-This program brought to you in part by the Erika Lewis Endowment Fund.

-Coming up on Student Spotlight, it's graduation season.

So many seniors to celebrate, including Alex.

Learn how the nonprofit Communities In Schools helped Alex find his power within.

Plus... A $100,000 surprise.

Nineteen students are awarded a Frias Legacy Scholarship.

We were there for the life-changing announcement.

Then find out who was inducted into the CCSD Excellence in Education Hall of Fame.

And honoring May Day, aka Lei Day, at Schorr Elementary School.

Those stories and so much more.

Student Spotlight starts right now.

[swiping sound] Welcome to Student Spotlight.

I'm your host, Maria Silva.

I can't believe this is our very last episode of this season.

As this school year comes to a close, we are celebrating our graduating seniors, the Class of 2026.

And we're here at Charles and Phyllis Frias Elementary for a very special reason.

More on that in just a bit.

You'll want to stick around for that.

But, first, we are shining the spotlight on an inspiring senior at Chaparral High School.

With help from the nonprofit Communities In Schools, he overcame challenges and a serious health diagnosis to gain the confidence to achieve all of his goals.

(Alex Villanueva) Don't let anyone distract you from achieving what you want to do in life.

-Seventeen-year-old Alejandro Alex Villanueva is preparing for graduation after a high school journey that wasn't always easy.

-During freshman year, I kind of had, like, a very low self-esteem.

Like, I didn't really know myself freshman year, you know, new school, new people.

It's hard to find yourself in a whole new environment.

-He first connected with Communities In Schools during the freshman barbecue, initially drawn in by the snacks.

But he quickly found something much more important, support.

-So Miss Priscilla was like, the one to kind of help me figure myself out.

She told me to focus on myself, figure what I like is best for me.

I personally don't know where I would have been without them, you know?

(Priscilla Landero) Like, that's gonna impact your, your GPA better.

-Communities In Schools site coordinator Priscilla Landero remembers meeting Alex at that first school event.

-I still remember his little, tiny little face.

He was so lost.

He was so scared, like what is going on?

-And She quickly became a trusted resource.

-We identify students who need additional support, additional help, and we meet with them one-on-one to see, okay, is your attendance not doing the best?

What can we do to help you with that?

Is it maybe transportation issues?

Is it food at home?

Maybe you're lacking that focus to even come to school.

-Then during Alex's sophomore year, a major health challenge.

-I remember he was gone for a few days of school.

And at that time, like one of his goals that we needed to work on was attendance, being present in school, making sure you're not missing class.

-A Type 1 diabetes diagnosis after a week-long hospital stay.

-It was a rough transition, having to always prick myself, dosing myself with insulin.

You know, it's rough having to do that as a kid, especially because you have to change your whole diet and everything.

You have to eat healthier.

You have to drink healthier.

-But when he returned to school... -I was really surprised when I came back and they had, like, a certain variety of snacks based just for me.

Low-key, I got home and I started crying a bit, because it really showed that they care for every single student that they have here.

-Between managing a new diagnosis, home challenges, and the pressures of high school, Alex admits there were moments he wasn't sure he would graduate.

-I started to have some doubts, especially after my diagnosis.

I fell really behind in my grades and all of my assignments, you know?

I felt like I wasn't like good enough to actually achieve that.

-But with encouragement from his mom and the staff at CIS, Alex found the motivation to keep going.

-He's such a great kid.

He really is.

He's gone through so much.

He's okay now, and so that makes me proud of him.

-And as graduation gets closer, Alex says he's also proud of how far he's come.

-Are you proud of yourself?

-I am, yes, especially with where I'm at now.

Yes, I'm super proud of myself.

-Alex, we are so proud of you, too.

A shout-out to Mr.

Marvin in the Chaparral CIS office as well for helping support Alex.

Alex, by the way, will be attending Southern Utah University in the fall to study Construction Management.

And check this out: Alex was recently honored during a big Communities In Schools event with a "Power Within" award, recognizing students who find the power within themselves to achieve their goals.

Bravo!

Well deserved.

