Washoe County School District


The Washoe County School District is a public school district providing public education to students in Washoe County, Nevada, including the cities of Reno and Sparks, and the unincorporated communities of Verdi, Incline Village, Sun Valley and Gerlach. The Washoe County School District is the second largest school district in Nevada with approximately 64,000 students enrolled in 96 schools.
A board of seven elected trustees governs the Washoe County School District. The current president of the WCSD Board of Trustees is Katy Simon Holland. The trustees appoint a superintendent to lead the district in day-to-day operations.

Superintendent

Superintendent Dr. Kristen McNeill leads the Washoe County School District.
The Superintendent, as Chief Executive Officer, oversees the day-to-day activities of the District. Dr. McNeill provides support to the School Board and the Washoe County School District by managing the Strategic Plan in accordance with established goals.
Debra Biersdorff is the district's deputy superintendent.

Schools

The WCSD currently has 65 elementary schools, a special education school, 16 middle schools, 13 comprehensive high schools, Truckee Meadows Community College High School, Innovations High School, Gerlach K-12, and the Academy of Arts, Careers and Technology.
In the WCSD, elementary schools typically include kindergarten through fifth grade, middle schools include sixth grade through eighth grade, and high schools include ninth grade through twelfth grade. The WCSD is currently working to move sixth grade students to middle school and anticipates doing so as soon as three planned new middle schools are constructed.

High schools

A student opened fire at Sparks Middle School, a Washoe County School District school. Two students were critically injured, and a teacher was fatally shot while trying to intervene with the student. The gunman then committed suicide by shooting himself. Students from the school were evacuated and were placed at Sparks High School, where they held until they were picked up by their guardians.