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

-Coming up on Student Spotlight...

It's not just jazz hands.

The lifelong lessons students learn as part of the Thurman White Academy of the Performing Arts Show Choir.

Then... celebrating Black History Month.

We catch up with students preparing for the African American History Challenge.

Plus... a closer look at how to get students to school safely.

And... the big game means a big donation.

Meet some absolutely super kids from our schools.

Those stories and so much more.

Student Spotlight starts right now.

♪♪♪ [swiping sound] Thank you so much for joining us.

I'm your host, Maria Silva.

Well, getting students to and from school safely is so very important.

The past few months, several local students have been injured while walking or bicycling on our valley roads.

Safe Routes to School is an international program that supports the safety of students who walk or ride bicycles to school campuses.

In light of recent events, we wanted to take a closer look at this important program that educates students and adult drivers.

It is a program that can potentially save lives.

♪♪♪ (Jennifer Grube) There are so many benefits of having students walk, walking and rolling to school.

It helps their mentality.

They're happy.

They love being out with their friends, being able to get that active participation of one hour a day being fit.

But it also helps reduce our pollution that we get in the air, and it helps reduce traffic congestion within schools, which is a big deal right now.

(Morgan) Sometimes, I ride halfway and then I ride my bike, cuz I don't want to get into like an accident.

(Harleidh) So my grandma drops me off at my friend's house, and I walk.

I get to talk to my friend on the way to school.

-So Rocket Rules is a new collaboration between the CCSD Police Services and Safe Routes to School.

And it's an interactive red dog that is on the screen, and he gets to communicate to the students live through a Google Meet session.

Ready?

Everybody show me right turn.

Good.

Everybody show me left turn.

Everybody showed me stop.

Awesome job!

Great job!

-I really thought that they made it fun and easy to learn about at the same time.

(Sergeant Juan Wibowo) The most powerful tool that we have, just education.

One thing that I want to teach kids, the most important thing, is to be safe.

To use your senses to look for vehicles, to listen, and make-- and just make sure that you stop, not be in such a hurry and just slow down a little bit, and look for cars.

If you do that, then you can stay a lot safer.

-So we're going to demonstrate how to properly wear a helmet.

Can I get somebody to come up here to demonstrate wearing a helmet?

You, sir.

And what's your name?

-The Safe Routes to School program is federally funded.

There's actually a Safe Routes to School program in every state.

We also do other programs throughout the day to educate our students about bike mechanics, bike safety, and young driving safety.

We don't just focus on students.

We reach out to our committee members and our parents and people that drive on a day-to-day basis.

-Just slow it down.

Show a little bit of kindness, a little bit of patience.

And that's the most important thing.

These are not only kids, but it might be your kids.

-Safe Routes to School offers both CCSD students and adult drivers approachable, enjoyable lessons in safety and awareness.

And you can learn more at engage.ccsd.net under "Parent Resources."

Well, February is Black History Month, and students across the district are preparing for the African American History Challenge.

It is an academic quiz show that airs right here on Vegas PBS.

We caught up with high schoolers at Advanced Technologies Academy as they prepare to compete.

(Aaron) So right now what we're doing is we're preparing for the African American History Challenge.

(Olivia) It's kind of like Jeopardy, where we quiz each other these history questions.

And we study over trivia, and we also retain this information.

(Sophiat) There are definitely questions that most people would not know.

(Evangelos) You have to study.

It's a lot of studying.

It's just another, it's basically another classroom we're going into.

So as long as we have-- A-Tech teaches those good studying habits.

So you know, it's just another class.

-According to Pew Research Center, approximately what percentage of businesses are owned by black women?

-29%.

(Aaron) We like to divide up the work between our group.

So one person, for example, will take two categories and study them very, very well.

And then we just really just try and practice because practice makes perfect.

-I am studying the visual arts as well as music, and I didn't know a lot about how black people have impacted opera music.

And so I believe that that was an insane fact.

And I just really enjoyed that.

African American history is, honestly, inspiring.

A lot of the stories that I've come across are, frankly, something that I've never known about before.

And I want other people to know about them as well.

-Being able to educate yourself on things of this nature is just a really powerful tool.

