The bond between Boulder City and Searchlight

If you talk to the staff at Harry Reid Elementary School in Searchlight, you may hear them describe their campus as “the heart of the community” or “the jewel of the desert.”

The school, which sits on the outskirts of the small town, has several connections to Boulder City that may surprise some. For years, the principal and a handful of staff members from Andrew J. Mitchell Elementary serve in dual roles for both schools. (Similar situations are typically the case for many rural schools in the state.)

Tracy Echeverria, the current principal of both, was well aware of that duality when she was in the hiring process more than a year ago, following the departure of Principal Ben Day.

“I’ve always known it because many years ago when I was a substitute teacher, I used to sub out here in Searchlight and I knew there was that partnership already,” Echeverria said Monday. “It’s been that way for a long time, since at least 2009.

“I was very excited about serving at both. I loved being a substitute here. So, when the job became open and the relationship was still there (between the schools), it was actually a selling point for me because I have always loved Boulder City and Reid Elementary. It’s an honor to have both schools.”

In that dual role, Echeverria tries to go to Searchlight at least one day a week but with technology, there are times when communication is done virtually with staff and students. Recently, she has started having a virtual lunch with a different Reid student each day. It’s her goal to see every student there at least once a week whether in person or on the computer.

“To me, it’s really important that I do that,” she said.

Searchlight is a former mining town, which 110 years ago boasted a population of nearly 1,500 residents. Today, the population based on the 2020 census is at 445, a drop from 576 in 2000. With that has come a fluctuation in enrollment over the years. Reid currently has 13 students in grades kindergarten through fifth grade. Despite the low numbers, Echeverria said that, to her knowledge, there’s never been talk from the school district of closing it down.

They draw students from not only Searchlight but Cottonwood Cove and Cal-Nev-Ari. Echeverria said enrollment can fluctuate up or down simply by having a large family or two move in or out of the area.

Reid Elementary opened its doors in 1992. For decades, the town’s school was a three-room building atop a hill in the middle of town. The building, which is now used as a community rec center, is the same school Harry Reid, the long-time U.S. senator for the Silver State, attended when he was growing up in Searchlight. The current school is named after him.

Along with Echeverria, there are a handful of specialists who come down from Mitchell once a week to work with the Searchlight kids. Those specialists who teach at both schools include:

• Adam Hallam, Music

• Donna Handley, PE

• Tyler McIntosh, PE aide

• Kara Larsen, Art

• Melissa Cox, Library

• Esmeralda Aldridge, Library aide

• Michelle Ball, Read by Grade 3 Strategist

• Claire Lustumbo, Counselor

• Minda McIntosh, Site-Based Tech

Teachers at Reid include:

• Baljeet Dewan, K-1

• Kristi Carter, Grades 2-3

• Marc Lederer, Grades 4-5

“The students of Harry Reid benefit from sharing staff members from Andrew Mitchell in Boulder City because it creates a bridge and a connection to the town where they will eventually attend middle school and high school,” Cox said. “The Searchlight students get to enjoy some of the same activities that the students at Andrew Mitchell get to experience. When they reach middle school, they will have the common experiences and teacher relationships from elementary school.”

When Echeverria is not on campus, one of the full-time teachers at Reid is called the Responsible Teacher, so sort of a pseudo principal. The two communicate several times a day. And, since a Mitchell staffer is in Searchlight each day, they can take anything between the two schools.

“The system that we’ve been using works for everyone and it’s important that we maintain that system,” she said. “For me, the most important part is getting to know the kids.”

Another connection between Searchlight and Boulder City is that Reid is a feeder school for Garrett Junior High, which currently has six students from Searchlight throughout grades six through eight. In years past, that number has been more than 20. Echeverria said they often bring the Reid students to Boulder City to interact with students in King and Mitchell elementaries. That way by the time they are ready for junior high, they have already been able to interact with many of their future classmates.

“That transition is hard no matter who you are or where you’re coming from,” she said in regard to going from elementary school and having one teacher to junior high and having six. “We want to make sure they’re as prepared as possible.”

Garrett Principal Melanie Teemant said in helping with that preparation for the incoming sixth-graders, their counselor keeps in contact with their Reid counterpart and lets them know of any upcoming events or items that Garrett is working on with the fifth-graders at King, to make sure they are in the loop. In April or early May, Garrett will do a fifth-grade day for incoming Bobcats to visit the school.

“Typically, King’s fifth-grade students walk over and tour the school with our student council kids, then we do a fun assembly and they get to go to the cafeteria for cookies and milk, where they can ask questions of the students and staff,” Teemant said. “They are able to meet the counselor, administration, see the sixth-grade classrooms and meet the teachers they will have, and pretty much see every nook and cranny in our little building.”