AMARGOSA VALLEY -- Amargosa Valley School Principal Karen Liberty gave the Nye County School District Board a warm welcome when it conducted its March 13 meeting at her campus.

Liberty enthusiastically told the board about a number of programs and changes recently put in place to help the school meet the many unique challenges it faces due to its very rural location and extremely high percentage of English language learning, or ELL students.

One of the first things a visitor notices about the school are the many building improvements.

The school offers both more security and some shelter from the high winds now that the front entrance has been sealed off.

Middle school students can now grab their books for class out of their lockers in any kind of weather thanks to the cover that was recently installed over the locker area.

And all of the students, from kindergarten to eighth grade, will enjoy science class more now that they can learn in the new synergistic, hands-on lab.

The students work in teams and conduct problem-solving experiments.

A new after-school tutoring program has been paying off, and Liberty was thrilled to report higher writing scores on the school's state exams.

This is no mean feat for a school with a student population of which over 60 percent are ELL students.

Students have also been working on the school-wide "Fish" movement, a program that teaches youths to create a positive environment and learn to care about each other.

Through the "fish philosophy," students learn to choose their attitude, make another person's day, care, and play.

The program is further buttressed through the efforts of the Counselor Dona Finamore, who visits each of the classrooms at all grade levels and teaches character education.

Students also actively practice the philosophy by handing out "make their day" cards.

When a student makes the day of another youth, he or she is given a card.

The card recipient then has the task of making someone else's day and passing the card along.

Every student signs the back of the card, and at the end of the year they'll tally the count to see just how many people had their day made.

Liberty also told the board about the 12 fifth-grade students graduated from the Drug Awareness Resistance Education (DARE) program last December were rewarded with a graduation ceremony at the Pahrump Nugget after a full day of bowling.

"For many of the students, that was the first time they've ever bowled," Liberty explained. "They had a really great time."

Seventh graders at the school, enrolled in the Gang Resistance and Education Training (GREAT) program, are embroiled in a hot debate over whether they want their graduation ceremony to be at the Pahrump Nugget bowling alley or at the Skate Zone.

"I'm shooting for bowling," Liberty, a bowler herself, admitted.

Meanwhile, eighth graders are busy working on their job portfolios as part of the Gear Up program, a college preparation program that begins in seventh grade and helps students set goals and maintain academic standards that will increase their chances of college acceptance.

"So when our students go off to Beatty High School, they'll have a complete portfolio guiding them in what classes they need to take to meet their career objectives," Liberty explained.

To get a taste of what the future holds for them, the students took a field trip to the Meadows Mall in Las Vegas and were assigned the task of getting two job applications and speaking to store managers about what skills are needed for the position.

With the help of 10 parents, the 19 students that went on the field trip were able to even dress in appropriate business attire.

Liberty also introduced the school's Teacher on Special Assignment, Susan Warner, who works with teachers inside the classroom to help implement effective English language learning techniques.

"We are very high populated with English language learners and trying to keep up our teaching tools with effective strategies," Liberty explained. "So Mrs. Warner has been a gift to our school."

Other ongoing teaching programs include using engaging teaching methods and classroom management.

But the school hasn't stopped at teaching the students.

Since many of the students' parents also do not speak English, the school has started an English course for them too.

Taught by the school's Migrant Aide, Alma Williams, the classes take place twice a week during school hours.

Liberty said about 15 parents are taking the course.

The adult students of the month are honored every month along with the student of the month.

"So we're working to help (parents) help their students by learning English," Liberty said.

In a state not known for its school funding, and where rural schools often take the brunt of budget cuts, schools are often forced to find creative ways to generate funding.

Liberty explained that the school has been taken on as a project by MGM, and generous employees have committed to donating portions of their salary to a fund for the school.

"We get a check from them every month and that goes towards our student incentive programs," Liberty explained. "At the beginning of the year, they came bearing backpacks, pencils, paper, anything that our students needed or wanted, they were there ready to do that. So I thank the MGM corporation." The Amargosa Dairy has also contributed to the school by donating firewood, which the students put into cords to sell on the open market.

Liberty also took time to thank the community for allowing its use of the community center and the library, located next door, which she said have become practically "an extension of the school."

The school's upcoming reading week is off to a good start thanks to a generous donation of 1,000 books from Ellis Dunsterville, the fifth-grade teacher.

"Students actually will walk away with three brand-new books of their very own, from pre-K all the way up to eighth grade," Liberty said.

As School Board President Dennis Keating put it, "Wow, a lot of work going on in Amargosa."

Vice President J.E. "Doc" McNeely gave Liberty and the school staff acknowledgment for their hard work and effort.

"I'd like to thank Mrs. Liberty and her staff for all the exceptional work that they're doing," McNeely said. "It takes an exceptional person to want to come out to the hinterland and deal with us folks that like to live in the wilderness."