Local Vegas Academy Wins Award For Best Magnet School In U.S.

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A Vegas school was recently awarded one of the most prestigious awards in education.

The Magnet Schools of America gave the Dr. Ronald P. Simpson Magnet School of Merit Award of Excellence to Southeast Career and Technical Academy (SECTA). The local school won this highly coveted award from the organization, making it one of the top institutions in the country.

The award was announced at the 39th National Conference on Magnet Schools, which happened right here in Clark County. SECTA beat out over 400 schools to win this achievement.

“This award highlights 55 years of effort from our staff and successful careers from our alumni in southern Nevada. To be recognized as the top magnet school in America provided our school community with a morale boost when we needed it most.” Principal of SECTA Ryan Cordia said. “It feels great to be seen and honored for the work we do every day. We have the best school because our building is full of great people.”

Along with this, Cordia told other news outlets the school has applied for this award for the past 10 years, making this achievement even more celebratory for the school.

The Magnet Schools of America further awarded the Clark County School District with the Donna Grady-Creer District Award for Magnet Sustainability. This award essentially recognizes the district's commitment to improving the access to high-quality educational opportunities for students, according to the Clark County School District.

“The Clark County School District continues to show the country what CCSD educators and students can accomplish.” Superintendent Dr. Jesus F. Jara said.

Ten students from across Las Vegas also won scholarship awards from the Magnet Schools of America.

This award comes as a great achievement for Las Vegas' education system, which is ranked as "49th in the nation," according to a February report by 8 News Now.

“While this spotlight is on the hardworking staff, students, and administration at SECTA, I urge our community to understand that this level of excellence is possible at every one of our CCSD schools," Jara said.

One of the most important takeaways from education is that it helps individuals develop critical thinking skills. Personal growth comes from learning which intake helps with gaining more confidence, financial wealth and literary skills.

Nevada is an ever-growing city with a population of just over three million. More people are moving to Las Vegas to give their families a better life. With the American dream in mind, where does education fit into the equation? Education is important to families who want to offer the best for their children and generations to come.

EdWeek.org conducted a comprehensive analysis to find out where states rank in educational opportunities and performance. Their data was configured over three categories which included Chance for Success (January), School Finance (June) and K-12 Achievement (September). The overall grade is the average of the three separate scores.

Nevada finished 50 amongst all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The state scoring earned 68.6 out of 100 possible points. That is the equivalent of a D plus grade average. The country ranked at a C grade average. Find out more about their education research within each category.

Let's be honest, Nevada does not have a great education system ranking but that does not mean that all Vegas schools are bad. Vegas has the 5 largest school district in the United States with the Los Angeles Unified School District taking first place.

GreatSchools.org is a leading non-profit when it comes to research insights and parenting resources. The non-profit gives an insight on "school quality" based on a rating from one to 10. Top-rated schools are considered 10's. Ratings between one to four are looked at as below average. Ratings between five to six indicate average. Ratings seven to 10 are considered above average.

Let's see how Vegas high schools, public and private, are ranked from 10 to one.