New middle school opens Aug. 30

Russ Ramirez came to the Clark County School District and went to work as a biology teacher at Rancho High School under Mario Monaco. Twenty-four years later, Ramirez is at the helm of the school bearing his former boss's name.

Monaco Middle School will open when the students go back to school Aug. 30, and Ramirez plans to have Monaco and his wife, Joanne, there from the start.

"He still loves kids," Ramirez said. "He's going to get to know the staff. He and his wife are going to be a part of the school. He'll be great with these kids."

Ramirez was assigned to the school before it was named, giving him more time than usual for a principal of a new school to research and develop a curriculum. After looking at the accountability reports for feeder elementary and middle schools, Ramirez found a focus on reading would most benefit his student body.

"The more children read, the better children read, the more they'll succeed in other areas," Ramirez said. "Building reading skills is where we can start in other areas."

The school notwithstanding, Ramirez is more than familiar with the neighborhood, for he's lived in the Sunrise area since 1977. His wife was the former principal at Robison Middle School, located a few miles away. He also comes from a similar background as many of the children who will be under his watchful eye.

"This is the age where we can make a huge difference in kids' lives," Ramirez said. "At this grade, we still have the influence."

Ramirez said drawing from low socioeconomic and middle class families isn't difficult, and it's not any different than building a school community in other areas of the Las Vegas Valley.

"There's not one of my children that can't be as prepared for college as a child from Summerlin or Green Valley," Ramirez said. "If we believe in our children, they can achieve any goals they set for themselves.

"I believe this is a different population. I don't really believe there's any difference. I believe that really comes with attitude."

Although Ramirez said the philosophies and ideas of his staff don't have to agree with his, they all have to be heading the same direction.

"I brought in a group of teachers who aren't necessarily going to agree with me. I'm looking for new ideas," said Ramirez, who was principal at Fremont Middle School for four years. "I was looking for people with a common goal."

Opening a new school is like "Christmas every day," said Milana Winter, assistant principal. "There's something new every day."

Coming from Knudsen, which was built in 1961, Winter is happy to be in a new building, starting from scratch, even if it is hard work. Combining her knowledge, with that of Ramirez and fellow assistant principal Maria Chairez, will make the school a stronger place.

"You have all this wealth of information, and you get to create a school," Winter said.

Each grade will have four teams, including approximately 160 students and one teacher from each of that grade's four main subjects - "like a family," Chairez said. The team atmosphere not only brings students together with team mascots, mottoes and meetings but also helps teachers coordinate homework and special projects.

"It's more for the kids that for us," Winter said. "It also gives you a way to group kids based on needs and offer accelerated classes for some of them."

The anticipation will continue to build for the staff until the first day of school.

Winter said: "The exciting part is when the students and teachers come in."