J.G. Johnson Elementary School Principal Holly Lepisto could be seen with blue and white hair in the future if her students rise to the challenge and accrue 25,000 points during the school's Reading Bowl.

As of the last school board meeting, Thursday, Feb. 21, they were up to about 14,000 points, and given that the students have until May 15 to reach the goal, Lepisto (along with Assistant Principal Daniel Lindgren) could be sporting radical new hairdos.

But that's not all that's new at J.G. Johnson.

The last 18 months have seen a number of improvements in the school, both dealing with the actual facility and the school's academic programs.

Students can enjoy working on projects in the school's newly-installed computer lab while the administrative staff works in a reconfigured office area.

Teachers from third through fifth grade will also be able to teach students with new LCD projectors.

On the sports side, events will be easier to see now that the gym has new lights installed.

Thanks to community donations and Ace Hardware, there is also a new electronic scoreboard.

The outside playground is in the process of being improved with new playground equipment with rubber padding beneath it and a grass area on the ball field.

The academic side is also looking good.

Lepisto informed the Nye County School Board recently there was a 50 percent reduction in disciplinary referrals and suspensions, a feat Lepisto said was largely due to the addition of Assistant Principal Daniel Lindgren.

"Because of Mr. Lindgren's help in managing the never-ending daily task and some of the evaluations, I've been able to focus more on school improvement and professional learning communities at our school," Lepisto said. "It's been a pleasure to be able to have the time to be an instructional leader at J.G."

The principal went on to explain that she meets with the learning communities -- groups of parents, teachers and school administrators -- on a weekly basis "to help plan and discuss how our students learn."

The school improvement committee, Lepisto added, is also meeting on a monthly basis and has made adjustments where needed.

The after-school reading and tutoring program has also been added this year, providing about 10 percent of the student body an extra hour of instruction three days a week.

The principal also thanked her staff for the school's continued excellence.

"I'm very proud of my staff," Lepisto said. "They're very hard working, they're very dedicated, and they go the extra mile for both students and other staff members."

She pointed out the time they spent working on fund raisers and various school events.

"I'm very honored to work with these people," she said.