Options Limited for Families in East Clark County’s 89156

With no public charter or private schools, the 89156 zip code in East Clark County remains woefully underserved by quality school options. None of the five schools rated above two-stars, with a bulk of students in the 10,616 households finding themselves in one-star schools (3,210 students) as rated by the Nevada’s School Performance Framework.

Bailey Middle School was revealed last year to be in the bottom-10 middle schools in the Clark County School District in per-pupil expenditures on instructional salaries. It should also be noted that none of the schools received additional funding from the state’s Zoom or Victory school programs.

While Nevada does offer choice options, including public charter schools, demand exceeds supply and families must often place themselves onto long waitlists, where they are bound to the luck of the draw.  Even if a student is accepted, families likely need to make significant commutes to attend these schools. In fact, the closest public charter schools to the zip code: Mater Bonanza Academy, Futuro Academy and Equipo Academy would require roughly a 25 minute commute, which only makes finding free public options difficult for families. Private school options are even more limited.

The 89156 zip code is home to four one-star schools, the state’s lowest rating (Bailey Middle, Herr Elementary, Martin Luther King Elementary and Mountain View Elementary). None of these schools improved their ranking from 2016.  While students scored below grade-level proficiency, they also generally demonstrated well below average academic growth over time.

Hickey Elementary School, the zip code’s lone two-star school, earned a 59 (above average) score for student growth in math, and a slightly-below-average 49 in English.  Four out of 10 of its students are on track to be proficient in math and English within three years. Roughly 31 percent of students are on or above grade level, and 34 percent of students in the third grade are reading at or above grade level.

Of the one-star schools, Bailey Middle School and Herr Elementary students showed academic growth at or near the state’s average in math and in English.   Of the remaining one-star schools, Martin Luther King Elementary students had earned below-average scores of 40 and 42 in math and English, while Mountain View students scored some of the lowest growth scores in the state, at 32 in math and 36 in English.

The average median household income is $47,541, which trails the Clark County average of $54,882. Forty-four percent of the zip code is Hispanic, and 11 percent is Black or African-American. Seventy-five percent of residents own a high school diploma or higher, compared to the 85 percent in Clark County.

For more information on the performance of public schools in Clark County, visit the GreatSchoolsAllKids website operated by Opportunity 180.