Well, the Public Education Foundation is another wonderful organization working with the Clark County School District and other community partners to award millions and millions of dollars in scholarships each year.

Now, one of those scholarships, the Charles and Phyllis Frias Legacy Scholarship, is based--listen to this--on grit, not grades, and awarded to students who have overcome obstacles in their young lives.

I had the incredible honor of being in the room when these students received this life-changing scholarship.

Check it out.

(Mr.

Mowbray) Congratulations.

You are all going to be awarded a scholarship.

-It was the surprise of a lifetime for 19 high school seniors, each awarded the Frias Legacy Scholarship.

-$100,000 scholarship winners!

-One of these lucky winners, Nassir Hunt, a senior at Centennial High School.

(Nassir Hunt) Just a blessing, a blessing that's going to help me, you know, and a blessing that I never thought I could get.

I never had a scholarship before, and I never think that I could go to college and do what I could do.

So now I have a lot of opportunities, and a door just opened for me.

-Since 2022, the Charles and Phyllis M. Frias Charitable Trust, with the help of the Public Education Foundation, has surprised 77 students to date with this life-changing gift.

(Rich Broome) Charlie Frias died 20 years ago.

Phyllis died 10 years ago.

And yet here we are today, in 2026, and all of these kids will remember and be talking about Charlie and Phyllis Frias for the rest of their lives.

That's 70, 80 more years that the Friases will live on and hopefully with kids who come back to our community and become our leaders the way Charlie and Phyllis were.

-For these future community leaders... -We are so proud!

-...this historic scholarship award ceremony, a memorable family affair.

-My dad and my little brother, Bryce, and my stepmom, Lisa.

My little brother, yeah, my little brother and my family, yeah, definitely.

I have to be a role model for him.

So, yeah, it keeps me going every day.

-And there's no doubt little brother Bryce is Nassir's biggest fan.

(Bryce) I'm proud of my big brother Nass because he did so good in high school.

-100,000!

-100,000!

-Love their special bond.

So very sweet.

Well, there were so many special moments captured during that ceremony.

One of those moments happened when the students were surprised with their huge checks, each check delivered by scholarship recipients of years past, all wearing their "Four Years Debt Free" shirts.

Absolutely amazing.

The Frias Legacy Scholarship was first awarded to nine students in 2022.

We caught up with one of the original scholarship winners who is about to graduate college.

And talk about a full-circle moment, she attended this very school, Frias Elementary, never imagining that years later she would receive the Frias Legacy Scholarship.

(Brooke Gross) So we were all like, What is going on?

And then they pull out this $80,000 check.

And they're like, Brooke Gross.

And like, honestly, I still think about it, like, to this day.

Like that moment was just so insane.

-That insane moment for Brooke Gross happened in 2022 when she was a senior at Desert Oasis High School, one of the first students to receive the Frias Legacy Scholarship.

-It was four years ago now, so just it's crazy to look back and think on it and all that it has done for me.

-What the Frias Legacy Scholarship has done for Brooke is allow her to focus solely on her education, debt free.

-I didn't really have the money.

I didn't really want my dad to have to, like, put himself out to do that.

So it really was just amazing.

And I was able to-- Like, it changed my whole college experience, too, because I never had to worry about financials.

(Tim Gross) Oh, I took it straight to Michael's and had it framed.

-Proud Dad Tim was the first person Brooke called when she received this life-changing gift.

-I was shocked.

It was amazing.

So happy for her and happy-- save, saved me financially.

I'm proud of her.

And she's a go-getter, so she's, she's gonna, do great.

-Brooke, now getting ready for another big milestone.

She will soon be graduating from the University of Nevada, Reno.

-I am majoring in Finance, and I got-- I'm triple minoring in Economics, Business Analytics, and Risk Management, which I'm super excited about.

-As she prepares to embark on her exciting professional journey... -So I interned this previous summer at Marsh McLennan agency.

They just gave me a returning offer to go to their Scottsdale office, so I'll be starting in June.

It's in private client services.

-Brooke has a message for the kind and caring individuals at the Charles and Phyllis M. Frias Charitable Trust, the Public Education Foundation, and all those who helped her along the way.

