Updated 11 a.m. Feb. 14:
New curriculum, a lean administration and changes in student behavior are contributing to Carson City School District’s positive strides, Superintendent Andrew Feuling said Tuesday.
Feuling’s annual State of the District address to Carson City School Board members highlighted the successes and challenges the district captured during 2023-24 and maintain this year.
Evidence of student growth in testing is most visible in the fall-to-winter average test percentile of the math portion of CCSD’s Measures of Academic Progress assessments, although reading lags behind. MAP tests are administered in the fall, winter and spring to show growth over time. Students’ progress in math improved significantly between 2024 and 2025, Feuling said.
The uptick is due to a new K-5 math program, although an English language arts curriculum rollout will not be available until 2026-27, Feuling told the Appeal.
“We rolled out new curriculum work that supports what teachers are doing and aligns with scales and standards,” he told the board. “We hope it translates with SBAC (Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium) tests into better proficiency scores.”
Feuling credited teachers and curriculum coordinators for pouring “blood, sweat and tears” into student learning and aligning with state standards.
Enrollment continues its downward trend since 2002-03 with the city’s reduction in birth rates, lower student yield on new construction and as housing affordability affects the number of families entering the market.
The pandemic also impacted a shift after schools began closing and began operating on a hybrid basis. Apart from the presentation, Feuling told the Appeal some families have opted to homeschool their children for a number of reasons but are only required to report to the district upon deciding to do so without follow-up.
Among key demographics, Feuling said the number of students who qualify for free and reduced lunch has gone up from 55.7% in 2014-15 to 67.2% in 2023-24, a number that is verified twice a month, he clarified with the Appeal later. The direct certification process, as it called, done through the state, is conducted to determine families who are on federal assistance.
Student behavior is making headway, Feuling said. Carson’s student attendance has been consistent with statewide performance. The average daily rate of absences during the last pre-pandemic normal year in 2018-19 for local schools was 94.4% and since has decreased to 92.5% after COVID-19. Feuling said this remains in line with other districts.
Chronic absenteeism is down to 27.6% this year after it was reported at 28.8% by the Nevada Report Card website, nevadareportcard.nv.gov, for 2023-24.
The district’s launch of its cell phone ban in August has been effective in the secondary schools. The secondary campuses began implementing an electronic hall pass system this year that monitors how many students currently use the restrooms or walk within the hallways out of class. Feuling said administrators are making sure students aren’t abusing their passes.
“It’s a big win for secondary schools,” Feuling said. “With phones, the fights were premeditated. Information would spread around.”
In staffing news, CCSD runs school operations with a minimal administrative team and spends 6.1% of its budget on leadership personnel. This falls below the state’s average of 8.6%. Matching the state average would create an additional $2 million in expenses, according to Feuling.
Trustee Mike Walker praised the staff’s conservative fiscal approach in its operations.
“I think everywhere you go, the common thought is it’s so top heavy in school districts, right? And it’s truly not, right, especially in this district and that means that you all are doing extra to keep the costs down, and so thank you for that,” Walker said.
Another concern for funding is maintenance in capital projects. Feuling said the district continues to spend down $25 million in bond proceeds in capital projects maintenance work for safety and aging infrastructure. Carson High School has 50-year-old boilers that will cost approximately $8 million, and it’s important to keep them from failure, he said.
Results from a Joint Advisory Committee survey for 2024 indicate feedback from certified and classified staff about their work environment. Employees responded to questions about achieving goals in teams, experiencing mutual respect, receiving training for effective job performance and other areas. Most generally agreed or somewhat agreed the district provides a proper environment, but Feuling said there are areas for improvement.
“Overall, you know, (there are) good results,” Feuling said. “There’s clearly some in the negative and we keep trying to do better by everyone, and hopefully over time even some of those will move to more positive responses.”
CCSD’s transiency rate, defined as students who are not completing their school year in the same school, has decreased slightly from 17% last year to 15.2% now. The number of students in transition in its McKinney-Vento program has gone up. Youth who qualify typically share housing with others due to economic hardship or loss of housing, live in motels, hotels or camping grounds or other transitional or substandard housing or are considered migratory.