-As someone who personally went to a PWI, a predominantly white institution, I didn't know a lot about my history as a black person.

And so I believe that knowing these basic foundational facts about our history, it's very important for us to be able to advertise it and portray us as, as positive.

-I think no matter what your ethnic or racial background is, you have a duty to learn what's been going on for, you know, the past 300 years.

And I think, as someone who isn't necessarily part of the black community, I have a lot of friends who are, and I guess this is just a way for me to learn more about their culture.

-I want people to know how great African Americans can be in the Las Vegas community, especially African American youth.

-I just love learning about my history.

-So proud of all of these students.

Good luck to Team A-Tech and, of course, all of the teams competing this year.

The Clark County Black Caucus and CCSD's Black Student Union hosts the challenge.

We had the chance to sit down with organizers and some additional competitors to learn more about the significance of this wonderful competition.

(Bea) Black history is American history, that we are successful.

We are doctors, we are chefs, we are artists, and we're not going away anytime soon.

-And what about you, Kalyn?

(Kalyn) And I would like to take away about us educating each other.

It's important that as a black community that we educate each other and learn about our facts, because sometimes-- most of the facts, I really didn't know about until I did that history challenge.

So it's important to educate each one of us.

-And you can catch our entire conversation online at vegaspbs.org.

Then don't miss this year's African American History Challenge.

It debuts on Monday, February 26 at 7:30 p.m., right here on Vegas PBS.

Now let's head to Spring Valley High School for our first "News Break."

-Hi, I'm Zaydeus.

-Hi, I'm Gabe with Spring Valley High School Grizzly News Network.

We're here with your first "News Break."

-The Clark County School Board of Trustees now has four new appointed members.

The new trustees took their oath of office last month.

Trustee Ramona Esparza-Stoffregan represents the City of Henderson, Trustee Adam Johnson represents the City of Las Vegas, Trustee Lisa Satory represents Clark County, and Trustee Dane Watson represents the City of North Las Vegas.

The new trustees will now serve four-year terms as non-voting members.

-The Board also elected new officers for the 2024 calendar year.

Trustee Evelyn Garcia Morales was named President.

She represents District C. Trustee Irene Bustamante Adams will serve as Vice President.

She represents District F. And Trustee Lisa Guzman is Clerk.

She represents District A.

You'll hear from Trustee Guzman later when students from Foothill High School interview her.

-And before we send it back to the studio, we have some great news from Spring Valley.

We earned four stars and the NSPF Rating Scale.

Spring Valley earned 80 index points, the highest in our school's history.

82 points is a perfect five-star rating.

So we are super close.

We are very proud of our school community for all of their hard work.

-In the next "News Break," Dani with Grizzly News Network highlights one of Spring Valley's very own star athletes.

But now, back to Maria in the studio.

-Thank you so much, Gabe and Zaydeus.

Great job!

And congratulations to everyone at Spring Valley for the four-star rating.

And speaking of stellar schools, 35, you heard right, 35 CCSD magnet programs were just recognized nationally for excellence by Magnet Schools of America.

And among those honored, Thurman White Academy of the Performing Arts.

We stopped by the Henderson middle school to learn more about its talented Show Choir.

[bee vocal warmup] (Kaleb) Vocal warmups are to get your body set, like your diaphragm and mouth and like your throat and all that.

(Ava) Which help our voices get ready to sing more intricate pieces.

(Athena Mertes) We focus on breath support, stage presence.

We focus on dancing.

So when we're doing this exercise, it helps us warm up our voice.

It helps us with agility and scale.

-So our Show Choir group is comprised of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students, and we really focus on singing and dancing and becoming a complete performer.

(Zoe) I've learned multitasking because a lot of people don't really think about it, like, how you're singing and dancing while you're performing.

But it takes more than you expect.

Like you need facial expressions, you need energy, but you also need to sing all at the same time.

(Violet) When you put it together, it's really hard.

But it's also really fun.

It's a very fun experience.

-The greatest thing about teaching this class is that you watch students, especially if they're in it for three years, you watch students really figure out who they are and have the confidence to stand up on stage and just own the stage and deliver their voice, deliver their singing, to a group of people.

