CCSD celebrates its namesakes: Claude and Stella Parson

Claude H. Parson Jr. and Stella M. Parson were both educators in Las Vegas and taught within the Clark County School District (CCSD).

Mr. Parson earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees outside of Las Vegas joining the Air Force and was eventually stationed at Nellis Air Force Base. His first teaching job in Las Vegas was at Madison Elementary School, currently Wendell Williams Elementary School, teaching seventh grade and industrial arts. He was appointed coordinator of the school system’s desegregation program in 1969. He also served as the District’s federal programs coordinator a few years later.

Mrs. Parson received her Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) and was the first African-American woman to graduate from UNR. She would teach in the Clark County School District (CCSD) for the next 30 years including the first neighborhood school in the Westside – Las Vegas Grammar School Branch No.1, commonly called the Westside School.

Claude H. and Stella M. Parson Elementary School opened in 1989.