"In the nation’s fifth-largest school district, which encompasses the glitz and grime of Las Vegas, the economic-stimulus package has given school leaders a $193 million lifeline to continue the fundamentals needed to improve student achievement: tutoring for struggling students, credit recovery for those at risk of dropping out, and professional development for teachers.
While not trendy or flashy, those educational interventions met important criteria when officials here in the Clark County, Nev., district were weighing how to spend the federal largess. They were quick and easy to implement, and they already had a proven record of success. In other words, they were programs school leaders wanted to do anyway, except they had long ago run out of money."