-It is so wonderful to see people who really care about education and are so selfless that they are putting so much time, money, and effort and energy into providing education for so many individuals.

So thank you so much to them, is what I would want to say, and it's so inspirational.

And honestly, you have inspired me to one day want to do something like this and give back also.

-Congrats, Brooke.

You are an inspiration.

And how's this for another full-circle moment?

Brooke's dad, Tim, through his work, was able to meet Mr.

and Mrs.

Frias, describing the couple as great people and super nice.

Well, another way the Frias' legacy lives on is through this wonderful school named in their honor.

Principal Anderson will join us in just a bit to tell us more about this incredible school and its students.

Well, the Frias Legacy Scholarship, one of several scholarships awarded to deserving students.

And there were more surprises.

Ten students were surprised with the Hispanic and Latino Legacy Scholarship.

Each student awarded their $10,000 scholarship surrounded by their parents, teachers, and loved ones.

And four students were surprised with a Black Girl Magic Scholarship, each receiving a $40,000 scholarship.

So proud of each and every one of these students.

The future definitely looks bright.

Now let's send it to Desert Oasis High School, Brooke's alma mater, for our very first "News Break."

-I'm Kailen from Desert Oasis High School, Home of the Diamondbacks.

-Hi.

And I'm Noelle, also here from Desert Oasis High School.

And we're here with your first "News Break."

-CCSD's Food Service Department was named a Public Health Hero.

The recognition comes from Southern Nevada Health District.

The School District's Food Service Department plays a vital role in combating food insecurity and supporting student health.

Last school year, the Department served nearly 42 million meals, ensuring all students had access to nutritious food at no cost.

Congratulations, and thank you to all that you do for students like us.

-One CCSD middle school has been honored as a Special Olympics Unified Champion School.

Victoria Fertitta Middle School received the honor during a special ceremony with Special Olympics Nevada, ESPN, and the WWE.

Fertitta is one of 45 schools nationwide to make the 2025 ESPN Honor Roll.

Schools are chosen for the honor due to their inclusive school climate, collaboration, and respect for all members of student body and staff.

Fertitta also has a Best Buddies club and took part in the nonprofit's Friendship Walk this month.

We'll have more news around the district, but, for now, we'll send it back to Maria.

-Thank you so much, Kailen and Noelle.

Great job!

Well, Miller Elementary School recently had a groundbreaking ceremony for their new school garden, Miller Meadow.

Check it out.

Planning for the garden has been in the works for over a year now, as school staff and students raised money and wrote grants in order to create the garden.

(Jilly Hauritz) We wanted a place where students could create, could expand what they learn in the classroom and bring it outdoors.

They have already been designing and planning the items that grow best in our climate.

They have been designing using the square footage of the beds to design how many plants we can grow.

So if you can think it, they're learning it out here.

-The school also plans to use the space to host family gatherings and grow fruits and veggies for the Farmers Market.

Good luck.

Well, the school's namesake, Sandy Searles Miller, a former Nevada First Lady, is a 2026 inductee into the CCSD Excellence In Education Hall of Fame.

Other inductees this year: Barbara Chambers.

Her 40-year career with the District transformed opportunities for students with disabilities.

Las Vegas Academy of the Arts, or LVA, a school with exceptional outcomes, top ratings, and near perfect graduation rates.

Nathan Inkenbrandt, a distinguished educator committed to student success, educator support, and community empowerment.

And Joyce Woodhouse, a long-time educator, Nevada State Senator, and Chief of Staff for the Senate Majority Leader.

Sadly, she passed away earlier this month.

And last month, our community lost another powerful voice for education and civil rights, Miss Ruby Duncan.

-I had the incredible honor of spending time with Miss Ruby at her namesake school, Ruby Duncan Elementary, where she visited often and spoke with students about the importance of education and the courage to stand up for what they believe in.

She even did a special Q&A video where she discussed her incredible life and answered questions from her students and staff.

You can find that video on our website, vegaspbs.org.

And the school, we're told, plans to hold a special memorial unveiling on September 24, which is designated as Ruby Duncan Day in North Las Vegas.

