From state's lowest rating to four stars: North Las Vegas school makes dramatic turnaround

Editor's note: Este artículo está traducido al español.

When Amanda Lush took over as principal at Quannah McCall Elementary in early 2020, the school had the state’s lowest rating — and the pandemic hadn’t even hit.

Now, five and a half years later, the North Las Vegas school has climbed from a one-star school to a four-star school — just shy of the state’s top rating — as children improved their performance on standardized math and English language arts tests and reduced their chronic absenteeism in the 2024-25 school year. These are key metrics in determining how a school fares in the state’s five-star Nevada School Performance Framework.

Star ratings were released Monday.

“I have waited my whole life to tell you what I already knew. I knew it in my heart. I just knew it,” Lush said, just before launching paper streamers toward the rafters of the lunchroom, where she had gathered teachers under the guise of a team-building exercise during a training day. “Quannah McCall is a four-star school.”

Few schools in the Clark County School District made the gains that McCall did. The district said more than 130 of its schools improved their star ratings on the Nevada Department of Education’s public-school rating system; only 19 improved by two or more stars.

The state calculates scores based on proficiency and growth in English language arts and math, attendance and, where applicable, graduation rates, advanced coursework opportunities and credit sufficiency.

“To improve in just one area is a massive lift in itself,” CCSD Superintendent Jhone Ebert said.

Although exact updated proficiency levels were not available Monday, an effect of the August cyberattack on the state’s computer networks, CCSD’s elementary schools had 42.2% proficiency in English language arts and 36.7% in math overall in 2023-24.

McCall’s were lower at 27.4% and 26.5%, respectively.

McCall’s progress brought it from one star to two stars two years ago. According to the state, a two-star school has “partially met the state’s standard for performance.” Overall, they are not far below the standard for proficiency or growth but there is room for improvement, and a two-star school may be inconsistent in meeting expectations for closing opportunity gaps.

Lush attributed the growth to a focus on the basics in reading, writing and arithmetic.

The improvements seen in CCSD are reflected statewide. The number of five- and four-star schools across Nevada increased compared with the previous year.

In total, 17% of schools across Nevada earned a five-star rating — up from 11.2% during the 2023-24 school year. Additionally, 13.5% of schools received a four-star rating, compared with 10.7% the previous year.

Three schools — Frank Kim, Daniel Goldfarb and Marshall C. Darnell elementary schools — gained three stars since 2024.

Sixteen schools improved by two stars. Those include: Jan Jones Blackhurst, James I. Gibson, Ernest J. May, Quannah McCall, Lucille S. Rogers and Tyrone Thompson elementary schools.

The middle schools that earned two-star improvements included: Fertitta, Fremont, Garrett, Johnston, Mannion, Miller and Del Webb middle schools.

Additionally, Sandy Searles Miller Academy for International Studies, Mission High School, and Innovations International Charter Junior High School (a CCSD-sponsored school) had two-star improvements.

“It’s encouraging news that more of our state’s public schools are earning higher star ratings,” Steve Canavero, Nevada’s interim superintendent of public instruction, said in a statement. “This reflects the hard work and dedication of our educators, administrators, staff, students and families. I am also grateful for the historic state investment in public education and initiatives such as early literacy that aim to ensure that our students and educators have the resources they need to succeed.”

McCall is situated in a low-income, inner-city area of North Las Vegas. Many families in McCall’s attendance zone struggle to find employment and stay housed, school counselor Gianna Rodriguez said. She said the school has family nights to keep parents and students engaged in education.

“Our kids deserve this. They have worked so hard. Our teachers have worked so hard. Our administration, everyone, has worked so hard to get to this,” she said. “Our families are five-star families. Now they get to see that in the school. They deserve it.”

A complete list of ratings by school is available here.