(Kaleb) So last year, I was really shy.

And I didn't even want to hold a mic or go on stage in front of people.

But when I found my self-confidence, I started going out and putting myself out more.

And I started just to like go with the flow, basically, and like have more self-confidence.

-Being in this group just opens up a lot of new experiences.

What I've learned is just never be afraid of being who you are and never be afraid to just put yourself out there.

-When you're performing, you need to have confidence.

Confidence is like number one, always.

And it's taught me how to have confidence.

-I really feel like these skills transfer to anywhere in life.

Whether you're going to be a teacher, a lawyer, a doctor, a business person, you have to be able to talk to a crowd of people, and you have to feel confident enough in yourself that you can deliver what you're going to say.

-At the end of the day, just be yourself.

-I came out of my shell.

And like also the performances, when you're done, it's like you reflect.

And it's just amazing.

-Bravo!

What dedication!

Great job to all of you.

So talented.

Well, Thurman White Show Choir just returned from an awesome field trip to the happiest place on earth, Disneyland.

Students worked with Disney staff to learn how to record voiceovers for movies.

So very cool.

Thank you so much for sharing all of these photos of your awesome trip.

Well, high school seniors face, of course, a time of great transition as they prepare to take the first big steps into adulthood.

At one CCSD high school, students can access "The Post."

It is a place for students to find the tools needed to succeed after they graduate.

Vegas PBS Media Crew member and Sierra Vista High School student Ezekiel has that report.

[shutter sound] -Hi, I'm Ezekiel Day from Sierra Vista High School, and I'm part of the Vegas PBS Media Crew.

Today I'd like to shed some light on an important aspect for the academic journey for students in our community.

Many high school students are unsure about what career path to pursue or where to begin their college search.

That's where the Post-Secondary Center comes in.

It's a one-stop shop for everything students need to prepare for college and career success.

What is The Post?

(Sara Rolen) The Post is short for the Post-Secondary Center here at Sierra Vista High School.

And really, it is a space that is multipurpose and welcoming to make sure that all students have an opportunity to have a place where they can go to develop their future career plans and to get the support that they need.

-How does the Post-Secondary Center help students prepare for college and career success?

-When students come to me the first time, if they're not 100% sure what they want to do with their future, the first thing we do is some self-exploration activities.

So we learn a little bit about their strengths and weaknesses, what their interests are, and how that might relate to possible career options for the future.

Once we've narrowed it down a little bit, we do a little bit more digging, some more education on those options, and then it's exposure, taking field trips, bringing in guest speakers, and really making sure the students know what their opportunities are.

And then finally, it's support.

I'm here to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to reach their future goals no matter what that looks like.

-The Center offers college and career counseling, college application assistance, job readiness training, and much more.

How has the Post-Secondary Center helped you so far in your college career planning?

(Habeniom) The Post gives me an opportunity to like actually focus on college-specific stuff, such as scholarships.

(Sienna) For me, The Post introduced me to some colleges that ultimately seemed like unobtainable at the moment, such as Princeton.

They came and visited us and gave us information that made it seem more realistic for me to go there and introduced me to other colleges like GCU.

That wasn't something that was on my radar, but in making my college decision, it was one of my top two decisions.

-What advice would you give to other students visiting The Post for the first time?

-Go to them yourself and make the first move.

Take the initiative, because for me, The Post was such a great help, and I wouldn't be as productive as I was.

And so I'd recommend they take the initiative to go first.

-Everything's obtainable.

You can do whatever you need to do, especially with the help of Ms. Rolen and The Post.

-What do you think makes The Post-Secondary Center an important aspect here at Vista?

(Jessica Lovell) I'm really excited about The Post-Secondary Center because I think kids really need a place to go to say, What am I going to do after high school?

And up until this time, they don't really think about what happens after high school.

And so either that or they just think college, college, college.

But the reality is that there are so many options that are not college that our kids can benefit from.

-Thanks to The Post-Secondary Center, students have access to the necessary tools and knowledge to chart their own paths for success.

With the guidance provided here, not only does it prepare students for the future, but it also inspires them to shape it.

