Las Vegas Valley
Overview
Don’t let the bright lights fool you. The Las Vegas Valley is a community in need of education reform and excellent teachers. The Clark Country School District is the fifth largest school district in America, serving over 300,000 children. The Las Vegas Valley welcomes corps members to help work towards a day when our vision of ending educational inequity becomes a reality.
Life
With perpetual sunshine and a small-town feel, the Las Vegas Valley is a fantastic community. Whether you want to attend an art showing, hit the town at a local club on the strip or run the Las Vegas Marathon, there is something for everyone. In addition, we have master-planned communities and affordable housing throughout our region. Some corps members live in Henderson where they enjoy shopping at The District or dinner and a movie at Towne Square, while other corps members live centrally, close to the vibrant Las Vegas Boulevard. Corps members also live in the Northeast in Summerlin with easy access to mountain climbing at Red Rock and restaurants in Boca Park. Finally, while Las Vegas has all the advantages of a major city, it is more affordable than most, and residents enjoy the benefits of having no personal state income tax.
Corps Culture
The Las Vegas Valley is a community with civic-minded leaders who are deeply committed in to success of Teach For America. In addition to building partnerships with the school and community leaders, corps members directly impact the development of regional programming and corps culture. Las Vegas Valley corps members attend Professional Development Saturdays and on-going workshops where everyone works collaboratively to plan for classroom instruction. This is an incredibly tight-knit group, and many Las Vegas Valley corps members and alumni live in the same apartment complexes and neighborhoods, which helps build a cohesive and convenient support network.
Teaching
The Clark County School District (CCSD) serves nearly 300,000 students who attend more than 337 schools. The academic achievement of students in the CCSD varies by school, but students in low-income communities continue to significantly lag behind their peers.
In the Las Vegas Valley, the achievement gap begins at the age of three. There is a high percentage of English language learners and families living in poverty, which demands an increased emphasis on competitive early childhood programs. Data show that children living in poverty are often less prepared to enter kindergarten than their more affluent peers, which is why we place teachers at Acelero (Head Start) sites to begin closing the achievement gap at the earliest point in a child’s academic development.
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Children in Clark County have limited pre-K options with Head Start and only a handful of pre-K classrooms throughout the district.
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In 2008, only 29.6 percent of the district’s 3rd-5th grade students met or exceeded proficiency goals on the writing assessment, compared to the district average of 49 percent.
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Fewer than half of high school seniors passed their math proficiency exams last year. Of all the freshmen that enter high school, less than 60 percent graduate.
While academic achievement isn’t where we need to be, the district remains focused on improving the performance of all students. The 2010 corps will join the mighty 47 2009 corps members to assume a leading role in ensuring that all students have the opportunity to attain an excellent education.
View a map of our placement areas.
Certification and Testing
In order to join the Las Vegas Valley corps, all corps members must take and pass both the Praxis I and Praxis II exams that are required for their placement. Applicants assigned to the Las Vegas Valley will receive more information about these exams once they are accepted.
Teach For America • Las Vegas Valley established a partnership with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, (UNLV) enabling corps members to pursue certification. In addition, most corps members enroll in the dual Master's of Education and Teacher Licensure program. It is possible for corps members to successfully earn a master’s of education at the end of their two-year commitment, but Nevada requires three years of teaching experience to become eligible for licensure. As a result, nearly 65 percent decide to continue to teach for a third year in order to obtain their Nevada state teaching license.
Placements
| Pre-K |
28% |
| Elementary |
44% |
| Special Education |
10% |
| Teach at a school with another corps member or alumnus |
78% |
Placements Available
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general subject elementary
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secondary math
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secondary science
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secondary English
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secondary history
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special education
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Living and Education Expenses
Salary and Taxes
| Salary |
$33,403 - $35,083 |
| Taxes |
0.0% |
Cost of Living
| Housing Single |
$600 - $700 |
| Housing Shared |
$300 - $600 |
| Health Insurance |
$70 |
| Utilities |
$60 |
| Daycare |
$700 / month |
| Monthly Tranist Pass |
N/A |
| Car Insurance |
$65 |
| Car Required |
Access to car is essential |
Start-up Costs
| Testing Costs |
$210 - $365 |
| Up-front Certification Costs |
$161 |
| How do you pay start-up costs? |
Out-of-pocket |
Ongoing Costs through the Two-year Commitment
| Ongoing Certification Costs |
$3,780 - $8,502 |
| Use AmeriCorps award for testing/certification costs? |
Yes |
| How is teaching certification structured in this state/region? |
2 year - Through University |
| Is it possible to complete a master's degree at the end of two years? |
Yes |
| Is the completion of a master's degree required as part of the two-year commitment? |
No |
| Extra Master's Degree Costs |
$847 - $6,070 |
| Partner Universities |
UNLV |
Notes and Clarifications
- Beginning teacher salary: If you have a master's degree in education, are placed in a bilingual classroom, or in a math/science classroom you may receive additional compensation.
- Avg. health insurance: In some placement districts, health insurance premiums are pre-tax deductions.
- Total tax rate: Federal + state + city. Only applies to starting salaries.
- Up-front certification: Expenses that must be paid before your first day of teaching.
- Paying start-up costs: Can you pay for testing and up-front certification costs with transitional grants and loans or do you have to pay out-of-pocket?
- Ongoing certification: Total certification costs over two-year teaching commitment.
- AmeriCorps award for certification: Can you use your AmeriCorps award to pay testing/certification costs?
- Master's in two years: Is it possible to complete a master's degree at the end of two years?
- Master's required: Is the completion of a master's degree required as part of the two-year commitment?
- Extra master's degree costs: Additional total cost to obtain a master's degree (on top of ongoing certification costs); does not include AmeriCorps award.
- Partner university(ies): These universities partner with Teach For America for ongoing certification requirements, and in some cases, the fulfillment of a master's degree in education.