LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — It is a deal that hasn't existed in the past. The Clark County School District and Nevada System of Higher Education are working to finalize a plan that will increase their collaboration to make all students more successful.
The memorandum of understanding presented to the school board Thursday night is a two-pronged approach.
The plan involves addressing students in need of remedial courses before they ever graduate high school and offering students not looking for college degrees a way to earn higher pay.
"Part of the MOU is we get beyond the rhetoric, and we actually get specific strategies that higher education is going to work with K-12 and remedial is just one of those areas," Thom Reilly, Chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education, said.
The remedial education is critical at the college level where data shows 54.6 percent of CCSD's class of 2016 needed remedial courses in math and English at Nevada colleges.
The two-year plan would create pilot programs at selected CCSD high schools to identify students in need of the catchup courses and allow them the opportunity to take the extra instruction before earning their high school diploma.
"What we are asking K-12 and what we are asking as part of this MOU is we move part of the remediation back to the high school, so we start assessing young people in their sophomore and junior year and they actually take remedial courses either online or instruction their junior and senior year," Reilly said.
The plan also lays out "dual-credit" courses for high schoolers in trade instruction for industries like medical, information technology, air conditioning repair as well as tourism and hospitality.
The MOU is putting an outline in place to offer those dual credit courses to students at all CCSD high schools, not just magnet programs.
