Search Results
Audio clip from interview with Myra Berkovits, August 21, 2014
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Part of an interview with Myra Berkovits on August 21, 2014. In this clip, Berkovits talks about her first home in Las Vegas, and a very helpful neighbor who helped her find employment as a teacher.
Sound
Dayle K. Rust oral history interview
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Oral history interview with Dayle K. Rust conducted by Michelle Muniz on May 01, 2004 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Rust reflects upon his career as a teacher and administrator in Nevada’s White Pine County School District and Clark County School District. He describes the process by which he first became a teacher in the White Pine County School District, his experience as a coach, and legal challenges that he experienced with teacher dismissal. He then describes how he began working with the Clark County School District at J. D. Smith Middle School, and then was sent to work at various middle schools throughout the School District. He describes his experience as assistant principal of Gilbert Magnet School for Communications & Creative Arts, and discusses political challenges that led to his retirement.
Archival Collection
Jose F. Lopez oral history interview
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Abstract
Oral history interview with Jose F. Lopez conducted by Elizabeth A. Hulin on September 11, 2001 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Lopez reflects upon his 31-year career as a teacher and administrator in Las Vegas, New Mexico from the 1950s to the 1990s. He discusses his educational background, and how needs for bilingual education programs influenced his decision to become a teacher. He then describes the process by which he became principal and superintendent, discusses his regular responsibilities and challenges, and offers suggestions for individuals interested in pursuing school administration.
Archival Collection
Fenton Tobler oral history interview
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Abstract
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
Norma Norman oral history interview
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Oral history interview with Norma Norman conducted by Dorthy Richardson-Martin on November 30, 2004 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Norman reflects upon her experience as an elementary school administrator in California’s Hayward Unified School District. She discusses her experience as a female African American teacher in the 1960s and 1970s, and how those experiences shaped her approach to school administration. She also discusses school district programs and policies, and how such programs impact different populations of students.
Archival Collection
Transcript of interview with Myra Berkovits by Barbara Tabach, August 21, 2014
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Interview with Myra Berkovits by Barbara Tabach on August 21, 2014. In this interview, Berkovits talks about growing up and starting her teaching career in Chicago. When she moves to Las Vegas, Berkovits eventually purchases a dining concierge business, but returned to teaching, and is now involved with the Sperling Kronberg Mack Holocaust Resource Center.
Myra Berkovits was born Myra Mosse in 1944 in Chicago, Illinois. She became an elementary school teacher in Chicago before moving to Las Vegas in 1980. Myra has made contributions to Las Vegas in the public and private sectors. She owned several businesses then returned to teaching, heading to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) to renew her teaching license and later received her master's degree. After a year of teaching in multicultural education, Myra was then in charge of the school district's homeless program, seeing its growth from serving 1,200 to 6,000 students. Myra's other passion was for Holocaust education and she became one of six interviewers in the city for the Shoah Foundation, documenting survivors' stories. One interviewee, David Berkovits, would later become her husband of fifteen years. Myra's own Holocaust education was aided by powerful trips to Israel and Poland. She used these experiences to develop and lead student-teacher conferences and classroom curriculum for the whole state. Myra still serves at the Education Specialist at the Holocaust Resource Center.
Text
Transcript of interview with Ruth Annette Mills by Lisa Gioia-Acres, November 20, 2008
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Ruth Annette Mills was born and raised in Washington, D.C. She recalls the early years during WWII, her father's cancer and radium treatment under Blue Cross Blue Shield, his passing when she was nineteen, and her marriage that same year. Ruth and her husband and family lived in Georgia, Texas, and Maryland before coming to Las Vegas in 1968. She worked as a typist for the Office of Education at one point and did volunteer work for her church, the Cub Scouts, and the League of Women Voters. She also worked as a clerk-typist for the Clark County School District, and eventually became a teacher through the Teacher Corps program. She graduated in 1975 and was hired to teach 6th grade at CVT Gilbert. The school integration program was just beginning when Ruth was first hired as a teacher. She held the position of facilitator and recalls how angry parents were when they learned their children had to be bussed to sixth grade centers. Having been involved through her church with the Civil Rights Movement in other states, she was disappointed with the racist attitudes she encountered in Las Vegas. Ruth's involvement with health care began when her daughter-in-law developed kidney stones and was denied treatment. In 1993 she started the Nevada Health Care Reform Project through the League of Women Voters in order to support Bill Clinton's health plan. Fifteen years later, over 100 organizations had come on board to support the League's coalition in favor of Clinton's plan, and her fondest wish is that one day Universal Health Care will be available to all Americans.
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Carl Partridge oral history interview
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Abstract
Oral history interview with Carl Partridge conducted by Michelle Lee Muniz on April 16, 2003 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Partridge reflects upon his career as an elementary school teacher and administrator in Nevada’s Clark County School District (CCSD). He discusses the process by which he became a teacher with CCSD, later became a principal, and opened Myrtle Tate Elementary School in 1971. He also describes his approach to school administration, job responsibilities and salaries, and the Right to Read multimedia program that he developed throughout his career.
Archival Collection
Donald Logan oral history interview
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Oral history interview with Donald Logan conducted by Tim Kripps on April 13, 2004 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Logan reflects upon his 32-year career as a teacher and administrator with Nevada’s Nye County School District from the 1950s to the 1980s. He describes his regular responsibilities and challenges that he faced, such as violence and interactions with the superintendent. He discusses his working relationship with teachers and other administrators, and his approach to school administration. He also discusses salary, retirement benefits, and elements of the Nye County School District that he feels were most beneficial throughout his career.
Archival Collection
Vaughn M. Higbee oral history interview
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Abstract
Oral history interview with Vaughn M. Higbee conducted by Mark Vandamme on March 31, 2004 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Higbee reflects upon his career as a sports coach, teacher, and administrator in Idaho and in Nevada’s Lincoln County School District (LCSD). He describes the process by which he became a coach, and then explains how his coaching experience shaped his approach to school administration. He describes his regular responsibilities and challenges as principal, and discusses his working relationships with teachers, fellow administrators, and the Board of Education. He also discusses how he chose to retire after serving as LCSD’s superintendent.
Archival Collection