Educator lauded for contributions to the valley

Friday, June 24, 2005 | 4:05 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

June 25-26, 2005

When Carolyn Reedom arrived in Las Vegas in 1970, fresh out of college and headed for her first job as a teacher, the Clark County School District had just 74,000 students and 81 campuses.

Reedom, who is retiring July 16 as assistant superintendent of the district's southeast region, said the changes she's witnessed over her 35-year career in public education continue to amaze her.

"I can remember back when we had our elementary school principals meetings in the library and everybody could fit comfortably," Reedom said. "Now we practically need a ballroom."

The district, which is now approaching 300,000 students at more than 300 campuses, honored Reedom's contributions at a retirement celebration earlier this week at Sunset Station. She is one of a handful of veteran administrators departing the district this summer.

Reedom was first recruited to teach in Clark County after graduating from Dillard University in her hometown of New Orleans. After three years in kindergarten and first grade classrooms her principal and mentor, Neil Twitchell, encouraged her to return to school for a master's degree and make the move up to administration.

She earned her master's degree at UNLV after a year as a graduate assistant in the department of educational administration. She later earned her doctorate, as well.

After brief stints first as a dean and then assistant principal at Rancho and Chaparral high schools Reedom was named principal of Red Rock Elementary School. After seven years at the helm she moved to Paradise Elementary School and three years later was asked to open the new Estes McDoniel Elementary School.

Edward Goldman, associate superintendent of the district's educational services division, first met Reedom in 1981 when they were both completing their doctorates at UNLV. He recalled a time in the mid-1980s when the district's curriculum office ordered elementary school principals to abandon the phonics method of teaching reading in favor of the "whole language" approach that had become popular with educators in other states, including California.

"I was very impressed when we were told to switch to whole language and she (Reedom) said 'I'm not doing this' and walked out of the room," Goldman said. "She stuck to her guns and her school ended up being the highest-achieving school in the district."

Reedom said she's never been one "to jump on bandwagons." And while whole language has its merits she didn't agree with tossing out the phonics system when it was yielding success in many classrooms.

"I'm all for innovation but I also believe in the spiral approach, learning basic skills and then building on that knowledge," Reedom said. "I refused to accept that we had to throw out everything that was working if we were going to help students move up to the next level."

At McDoniel, which regularly ranked at the top of the district's list in student achievement, Reedom created a marine lab that continues to flourish today. When she was asked to open Vanderburg Elementary School in Green Valley, Reedom knew she wanted the campus to also have a central attraction that would encourage student interest in science.

The result is the Vanderburg Biosphere, a 3,200-square-foot rainforest habitat complete with a waterfall, plants, fish and even free-roaming lizards. The $1.2 million cost was covered by private donations and proceeds from campus fundraisers. Students from throughout the district are regular visitors to the biosphere.

Reedom regularly volunteers for out-of-state recruiting trips, focusing her attentions on universities and colleges with high minority enrollment. While Reedom disagreed with allegations made by the Urban Chamber of Commerce that an intentional glass ceiling blocks black educators in Clark County, "there is always room for improvement," she said.

"This is a very progressive district and if you work hard and dedicate yourself you can move up," Reedom said. "Can more be done? Of course -- we need to offer more incentives to encourage more minorities to come work here. Diversity among our employees will only make our district stronger."

Reedom has agreed to a consulting contract with education giant Harcourt, and will be a guest speaker at the company's regional and national conferences. But she plans to work only 100 days a year, giving her more time with her family.

In some ways opening Vanderburg brought Reedom back to the beginning. The campus, on Desert Shadow Trail off Valle Verde Parkway, shares its site with Twitchell Elementary School -- named for Reedom's early mentor who encouraged her more than 30 years ago to consider a career as a principal.