LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — The Clark County School District is working to reconnect with students who were enrolled last year but have not returned to class this year through an effort called the Bright Futures Initiative.
CCSD Superintendent Jhone Ebert said the initiative is now in its second year.
“They were keeping children home for reasons that there are actually solutions for,” Ebert said. “So, it’s the community coming together, making sure that our families know about all of the resources that are made available, and how important it is for our children to be in school every single day.”
Addressing barriers to enrollment
Ebert said last year’s effort found families needed assistance with things such as vaccinations, getting children to doctor appointments, or learning about after-school programs like the Boys and Girls Club.
“In some families, they did not know that there were opportunities for children to be in Boys and Girls Club after school,” Ebert said.
District staff says if a family needs help enrolling, school employees can follow up at the home with a computer and the necessary materials to help complete the process.
“We’ll come back to the school, and we’ll say, ‘hey, this family needs help enrolling,’” Ebert said. “The principal has already committed. They will send members of their team out to the home tomorrow morning and help the child enroll in school.”
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Community and municipal involvement
Ebert said the effort includes elected officials from Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson, in addition to CCSD staff and community volunteers.
“They’re going out too, because it’s all of us working together. We might not, as a district, have the resources for support, but the municipalities do. We need to make sure that everyone is aware of those resources, Ebert said.
Volunteers work alongside a school staff member or CCSD staff member and are instructed to stay outside of homes rather than enter them.
Funding tied to enrollment
Nevada schools are funded on a per-pupil basis, meaning funding is affected when students are not enrolled or not attending.
“We are one of the lower-funded states in the United States. It’s about $10,000 per child,” Ebert said. “The average is about $15,000 per child, as we know. And so, yes, it does make a difference. And how many teachers we can hire, how many support staff, all of the resources that we need for a good education system.”
Reasons students haven’t returned
Ebert said outreach teams have found a range of explanations when they contact families, including students who moved out of town, students who now live with relatives who have moved, and students who have enrolled elsewhere or in homeschooling.
“We have homes where multiple families live in the same home,” Ebert said. “So, someone will answer the door, and they’ll say, oh, no, that was my cousin. They’ve moved to Nye County.”
Ebert said there are currently no fines for parents of students who are not enrolled in school. She said Nevada previously had a law requiring parents to appear in court, but said that is no longer the case.
The district conducts the walks twice a year, including another round planned after the first semester.
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