Washoe County School District trustees tomorrow are scheduled to vote on graduation plans for June.
In-person ceremonies for graduating seniors are scheduled mostly for Lawlor Events Center due to capacity and resource constraints at schools.
Superintendent Kristen McNeill, as part of the agenda for tomorrow’s school board meeting, is recommending the in-person graduations.
They will have to follow Gov. Steve Sisolak’s COVID-19 directives. Graduations in 2020 were drive-through and virtual, but in person graduations were back in 2021.
School staff cited “overwhelming community support” for in-person ceremonies.
Other agenda items
$26 million in federal COVID-19 funding
The Board of Trustees will consider the final third of federal grants to the district for COVID-19 relief. A budget for $26 million in federal grants is for “assisting schools to return safely to in-person instruction, sustain safe operations of schools, address the academic, social, emotional, and mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, implement accelerated learning, provide social and emotional health services, provide programming to address the unique needs of students most impacted by the pandemic, maintenance, health/ventilation/air conditioning systems, technology, addressing staff shortages with robust training, and other activities necessary to maintain operation of services.”
Telehealth for students
Schools are considering increasing telehealth for students.
“As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, isolation that has occurred as a result and associated impacts to mental well-being, less formal telehealth delivery of mental health supports has been conducted at select sites,” staff noted. “Principal satisfaction with these services has been positive and there have been multiple requests to expand these offerings. Telehealth services, both medical and mental health, are being delivered in other Nevada school districts.”
