Clark County School District (CCSD), the nation’s fifth-largest school district serving over 300,000 students in Southern Nevada, is actively seeking broad community input through its “Dream Sessions” as part of developing a new strategic plan to guide education for the coming years.
These Dream Sessions—interactive, in-person community forums—allow students, parents, educators, district staff, and even non-parents to review ongoing conversations, brainstorm ideas, and help shape the district’s future direction. The sessions build on an unprecedented wave of engagement that includes nearly 50,000 survey responses (with over 60% from students) collected last fall, along with stakeholder interviews and dozens of prior events under the “Operation Destination District” initiative.
The push for a new strategic plan comes at a pivotal time: CCSD is aiming to become a true “Destination District”—a place where families want to enroll, teachers want to work, and communities invest—amid ongoing challenges like student absenteeism, post-pandemic recovery, evolving learning needs, and the need to innovate beyond traditional models. Previous strategic efforts (such as the Focus: 2024 plan under former Superintendent Jesus Jara) focused on equity, access, and student achievement, but with evolving leadership (current Superintendent Jhone Ebert) and fresh community feedback, the district is now co-designing a refreshed blueprint. This includes rethinking how and when students learn—extending opportunities year-round without necessarily adding mandatory school days—while preserving core subjects like math, science, and reading.
Discussions center on three main themes: environment (creating supportive, engaging school settings), relationships (building strong connections among students, staff, and families), and experiences (hands-on, real-world learning like more field trips, career fairs, and career-based opportunities to bridge classroom education to future paths).
Recent sessions saw growing turnout—from 50–60 attendees early on to over 300 at events like the one at Dr. Child’s Eye West last week. A session at Foothill High School took place on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, and community Dream Sessions wrapped up, with one final district staff session scheduled for Wednesday, February 25, 2026.
Feedback from these sessions and surveys will be compiled into the new strategic plan by the end of the current school year, with an official launch targeted for the 2026–2027 school year. This plan will also tie into related efforts like a Facility Master Plan and efficiency studies.
Superintendent Jhone Ebert emphasized the inclusive spirit: “We have people that don’t have children in the school district that are joining us, and they’re building out and thinking, what is the future?” Rancho High School senior Akilah Bello highlighted the value of diverse voices: “I haven’t just been talking with students, I’ve been talking with educators… people who have a more realistic take on how this innovation could actually look like in education.”
By prioritizing community-driven ideas, CCSD hopes to create a forward-looking vision that better prepares every student for success in a changing world.
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