Feuling noted in the entire 2023-24 school year, 256 students were enrolled in McKinney-Vento. As of January, 288 students were enrolled. In total, 326 students have been in the program at one point and receive services during the school year. The bump is indicative of greater community need, he said.
“There’s so much context to all of what’s happening for our kids and with their families and their situations, and some of them are really difficult situations,” Feuling said. “It’s definitely a concern we’re keeping an eye on.”
Original story posted 8:05 a.m. Feb. 14
New curriculum, a lean administration and changes in student behavior are contributing to Carson City School District’s positive strides, Superintendent Andrew Feuling said Tuesday.
Feuling’s annual State of the District address to Carson City School Board members highlighted the successes and challenges the district captured during 2023-24 and maintain this year.
Evidence of student growth in testing is most visible in the fall-to-winter average test percentile of the math portion of CCSD’s Measures of Academic Progress assessments, although reading lags behind. MAP tests are administered in the fall, winter and spring to show growth over time. Students’ progress in math improved significantly between 2024 and 2025, Feuling said.
“We rolled out new curriculum work that supports what teachers are doing and aligns with scales and standards,” he said. “We hope it translates with SBAC (Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium) tests into better proficiency scores.”
Feuling credited teachers and curriculum coordinators for pouring “blood, sweat and tears” into student learning and aligning with state standards.
Student behavior is making headway, Feuling said. Carson’s student attendance has been consistent with statewide performance. The average daily rate of absences during the last pre-pandemic normal year in 2018-19 for local schools was 94.4% and since has decreased to 92.5% after COVID-19. Feuling said this remains in line with other districts.
Chronic absenteeism is down to 27.6% this year after it was reported at 28.8% by the Nevada Report Card website, nevadareportcard.nv.gov, for 2023-24.
The district’s launch of its cell phone ban in August has been effective in the secondary schools. The secondary campuses began implementing an electronic hall pass system this year that monitors how many students currently use the restrooms or walk within the hallways out of class. Feuling said administrators are making sure students aren’t abusing their passes.
“It’s a big win for secondary schools,” Feuling said. “With phones, the fights were premeditated. Information would spread around.”
In staffing news, CCSD runs school operations with a minimal administrative team and spends 6.1% of its budget on leadership personnel. This falls below the state’s average of 8.6%. Matching the state average would create an additional $2 million in expenses, according to Feuling.
Trustee Mike Walker praised the staff’s conservative fiscal approach in its operations.
“I think everywhere you go, the common thought is it’s so top heavy in school districts, right? And it’s truly not, right, especially in this district and that means that you all are doing extra to keep the costs down, and so thank you for that,” Walker said.
Another concern for funding is maintenance in capital projects. Feuling said the district continues to spend down $25 million in bond proceeds in capital projects maintenance work for safety and aging infrastructure. Carson High School has 50-year-old boilers that will cost approximately $8 million, and it’s important to keep them from failure, he said.
Results from a Joint Advisory Committee survey for 2024 indicate feedback from certified and classified staff about their work environment. Employees responded to questions about achieving goals in teams, experiencing mutual respect, receiving training for effective job performance and other areas. Most generally agreed or somewhat agreed the district provides a proper environment, but Feuling said there are areas for improvement.
“Overall, you know, (there are) good results,” Feuling said. “There’s clearly some in the negative and we keep trying to do better by everyone, and hopefully over time even some of those will move to more positive responses.”
CCSD’s transiency rate, defined as students who are not completing their school year in the same school, has decreased slightly from 17% last year to 15.2% now. The number of students in transition in its McKinney-Vento program has gone up. Youth who qualify typically share housing with others due to economic hardship or loss of housing, live in motels, hotels or camping grounds or other transitional or substandard housing or are considered migratory.
Feuling noted in the entire 2023-24 school year, 256 students were enrolled in McKinney-Vento. As of January, 288 students were enrolled. In total, 326 students have been in the program at one point and receive services during the school year. The bump is indicative of greater community need, he said.
“There’s so much context to all of what’s happening for our kids and with their families and their situations, and some of them are really difficult situations,” Feuling said. “It’s definitely a concern we’re keeping an eye on.”