During African-American History Month, we are especially sensitive to the need for more equity in our schools. Institutional norms have to be challenged, money needs to be invested in all children’s education, not just some, and we have to continue to listen to needs triggered by the pandemic, and its continued ripples.

Dr. Jesus Jara, during his 2023 State of the District speech in January, outlining plans for the coming year in Clark County School District, addressed several of those concerns.

The investment needed to be made in our public schools is paramount. With much of the Federal funds used for pandemic recovery due to expire in May, it’s more important than ever that we continue to invest in our Scholars’ education.  With the governor’s promise of funding, we are encouraged and hope it will be used where it is most needed –  the many, many schools in our community that have less resources and less teachers than others. CORE  raises money to offset funding and makes sure we can be everything our Scholars and families need us to be, without draining resources from CCSD.

The breakup of CCSD gets talked about year after year. This past year, it once again failed to gain traction. It’s attractive to think about smaller school districts that can address local students’ needs, but if a resource-poor area is left on its own as a district, there’s little guarantee its students will succeed. Community cohesion, as Dr. Jara talked about, is key. At CORE, we know that just lifting students out of poverty won’t work … the entire family has to have a chance, which is why we incorporate Two-Generational practices in all we do.

We work closely with our teachers and know that they deserve fair pay, healthy working environments and the resources to do their jobs. Investing in our teachers is part of the investment Nevada needs to make to continue moving Nevada’s educational grade up among the national rankings.

Nothing happens in a vacuum and nothing happens overnight … as our Executive Director Jeff Jones often says, it happens “through the night.” At CORE, we are committed to our partners at CCSD. We will continue working through the nights and days to make sure those historically-underserved students are given the same opportunities as every other student to learn, be  treated with respect, and have the chance to live a choice-filled life.