The Post-Secondary Center serves as a critical resource for students in our community.

I'm Ezekiel Day with the Vegas PBS Media Crew signing off from Vista Station News here at Sierra Vista High School.

-Thank you so much, Ezekiel, for that excellent report.

Now to Foothill High School where students continue our series on interviews with members of the CCSD School Board of Trustees.

Foothill students Shiloh and Chris sat down with Trustee Lisa Guzman who represents their district, District A.

(Chris) Let's just jump right into the interview here.

So why did you want to become a trustee for CCSD?

(Lisa Guzman) That is a good question and a question that I'm asked a lot.

When I ran for trustee, I had been working as the Executive Director of the Education Support Employees Association.

And one thing that I noticed is the culture of the District, and I wanted to change it.

I wanted employees to feel respected, to feel like they were excited to come to school, because their working environment is a student's learning environment.

And if a staff member is excited to be here, then the students will be excited to be here.

And that was really important to me.

And what I was finding was that employees were not excited to be at school sites.

And students, there was fighting and things.

Remember that when I decided to run, it was pre-COVID.

Actually, the Friday that I filed to run for trustee, it was the Friday before everything shut down.

And I actually have worked towards changing the culture in the District.

-So why-- so you've announced that you're not running for re-election?

-Oh, you read my Twitter.

[laughter] -Why have you decided to not re-run?

-So that's a great question.

So being a trustee takes a lot of time.

People don't realize it.

They think that it's just one Wednesday work session and a couple of school board meetings.

But actually, it's a full-time job.

And I also have a full-time job.

And so it takes a lot out of you.

And one of the things that I really worked hard to do is connect with the community.

I wanted the community to know who their trustee was.

Because when I started living in the community, I didn't know.

And one of the things that I really enjoy is watching meetings.

So I started watching my school board meetings, just trying to figure out how things were run here.

My son at the time was a junior in high school, and I was trying to determine where he was going to go to high school.

And I noticed that when I asked my neighbor, Do you know who our trustee is?

She had no idea.

And I didn't want that to happen.

All of my neighbors know I'm their trustee.

You know?

And when I go to the grocery store, people do recognize me.

Is it the purple hair?

Maybe.

But they know I'm their trustee, and they're excited to meet me, to talk to me, and I have loved that.

But I don't see running again and going through the same type of 4-3 voting bloc as being positive for the district.

I think someone else needs to step in my place and not be a lightning rod the way I am and advocate for our kids.

-Thank you so much Shiloh, Chris, and Trustee Guzman.

There is a lot more from this interview that you can find online.

Shiloh and Chris asked about teacher salaries, class sizes, and so much more.

Watch the whole conversation on the Vegas PBS website or YouTube page.

Really great questions.

Great job to our wonderful students.

And now back to Spring Valley High School for our second "News Break."

(Dani) Hi, I'm Dani from Spring Valley High School back with your second "News Break."

For this news break, I want you to meet the star Varsity Point Guard from our Spring Valley Basketball Team.

Here's a part of my recent report "Hooping with Alijah."

(Alijah) So I mean, what's the video?

I'm Alijah Adem, Spring Valley High School Varsity Point Guard.

[indistinct] [laughter] -Alijah has gained a lot of attention from the media and college scouts, including 71 colleges across the country.

He has only played one year of high school basketball and is still one of the top-ranked players in Nevada, being ranked 7 by Prep Hoops.

He was out for the season his junior year due to a knee injury but was still receiving a lot of media coverage by Prep Hoops on TikTok and on Instagram.

Today, we're going to talk to him on how he's feeling going into his senior season while we hoop.

-Toss it.

Hey, hold on a minute.

-According to MaxPreps, you're one of the most sought after players for 2024.

So how did your injury affect your recruitment?

-Well, it affected it like, you know-- She made it --see like who really wants me for me and who else just wants me because of the hype.

So it like really showed me who's there for me and just as a person.

-Awesome.

Isn't it crazy you're one of the most sought after players when you've only played one year of high school basketball?

-Yeah.

I don't really think of it like that.

But yeah, I don't really like talking about myself.

