northern Nevada Schools Show Slight Progress in Latest ‘Star’ Ratings
Reno, Nev. - Recent star ratings released by the Nevada Department of Education (NDE) through the Nevada School Performance Framework (NSPF) indicate modest gains for schools across Northern Nevada. The ratings, based on metrics including chronic absenteeism, standardized test scores, and graduation rates, assign schools a rating from one to five stars.
The Washoe County School District (WCSD) experienced an increase, gaining seven five-star schools this year, bringing the total to 20. Depoali Middle School exemplified this progress, increasing its rating by two stars, from three to five. The Carson City School District also demonstrated advancement, collectively increasing its star rating by six points.
Despite these gains, the overall picture reveals room for improvement. With 118 WCSD schools ranked, the district average remains around 2.8 stars.
“In all of those different areas, we did see a large amount of growth, and with all of that together kind of creates the whole picture of growth that we’re seeing,” said Kendra Carlsen, Principal at Depoali Middle School. She attributed the school’s success to focused efforts and effective delegation. “We did a good job I really feel of structuring that and delegating that out to people in the building who coudl run and support those different areas and make sure that we’re bringing in the appropriate resources, reaching out for the appropriate support at the district level and within the community.”
District leadership plans to maintain its current strategies. “We’re going to continue to stay the course with where we are.We want to make sure that we are still pinpoint and laser focused in all different areas and make sure we’re putting very capable people at the forefront of leading those different areas,” Carlsen stated.
It’s certainly worth noting that access to detailed school-by-school breakdowns is currently limited due to ongoing issues stemming from last month’s cyberattack impacting state government websites.
The complete list of overall star ratings is available here.