Oral history interview with Dr. Carolyn Reedom conducted by Kristina Knebl on November 22, 2006 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Dr. Reedom reflects upon her 28 years as a principal in Nevada’s Clark County School District (CCSD). She discusses the process by which she became an elementary school principal, and compares it with when she served as a high school principal. She discusses her approach to school administration, and how her experience as a 27-year old principal of Red Rock Elementary School shaped her career. She also describes her experience with school desegregation, and explains why she believes it was desegregation instead of integration.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Dr. Frank Roqueni conducted by Alia Rothstein on June 20, 2006 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Dr. Roqueni reflects upon his experience as a principal in Nevada’s Clark County School District (CCSD). He describes the process by which he became a principal, his regular responsibilities, and challenges that he faced. He discusses the high expectations that principals face, and suggests that individuals not enter the principalship because of those expectations. He also provides his opinion on issues such as standardized testing and school safety.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Arlen Simonson conducted by Marc Rogers on April 05, 2004 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Simonson reflects upon his 10 years of experience as principal at Indian Springs School in Nevada’s Clark County School District (CCSD) from the 1980s to the 1990s. He discusses his working relationship with students and teachers as the school’s only administrator. He also discusses the school’s relationship with the local United States Air Force base and the Thunderbirds.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Alice Wisdom conducted by Elizabeth Goodman on October 13, 2003 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Wisdom reflects upon her career as a teacher and administrator in Texas and Nevada. She describes the process by which she first became a teacher in Texas, and then the Bahamas in the 1970s. She then discusses how she was hired to teach in Nevada’s Clark County School District in 1979 before eventually being appointed as principal of various elementary and middle schools. She describes her approach to school administration and working relationships, and discusses colleagues who impacted her throughout her career.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with William “Mike” Edwards conducted by Lisa Campbell and Anna Marie Crosby on August 01, 2001 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Edwards reflects upon his 30-year career as a teacher and administrator with Nevada’s Clark County School District (CCSD) from the 1960s to the 1990s. He discusses training that he feels is the most important for a teaching career, and how his own training prepared him for his career in education. He describes his regular responsibilities as principal, and challenges that he faced as principal of Rancho High School during the 1960s and 1970s. He provides his perspective on contemporary educational issues such as curriculum development and student ethics, and discusses his own approach to school administration.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Elsie Harris-Gibson conducted by Wanda Renfrow on March 25, 2002 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Harris-Gibson reflects upon her 32-year career as a teacher and administrator with Nevada’s Clark County School District (CCSD) from the 1970s to the 2000s. She discusses her priority in being a fair leader, and the importance of fairness in school administrators. She describes her regular responsibilities and challenges as principal, as well as her working relationships with teachers and assistant principals. She also describes her experience with classroom-size reduction, standardized testing programs, and Reading Improvement Teacher programs.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Evans Rutledge conducted by Curtis Lind on November 10, 2006 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Rutledge reflects upon his 38-year career as a teacher and administrator in Alabama, Washington, D. C., and Nevada. He discusses his upbringing in Selma, Alabama and involvement in the civil rights movement, and how this involvement led him to become a teacher. He describes his experiences as a teacher and principal as an African American man, and how his life experiences shaped his approach to school administration. He also shares his opinion on contemporary issues such as immigration, school overcrowding, public funding, and programs such as No Child Left Behind.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Eva G. Simmons conducted by Khary D. Black on May 04, 2004 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Simmons reflects upon her 27 years as an administrator with Nevada’s Clark County School District (CCSD). She describes the process by which she became a teacher and eventually an administrator, and discusses the significance of the Teacher Advisory Committee in the development of her philosophy of school administration. She discusses student ethics, corporal punishment, cultural diversity, and bilingual programs within the school district, in addition to challenges that she faced from public entities and parents.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Horrace Smith conducted by Heather Mulgrew on April 01, 2003 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Smith reflects upon his experience as an administrator with Nevada’s Clark County School District (CCSD). He discusses his first experiences at Western High School, and how he was a teacher and coach before entering administration. He discusses his experiences with standardized testing, school integration and bilingual education, and how these experiences shaped his approach to school administration. He also discusses challenges that he faced with school overcrowding and safety, and describes his working relationship with teachers, administrators, and parents. He offers suggestions for individuals interested in pursuing school administration, and stresses the importance of the principal being present and active within the local community.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Fenton Tobler conducted by Mark Oakden on April 24, 2002 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Tobler reflects upon his 31-year career as a teacher and administrator with Nevada’s Clark County School District from the 1960s to the 1990s. He discusses his development of year-round programs, as well as programs that he proposed before the Nevada State Legislature. He also discusses his working relationship with teachers, describes his approach to school administration, and offers suggestions for individuals interested in pursuing school administration.
Archival Collection