One of Pahrump's oldest schools, Manse Elementary School has gone through a number of changes since it first opened in 1954.

For the past decade Manse has been an elementary school and is now home to the only all-day kindergarten in Pahrump.

And despite facing a number of challenges, such as a student population of which 67 percent qualify for free or reduced-price lunches and 20 percent are English as a Second Language, or ESL, students, over the past three years the school has gone from a "needs improvement" ranking to becoming a "high achieving school."

"We have our mission -- successful learning for one and all -- and we've really taken that to heart to make it true for teachers and students," Principal Evangelyn Visser said.

But the improved test scores that have earned Manse its impressive ranking tell only a small part of the story of its growth as a school.

Manse is seen as such a good school, in fact, that it has enjoyed more than 50 zoning variance requests by parents who have specifically asked that their school be allowed to attend the facility.

Manse's leaps and strides in student achievement are enough to have captured the attention of Clark County educators, who have asked what Manse's secret is.

The answer lies in several programs and initiatives the school has implemented over the past few years.

One is the Walk to Read program, in which all of the children in each grade level are grouped according to reading level and taught in separate classrooms (hence the walking part).

In addition, students in each grade get an opportunity for additional attention through collaborative learning environments.

The program sets aside 45 minutes a week for teachers of every grade level to get together and discuss struggling students and develop a plan for them.

The school has also put into place positive behavior initiatives, rewarding students for good behavior in class, in the lunchroom and on the playground.

"That's made a big difference for the students," Visser said.

An active parent organization has also helped the school to improve.

"It's very exciting for us," Visser said of the active parents. "We've never had that before."

All the programs together, combined with a dedicated teacher staff, have helped change what it means to be a part of Manse Elementary.

"It's changed how people think about the school," Visser said. "Before, the morale here was kind of low, but the last few years have changed the whole feel of the school."