Three takeaways from CCSD’s State of the Schools address

CCSD Interim Superintendent Brenda Larsen-Mitchell proudly showcased the district’s achievements in the last year, but emphasized there’s still work to be done.

In her first and last State of the Schools presentation, Clark County School District Interim Superintendent Brenda Larsen-Mitchell highlighted the district’s improvements in her 12 months in the position, but also reflected on the humbling moments. 

Larsen-Mitchell spoke to an audience made up of School Board members, principals, and stakeholders in the Del Sol Academy of the Performing Arts theater in Las Vegas on Wednesday. 

Her speech came just weeks before the CCSD Board of Trustees is set to begin reviewing applications for the new superintendent — the first round of interviews are scheduled to take place the week of Feb. 17. It’s expected that the new superintendent will be officially hired by March 27. Larsen-Mitchell took over the role of superintendent after Jesus Jara resigned last February following months of conflict with the School Board and allegations that he created a hostile work environment.  

In her time as interim superintendent, Larsen-Mitchell said she was challenged and humbled, especially when it came to the Spring 2025 budget, which made news last year after a potential $20 million shortfall was found when it was first reviewed in October. 

Larsen-Mitchell proudly stated that after an audit, there was only one “audit finding” in the budget, but told reporters she couldn’t expand on what the audit finding was. She said in her presentation that the budget was published by the Jan. 15 deadline and “aligned with NRS [Nevada Revised Statutes],” meaning it met the law requirements. 

Here are three takeaways from Larsen-Mitchell’s State of the Schools:

Addressing the teacher shortage

According to Larsen-Mitchell, 96% of CCSD’s classrooms have a licensed teacher and the district showed a retention rate of 94% of teachers from the 2023-2024 school year to the 2024-2025 school year. 

In the last year, Larsen-Mitchell said CCSD developed a recruitment and retention plan, decreased the number of classroom vacancies by 13%, and hired 2,430 new licensed teachers for the 2024-2025 school year. 

Last May, CCSD launched a recruitment campaign focused on social media and radio stations in California and other neighboring states in an effort to fill 1,400 vacancies. According to the district, at the time the campaign launched, the last time the district was fully staffed was 1994, and shortages just got worse as the years went on.

“ Schools are at the heart of our district … We know the single most important school based variable for student success is the classroom teacher,” Larsen-Mitchell said. “Not only are we getting our teachers here in front of our kids, we’re retaining them at high levels.”

Empowering families

The CCSD Family Engagement Department opened in August of last year, providing parents and families across the valley with programs and resources — including early childhood classes for parents and their 3-to-5 year-olds, English classes for adults, and tech support. 

Since its launch, the department has accumulated nearly 41,900 “family learning hours,” and more than 15,000 families registered to attend weekend workshops, Larsen Mitchell said. 

“ Additionally, our family engagement locations welcomed over 33,000 visits, demonstrating the powerful role these spaces play in connecting families to vital resources and each other,” Larsen-Mitchell said. “Together, we are creating a foundation for lasting achievement and growth.”

‘Headed in the right direction’

In her presentation, Larsen-Mitchell highlighted that CCSD has maintained a 81.5% graduation rate and has seen a 43% increase in College and Career Readiness diplomas since 2019. 

The interim superintendent said that CCSD created a “multi-tiered system of supports” to tailor support and resources to students’ needs — Tier 1 applies to all students, providing them with instruction, social-emotional, and behavioral supports; Tier 2 targets students who need a little more attention, regular screening, and monitoring; Tier 3 is for the few who need more intensive support, such as “problem solving models.” 

Larsen-Mitchell said this model has helped improve students’ performance — including improvement in math proficiency across grades 3 to 8, but she recognizes that CCSD is still far from where it should be. 

“ We have built a strong foundation for the Clark County School District. We are making progress. We are headed in the right direction because of the hard working people working together with kindness and compassion,” Larsen-Mitchell said, closing her presentation. “The Clark County School District is our school district. We all have a vested interest in the success of our students. We, together, need to work as one community for our children.” 

Clark County School District Interim Superintendent Brenda Larsen-Mitchell in her State of the Schools speech Jan. 29, 2025. (Jannelle Calderon / The Nevadan)