Author: Kyle W

CCSD is celebrating Music In Our Schools Month, March 1-31, 2023. For more than 20 years, the Clark County School District (CCSD) has been recognized as one of the “Top 100 Communities For Music Education.” CCSD music teachers are regularly selected as presenters, adjudicators and trainers at the regional, national and international levels.Beginning March 2, 2023, CCSD’s secondary fine and performing arts programs will join over 300 secondary ensembles that will participate in Secondary Music, Dance, and Theatre Festivals in March and April. Over 10,000 students will have the experience of performing on a professional stage and to learn from nationally-known adjudicators…

CCSD Librarians Day is celebrated on March 1, recognizing the importance of teacher-librarians in an effective educational program for students. Teacher-librarians are information literacy and technology teachers, reading advocates, leaders and collaborators, and library program managers. Teacher-librarians guide students to be critical users and producers of information and ideas. They help students find the resources they need to continue learning, and are dedicated to creating an environment where students learn every day. Pictured from top left: Julie Aldrich (Ortwein Elementary School), Bryce Hardy (Grant Bowler Elementary School), Taryn Apollo (Centennial High School), Teanna Streng (Triggs Elementary School), Nicole Smead (Harmon…

Dr. James B. McMillan moved to Las Vegas in 1955. He was the first African-American dentist in Nevada and the first to introduce and perform dental implants.  Dr. McMillan is well-known for his time as president of the local branch of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which gave him statewide recognition for the successful quest to desegregate the town. Most notably, he’s remembered for successfully fighting for the integration of public accommodations in the city and on the Las Vegas Strip. It was his passion for equal rights and his mental toughness that allowed the…

Wendell P. Williams served students and families in the Clark County School District (CCSD) for 11 years as a teacher before becoming a community facilitator and coordinator. Mr. Williams served on the Nevada Assembly from 1987 to 2004. His objective in Carson City was to make the Nevada educational system accessible to all. He was the Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Education. Mr. Williams also received the Crystal Apple Award from CCSD for his outstanding civic leadership. He founded the Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee as well as the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. parade in Las Vegas. Madison…

The Rev. Jesse D. Scott moved to Las Vegas in 1970, where he was a prominent civil rights advocate in the Southern Nevadan community. Mr. Scott helped improve minority underachievement in public schools and minority hiring at Strip hotels. His work in calming racial tension was seen in many areas in the community including his time on the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Nevada Equal Rights Commission. He was also the associate minister at Second Baptist Church in the historic West Las Vegas. Jesse D. Scott Elementary School opened in…

H.P. Fitzgerald moved to Nevada from Virginia in the 1940s. He was the first African-American principal in Nevada in 1956 at Kit Carson Elementary School, currently known as Helen Toland International Academy. He also served as principal of Jo Mackey Elementary School from 1961 to 1972. He worked for the District for 25 years. Mr. Fitzgerald was also the first African-American to earn a master’s degree at the University of Nevada, Reno. He was the first African-American in Nevada to earn a vocational education certificate and be issued in a general building contractor’s license. He has worked with several community…

Hannah Marie Brown has lived in Las Vegas since 1945. She’s dedicated much of her life to giving back to her community and providing assistance and encouragement in education. Since 1999, Ms. Brown has raised nearly $400,000 in scholarship funds for local high school and college students to continue their education. Hundreds of Clark County School District (CCSD) student have also received scholarship assistance through the Hannah Brown Community Development Corporation. She has served on various advisory committees for CCSD and inducted as a member of the CCSD Excellence in Education Hall of Fame. She continues to advocate for education…

Odis “Tyrone” Thompson committed his life to the education and empowerment of Nevada’s children. He was born in Las Vegas and was a graduate of Valley High School. He was deeply involved in his community and worked on behalf of abused and neglected children in the foster care system as a court-appointed special advocate for more than 17 years. Mr. Thompson served on the Nevada Assembly from 2013 to 2019, where he worked to improve educational opportunities for all students. He was chairman of the Assembly Education committee. He was dedicated to homeless youth, preventing employment discrimination against those with…

Agenda Item 3.01 – Memorandum of Agreement between the Clark County School District and the Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional-Technical Employees Regarding an Incentives Program for School-Based Administrators The Clark County School District (CCSD) Board of School Trustees approved a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional-Technical Employees (CCASAPE) creating an incentives program for school-based administrators. Under the terms of the MOA, principals may approve $250, $500 or $1,000 recruiting or retention incentives for all school-based administrators who receive an effective or highly effective performance evaluation. The incentive is only…

Helen Anderson Toland was the first African-American female principal hired in the Clark County School District (CCSD) in 1965 at Kit Carson Elementary School, in an area commonly known as the Westside. She initially started as a speech therapist at the school.  Mrs. Toland had the vision as principal at Kit Carson to instill the love of literacy through the creative strengths of first-hand, real-life situations. After leaving Kit Carson, she accepted a leadership position at the Robert E. Lake Elementary School, when schools began busing the 6th grade centers during the transition of student integration.  She’s famously known for…