Integration Programs
To appreciate the history of the Westside schools, the reader should be familiar with these terms. These programs were part of the effort made to integrate schools in the Las Vegas Valley.
Sixth Grade Centers
In 1971 the school board approved the Sixth Grade Center Integration Plan which the court accepted. The Sixth Grade Center Plan created sixth grade centers out of the black elementary schools in Westside Las Vegas. This meant that all white students in the sixth grade would be bused to one of the centers, while all black sixth graders would attend their neighborhood school (now a sixth grade center). With minor adjustments, the court-ordered plan, though not perfect, basically succeeded in what it was intended to accomplish.
The Sixth Grade Center plan also integrated the teaching staffs. Some black teachers from the former Westside schools were moved to the predominately white areas of town while teachers from these areas were moved to the new Sixth Grade Center schools.
Magnet Schools
CCSD's magnet programs offer students an opportunity to focus on a specialized subject, such as fine arts, math and science etc. while they carry the usual academic load as students in other schools. Prime 6 magnet schools include Hoggard (math and science), Gilbert (creative arts and communications), Mackey (leadership and global studies), and Carson (Preparatory Academy of Creative Arts and Technology). Students enroll in the magnet schools through a lottery system.
Empowerment Schools
The Empowerment School Model in CCSD evolves from the belief that the level of accountability expected from teachers and principals should closely connect to the level of autonomy granted. Schools are granted empowerment status based on student achievement. There is a continuum of autonomy linked to school performance. Autonomy is defined as site-based decision-making with regard to instruction, budget, staffing and governance. Funds are sought from the community to support empowerment schools. Presently Booker, Williams, Carson, and Kelly are empowerment schools.
Prime 6 Schools
In 1992, discussion began regarding the re-establishment of neighborhood schools in the Westside and the dismantling of the sixth grade center configuration. The courts (who ordered a desegregation plan) had removed their supervision. After much community input, these schools were reconstituted for the 93-94 school year. In the beginning, K-3 students from the Westside were rezoned to a neighborhood school and some sixth graders from greater Las Vegas continued to be bussed to the schools, hence the name Prime (primary) 6. For the 94-95 school year, fourth and fifth graders were returned to the neighborhoods school and sixth grade students were assigned to a middle school.