LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — With the snip of a giant pair of scissors on a red ribbon, leaders with the Clark County School District and City of Las Vegas officially opened two new schools near Charleston Blvd. and Maryland Pkwy.
The schools are designed to work in concert by reaching some of the district's most vulnerable students and equipping them to be job ready.
Superintendent Jesus Jara addressed the largely Hispanic crowd gathered for the occasion in Spanish when dedicating the new Global Community High School as it will focus on educating kids who struggle with speaking English.
Jose Malfabon will work at GCHS as a campus monitor after living in the neighborhood for years.
"It's a great thing that they have a school now," he said.
Malfabon said he hoped to share his experience as an immigrant from Mexico trying to overcome a language barrier and make a living in the US with the students who can likely relate.
"They don't have to be ashamed," he said. "They have to be out there and talk and don't be afraid. Because, even me when I was working in a restaurant, I didn't know how to speak English."
Malfabon said years later coming to the US, after a lot of hard classwork, he learned and thrived and hoped to help future students do the same.
"They're going to be better for their future," he said.
The other school on the same property, Central Technical Training Academy, will focus on career training for jobs in construction technology and advanced manufacturing according to Principal Liliana Bonderov.
"Those are both areas in high demand," Bonderov said.
She said the one-two punch of having English focused education and job training in the same area should make for a recipe for success.
"Employ-ability and workplace readiness is at the center of everything we're doing in our CT classes," she said.
Malfabon said when schools open Monday he's looking forward to helping the next generation take their first steps toward a long successful life.
"I did it over years and years," he said. "I got my green card, and then I became a citizen, and because of that I'm available to work for the school district and have a better future for my family."
