The Need for Non-Traditional Education in Nevada Keeps Growing

While the narrative is that some kids “fail” at school, the reality is that the traditional classroom can fail struggling students. This is the conclusion that many parents, students, and educators in Nevada are reaching after witnessing the struggles taking place in classrooms around the state. 

The rigidity of the standard classroom makes learning difficult for some students. As a result, they spend more time dealing with disciplinary actions than they do exploring the topics that interest them.

Feeling helpless and discouraged over their local educational options, many parents are now wondering if charter schools can help to spark the engagement that is missing. While charter schools have been helping to reshape communities across the country in the 30 years since the Charter School Program was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994, the pandemic hastened the need for flexible, personalized education to help kids catch up after entering a deep learning chasm caused by absence from the classroom. While most schools have been back to in-person learning for more than two years, the effects of the disruption are following students from grade to grade.

According to a study published by Nature Human Behavior in January of 2023, students lost 35% of a normal school year’s worth of learning once in-person learning stopped for the pandemic. In addition, the losses have had reverberating effects that have made it hard for many students to catch up to grade level. These struggles persist in classrooms to this day. A study conducted by McKinsey & Company found that the past few years have created an era of “unfinished learning” that has caused many students to simply disengage, slip backwards, and lose the knowledge and skills they already possessed.

“Students who move on to the next grade unprepared are missing key building blocks of knowledge that are necessary for success, while students who repeat a year are much less likely to complete high school and move on to college,” according to the McKinsey study. An article published by Education Week found that students who were already struggling fell further behind than their peers in recent years. 

Parents in Nevada have an even greater sense of urgency than many around the country when it comes to getting their children caught up.

“According to an in-depth analysis of 2022’s most and least educated states in America, Nevada tops the list of the least educated states, coming in second to Oklahoma,” says at least one report. 

There is a desire among parents and students for encouraging, flexible learning environments that allow students to pursue topics that interest them without the need to fit into a cookie-cutter curriculum that is often more focused on graduation rates than the personal satisfaction and success of individual students.

Emboldened to take a proactive stance regarding the quality of the education their children receive, some Nevada parents are pivoting to charter schools such as ThrivePoint Nevada. ThrivePoint is a fully accredited charter school offering free online, in-person, and hybrid programs for grades 9 through 12 across Nevada. Unlike the impersonal classroom setting that most students come from, the charter school offers smaller class sizes, access to success coaches, and topic-intensive semesters focused on just two subjects at a time.

“ThrivePoint can offer an alternative learning experience for students that have not been able to find success in a traditional school setting. Flexible scheduling and access to their course online will allow students to accommodate for other life responsibilities. ThrivePoint students will benefit from a much more student-centered approach with the support of a Student Success Coach that will not only guide students through their own personalized educational plan, but will also provide support,” explains Vincent Medina, Principal of ThrivePoint Nevada. 

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