Her legacy will no doubt live on through all those she inspired, including past, current, and future CCSD students.

Another kind and caring namesake who I'm told would visit her students as much as possible was Phyllis Frias.

And joining me now is Principal Anderson.

Tell us about the Friases and how their legacy lives on at this beautiful school.

(Jeannine Anderson) Yes.

Well, thank you.

So I unfortunately didn't have the opportunity to meet the Friases.

They passed before my principalship here at Frias.

But we so much love and admire everything they stood for and what they did for Frias and continue to do with their foundation and their Trust that we recently, within the past two years, created a house system where our focus houses are based on characteristics that the Friases embodied.

So we have positivity, tenacity, integrity, and generosity.

And so we have a family within a Frias family.

And we learn about them at the beginning of each year to remind us what they were about, how they dedicated their lives to students in education, and we celebrate each other and, again, their legacy every month in all we do at Frias.

-That makes my heart so happy.

You have also a memorial in their honor.

Tell me about that.

-We do.

So as you know, and we see their name all around the city.

So not just in education, they were admired by the Las Vegas community.

And our cases just share a little bit about their big life and how they were-- they came to Las Vegas, things they did while they were here to establish themselves in the community and all they've done for our school.

-And we have some wonderful video, and we see Mrs.

Frias coming to the school surrounded by her students.

She also took them to Disneyland, correct?

And that tradition continues.

-It continues.

And we actually just came back from our trip about, it's a week or so ago.

Every 5th grade student has the opportunity to attend.

Everything is paid for.

There's gift cards, those students that can attend.

The Trust, also, we do a little bit something special in honor of Charles and Phyllis' generosity.

So again, it's just a very special moment, and there are other things that the Friases do with supporting our house system.

We get shirts for every student.

So again, their generosity lives on every day here at Frias Elementary.

-It sure does.

All right.

Before I leave you, I do need to ask.

You have some very talented students.

I was checking out your "Good morning, Frias."

Tell me about that.

-Yes.

So our phenomenal PE teacher actually works with Student Council and other students who apply to be anchors for the news.

She and they work tirelessly to bring us that news every day, and it helps us to stay on top of what we're doing and just, again, brings fun into our community.

-And they do have so much fun putting it together.

Thank you so much Principal Anderson for what you do.

We're gonna send it over to Desert Oasis High School for our second "News Break."

-Hi.

I'm Kailen from Desert Oasis High School.

-And I'm Noelle.

And we're back with your second "News Break."

-This school year is almost over, but it is already time to start thinking about next school year.

Online registration is open for the 2026-2027 school year.

All families must register their student every year, even if their student is currently enrolled in a CCSD school.

The registration process allows families to update important information, such as parent, guardian, contact information, and emergency contacts.

Families may begin registration process online at ccsd.net/enroll from a computer, phone, or tablet.

The next school year begins Monday, August 10, 2026.

-But before we start looking to next school year, let's take a moment and celebrate the Class of 2026.

The District is recognizing its star graduates from every high school across social media and its websites.

Each of these students has made an incredible impact over the past four years.

From our school, Armen Khachaturyan is in the spotlight, a standout speech and debate student who also cofounded the mock trial during his junior year.

Congratulations to all the Clark County School District graduates, including me and Kailen.

Our future is just getting started.

-Thank you for visiting DO.

And if you want to learn more about our school and our video production class, visit our website.

But for now, we'll send it back to Maria.

-Amazing job.

Thank you so much, Kailen and Noelle, both proud seniors.

And for all of the more than 20,000 high school seniors throughout the Clark County School District, a very special message from Superintendent Jhone Ebert.

(Jhone Ebert) 2026 CCSD graduates, congratulations!

You've made it.

All of your hard work has paid off.

Now you have that diploma.

You are going to the next level.

I can't wait to see you come back as a CCSD alumni and share all of your successes, everything that you've accomplished.

Congratulations again.

Wishing you the best.

-Love that message.

Thank you so much, Superintendent Ebert.

Well, did you know May Day is also Lei Day in Hawaii?

