Joe Hogan
Nevada State Assembly District 10
Issues
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Helping Students
Helping Every Student Succeed in School
Compliments of Assemblyman Joe Hogan
2208 Plaza De La Candela
Las Vegas, NV 89102
702-365-0505
Nothing is more important to a student’s success in school than the involvement of his or her family.
My kids are grown now, but I remember well going to soccer games and swim meets and how important I always felt it was to be involved in their education. Now, when I visit the schools in my district, teachers frequently tell me how much they value parents who get involved and what a difference parental involvement can make in a student’s success.
I hear from parents all the time that they would like to get involved, but don’t know where to start.
Below are several links with tips on how you can get involved and help your children or grandchildren succeed in school. Here are a few that I think are particularly helpful---
· Instill in your children a love of reading. Read to your younger children and take them to the library. Keep books around the house and let them see you reading.
· Set aside a quiet place for homework without TV, music or cell phones. If possible, have a special “homework” time that is consistent every day.
· Talk to your children about school every day—what they are learning, what they feel good about, their frustrations.
· Attend Open House and other school events. Keep up with school activities on the school district website.
Resources to Help You Get Involved
Clark County School District---You can find and track your students’ grades and get information on how you can get involved in your children’s or grandchildren’s school by visiting www.ccsd.net and clicking on “Parents.”
Nevada State Parent Information and Resource Center (PIRC)—PIRC’s website has a wide variety of suggestions of activities parents and grandparents can do with their students. Their website is http://www.nevadapirc.org.
Parent Teacher Association—the National PTA has tips on helping students with homework, instilling a love for reading, and working with teachers to help your students succeed. Visit www.PTA.org, click on “Topics” and then on “Student Success.”
US Department of Education—For a series of online brochures on topics ranging from helping your students with science and math to getting prepared for college, visit www.ed.gov and click on “Parents.”
New Legislation to Help You Participate in School
The 2009 Legislature enacted a new law requiring businesses with 50 or more employees to provide their employees up to four hours of unpaid leave a year to attend school activities or to volunteer in their children’s school. For more information on how this law works, please visit www.leg.state.nv.us. You can call or email me and I will send you a copy of the legislation.
School Safety—Protecting Kids on the Way to School
Making sure our kids are safe as they go to and from school is critical. The Legislature enacted a law in 2007 that gives school police the authority to issue traffic citations around schools for speeding, double-parking and parking in “No Parking” zones.
If your children walk to school, be sure you have chosen the safest route. Make sure they do not deviate from this route.
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Water Pipeline vs. Water Conservation
As many of you may know, I have been very cautious about the plans of the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) to build a hugely expensive 300+ mile water pipeline system. The following statement summarizes my views on this important issue.
1. What will it cost? The SNWA seldom states any cost figures, but when pressed, may suggest two or three billion dollars. Some believe 300-plus miles of pipeline to be built in the 2013-2018 timeframe would cost more like $6-10 billion or more. No approval should be considered until we have reliable, detailed estimates of the costs.2. What will be the environmental effects? Until late 2006, the federal agencies responsible for protecting the planet all had serious objections. Suddenly, just hours before a September, 2006 state hearing on environmental concerns, the four federal agencies abruptly withdrew all their objections. Before any vote on this is taken, we need to know how the predicted environmental disaster can be avoided and whether the federal agencies will again pursue their earlier concerns.
3. Can the SNWA handle such a project? Recent revelations of waste and overspending on the Springs Preserve, purchasing huge ranches for 3-5 times their actual value, and paying Washington lobbyists hundreds of thousands of dollars year after year with no competition (for information easily obtained without cost from our federal congressional delegation) raise critical questions about organizational competence. The County Commission must consider establishing a pipeline authority if we were to go forward.
Finally, we must consider that last month’s sudden demand for an immediate decision probably results from SNWA's realization that citizens know we will have very limited growth in coming years and that more effective conservation programs, especially conservation pricing of water, may eliminate the need for a pipeline altogether.
Any Board Member who supports this unneeded early commitment without hard data on cost, conservation and competence of SNWA is putting the future of our valley and the economy of our state at risk. Common sense demands that we first answer these critical questions before committing our citizens to fund what could become the largest and most expensive project ever considered in Nevada.