I'd just like to thank God that He's able to bless me with my talents and I'm able to use it to help me and my team win.

-Throughout your injury, what motivated you to keep going?

-I'll say just knowing what I want for myself.

I didn't want like, an injury to stop me.

But I'll say for sure my dad, my parents, of course God.

I felt I had a lot of people depending on me.

A lot of people hit me up after my injury that look up to me, and they said they can't wait see me back.

I felt I was quitting on them if I quit on myself kind of.

Come over here.

I say lose motivation like, because you're not always gonna be motivated to do something.

So I'll say, when I tried to, when I was unmotivated, I just tried to stay like consistent.

And like, yeah, just knowing that motivation is like a fleet feeling.

It comes and goes.

So yeah.

Next question.

-Well, have you thought about going to school anywhere yet?

-High School?

No, I was just playing.

-What college?

You got any offers from anywhere?

-Yeah, I got offers.

I got University of Colorado, Colorado State, I got Princeton, Stanford, UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine, Pepperdine.

They be on me heavy.

-Which one are you leaning towards?

-Yeah.

[inaudible] Yeah.

-Oh, my gosh!

That's a good one.

If you want to see more reports like this, visit Spring Valley High School on YouTube.

Now back to Maria at the studio.

-Wonderful job.

Thank you so much, Dani.

Well, from basketball to football and creating positive legacies that will last long after the big game... That is a goal of the NFL in each of the Super Bowl host cities.

Here in fabulous Las Vegas, the NFL hosted more than 30 charitable activities and outreach events leading up to the big game.

One of those outreach events was the Super Kids-Super Sharing donation project.

We were there as CCSD students took part in this very special event.

And I can tell you, it was a win-win situation for all involved.

[singing] -The talented students from K.O.

Knudson's Chamber Choir, including 7th grader Nicholas Katopodis, helped kick off the NFL Super-Kids Super Sharing celebration at the Pearson Community Center in North Las Vegas.

(Nicholas Katopodis) This was awesome because my choir teacher, she announced this to us a long time ago, and we were all so excited.

We were so excited.

-Adding to that excitement... [drums] (Susan Groh) Thank you.

I love that.

So already, we are still counting items, but we are already at more than 30,000 items in this morning.

[cheers and applause] -You heard right.

More than 30,000 items including books, school supplies, sports equipment, and board games were collected and donated to local children.

-It's really special because some kids are more like misfortunate than others.

So we actually get to help them, and it makes them feel loved.

-CCSD and its students played a very important role in making sure the Super-Kids Super Sharing donation project was a super success.

-We talked to them, oh, gosh, I think probably last summer we met with them and told them about Super Kids, and they just fully engaged.

So they helped reach out to their schools to recruit schools both on the donating and receiving side.

They also put us in touch with this awesome choir and the drumline.

So they just really added to this event.

-Raiders...Raiders...

-And as a way to say thank you, the NFL and the Las Vegas Raiders invited these super kids to have a super time out on the field.

No doubt about it, Nicholas and his fellow students had a blast.

-Go Raiders!

-And that great event was just one of several involving CCSD schools and our students.

Back in September, the Las Vegas Super Bowl Host Committee, community partners, and the national nonprofit GENYOUth, which aims to end student hunger, unveiled its Super Schools meals initiative, which provided nutritious grab-and-go meals at nearly 60 Nevada schools.

At that event, we met Harmoney Taylor, a 10th grader at Shadow Ridge High School and member of the GENYOUth National Student Council.

Well, just before the Super Bowl, Harmoney got a special surprise as a thank you for helping her fellow students.

(Harmoney Taylor) Thank you to GENYOUth, Frito-Lay Variety Pack, and the NFL.

I'm going to the Super Bowl!

[cheers and applause] Go, Harmony!

What an amazing and well-deserved surprise.

Thank you for all that you do to help our students.

And we are so happy that you joined us for this episode of Student Spotlight.

To learn more about all of the great things happening inside our public schools, a quick reminder that you can catch past episodes and special online extras on the Student Spotlight page of the Vegas PBS website or our YouTube page.

Thank you so much for watching, and we will see you next month.

♪♪♪