It is an important day to celebrate the aloha spirit, kindness, and connection.

We visited Schorr Elementary School for a special celebration.

-Aloha!

And now let's begin the show.

(Jill Munemitsu) May Day is a special day in Hawaii.

It's also known as Lei Day, and it started in the 1920s.

And it is a celebration of leis, the making of leis, the giving of leis, and sharing that aloha spirit with others.

-Let's welcome UNLV's Ewalu Club for their special performance.

[performing] -In addition to our students here at Schorr, I also contacted Liberty High School, their Polynesian Club and UNLV's Ewalu Club, which is their Polynesian club there.

And I just said, Would you like to come and help celebrate this day with our students?

And they were more than happy to do so.

When I started teaching here, I knew that I wanted to bring my Hawaiian culture to school in some way.

I just wanted to instill the aloha spirit to teach 700 kids about our culture and give them an opportunity that they may not have had outside of school.

(Londyn) I've been dancing for five years.

I like Tahesian because it's just so many moves, and I like it.

(Roman) Dance has brought to me joy and culture, learning different things about the islands and everything.

(Kesi) I like cheering on for people.

And they kind of, if you, like, cheer back for them, they cheer back for you.

-You know, hopefully they learned a little bit about Hawaii and May Day and, you know, just to treat each other with kindness and to remember to enjoy life every day.

(Grayden) I do hula with my mom.

I actually performed, like, three times.

It's from Hawaii and it's also cultural.

(Elsi) I think it's good to teach other people about our culture so, like, they know how to dance and then they can see what we do with dancing.

-One of the best parts about this, today's presentation, was that it was so engaging.

And I just kept looking in the crowd, and I just kept seeing smiling faces.

And that brought me so much joy.

It actually brought me to tears midway, and I was just so proud of, you know, bringing this together and to be able to share it with our class, you know, with our school.

It just brought so much joy to me and hopefully everyone else.

-Say aloha!

-Aloha!

-So much fun.

Thank you so much for the invitation to Lei Day.

Well, the Clark County School District is home to so many outstanding teachers like Ms.

Munemitsu at Schorr Elementary School, who we just met.

And during this month's Teacher Appreciation Week, the District and our community came together to celebrate our amazing teachers.

Special events and activities took place across the entire valley, including Teacher Appreciation Night with the Las Vegas Aces.

A half dozen educators were also given four tickets each to the A's Las Vegas series coming up this June.

Lied STEM Academy even got a Teachers' Lounge refreshed thanks to Walker Furniture, and the College Football Playoff Foundation recognized an exceptional math teacher at Greenspun Middle School with the Extra Yard for Teachers award, which includes a $50,000 investment toward a classroom makeover.

Now, we know the impact of our teachers goes far beyond the classroom, and we truly appreciate all that you do.

You are all so awesome.

And speaking of awesome, America is full of awesome kids.

And this summer, some of those awesome kids will be featured in a new series you can watch on YouTube and right here on Vegas PBS during Alma's Way at 12:30 p.m.

And one of the kids featured in the series is from right here in Las Vegas.

-Hi.

I'm Charlize, but also known as Chacha.

-That is Chacha, and she goes to Derfelt Elementary School.

In her story, you get to meet her, her mom and dad, plus her sisters and her dog, Lulu, and see how talented she is when she performs at a food festival in downtown Las Vegas and learn all about how she honors her Vietnamese-American heritage.

Watch all the America's Awesome Kids shorts, beginning May 22 on PBS Kids and on the America's Awesome Kids YouTube channel.

Special, thanks to Chacha and her family for letting us tell her story.

I had so much fun.

Well, that does it for this episode and the school year.

Can you believe it?

Don't forget you can watch this episode, past episodes of Student Spotlight on the Vegas PBS website or our YouTube page.

Class of 2026, we are so proud of you and know you have amazing futures ahead.

We are going to leave you with some behind the scenes photos from the school years.

We visited dozens and dozens of schools.

Thank you for sharing your stories with us.

Have a wonderful summer, everyone!

And we will see you next September for Student Spotlight.

♪♪♪