Take the Yellow Bus Tour

The annual Yellow Bus Tour recently took community representatives to various schools in Churchill County to see learning programs and technology within the school district.

The morning tour made stops at Numa and Lahontan elementary schools, Churchill County High School and the final destination, Churchill County Middle School. Kenny Mitchell, CCSD’s director of transportation, drove the school bus to each site for the 20 passengers. Before he pulled out from the middle school bus lane, he explained the buses will have the technology in the future to scan a bar code associated with a passenger and then track students when they board or step off the bus.

The transportation system covers thousands of miles every year. Mitchell said the reach for busing students extends to the east at Middlegate and to the west at Lahontan Reservoir.

A 5-minute ride across town took the Yellow Bus Tour to Numa where Principal Shawn Purrell gave an overview of the school and its programs. He said Numa experienced 100 percent growth during the last school year, and the English Language Learners program has 36 students. Furthermore, Purrell said a Robotic Club began last year with seven students. He said the first meeting this year “packed the kids in.”

Even with the teacher shortage affecting Nevada schools, he said Numa is fully staffed, but two positions were filled with emergency hires, on in this case, retired teachers. Superintendent Summer Stephens said student teachers are finished with their programs and ready to launch their careers.

Katie Drieseng worked with Numa’s fourth and fifth graders with literary intervention. She has 25 students that are divided into groups of five to seven pupils. After the Christmas break, the school will see if other students need her help.

“If they miss something in the classroom, they get it from me,” she said.

Drieseng said more students needed her help than anticipated.

“Katie’s job is to support teachers as a reading specialist,” Stephens said.

Michelle Richardson also said the school district plans to introduce a Discovery Lab at Numa, similar to the one at CCMS. Stephens added some of the STEM instruction (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) is integrated into regular classes.

Stephens said the school district has been working with JOIN to build work-base learning. Middle-school students, for example, will be exposed to more opportunities through career fairs.

The next stop took the travelers to CCHS. The Yellow Bus Tour participants first saw music teacher Tom Fleming preparing his strings students for a dinner and performance held last weekend.

“The string orchestra is so important to our schools,” Fleming said.

Adjacent to the music room is the school’s auditorium, a hall that comfortably seats about 300 people. Drama instructor and director Glen Perazzo was putting the finishing touches on the set for a school play.

“This is one of the best stages and play areas in the state,” Perazzo boasted.

Stephens said the drama program offers great opportunities for the students.

“It’s amazing what we have in our town,” Winter said.

The second-year principal cited the stage at the Fallon Theatre and also Barkley Theater at the Oats Park Arts Center.

Once outside at the quad, Winter told the bus-tour group that additional security is planned for the area. He explained how fencing with gates that swing outward would be built at the school’s corners.

“All the separate buildings present challenges,” he said.

The tour group visited the auto mechanics area and the FFA’s hoop houses. The visitors also learned how cafeteria improvements in food preparation are increasing the number of students who stay during lunch.

Winter said the school is focusing on the skill sets students need. For example, he said CCHS students will be able to obtain a welding certificate. Currently, the school has 16 welding bays in the shop area. Students can also earn an ASE certificate in auto mechanics, and in wood shop, he said students are building sheds.

Across the campus lies Lahontan Elementary School. Principal Kimi Melendy said the school houses 485 students in kindergarten and first grade, which breaks down to 12 classes for each grade.

After the participants boarded the bus for the return trip to the middle school, Nate Waite, CCSD’s NWRPDP facilitator, summarized future needs for students.

“Everything we do is centered on the kids and helping them choose what they want to do in life,” he said.

Waite and Stephens said the school district is part of the community and strives to be a community partner.

After lunch, the Yellow Bus Tour participants attended a session to learn about Google Expeditions Exploration. According to Google’s website, “Google Expeditions is an immersive education app that allows teachers and students to explore the world through over 1,000 virtual-reality (VR) and 100 augmented-reality (AR) tours. You can swim with sharks, visit outer space, and more without leaving the classroom.”