and it will take time.
But I’m proud that our business community is playing an important role in that effort, directly and indirectly by providing financial support to the many nonprofit organizations that help CCSD. The success of such relationships will determine how long it takes to have the K-12 system we need in place.