Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Emphasis on mentoring earns educator an award

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Karyn Wright, director of teacher induction and mentoring for the Clark County School District, is a recent recipient of the School District's Excellence in Education Hall of Fame award.

It has long been Karyn Wright's mission to ensure that new teachers to the Clark County School District feel welcome and comfortable in their new positions.

As the person who has overseen the district's Teacher Induction and Mentoring program since 1993, Wright has given new teachers access to support with curriculum and helped many a Las Vegas transplant stay connected to his or her roots by facilitating connections with other teachers hailing from the same area.

For her efforts and consistent drive to go above and beyond her duties, Wright was recently recognized by the Clark County School Board.

During a ceremony Nov. 20, in conjunction with American Education Week, Wright was among five people and three programs that were recognized with an Excellence in Education Hall of Fame Award.

Wright said her drive to help new teachers stems from the warm welcome and support she received when she herself was new on the job straight out of a small town in Illinois.

She said when she was offered the task of restructuring and formalizing the teacher induction program for the district, she was thrilled to be able to share the support that she had received.

"I remember moving here and knowing what it was like not knowing a soul," she said. "It's very important to help people feel they're connected."

The program Wright designed and implemented includes fostering a continuance of relationships between new teachers who are from the same area and providing aid with curriculum, which is done in part by mentoring led by veteran teachers.

Coworker and nominator Debbie Tomasetti said Wright's passion for teacher-to-teacher instruction is one of the things she respects about Wright and is something that makes her stand out.

"She saw the importance of developing leadership patterns ... and the impact it made on classroom instruction and therefore student achievement," Tomasetti said.

Brenda Nielson, who works with Wright and also helped nominate her for the award, said she appreciates Wright's innovative approach.

"She's always looking at all of the needs of her teachers and what is the need of the district and finding ways to better server those folks," she said.

Each of the 14 nominations received this year were reviewed by a group of five people consisting of members of the district's Community and Government Relations office and previous award recipients. Reviewers were not privy to the identities of nominees.

Other award recipients include: The Advanced Placement Program at Clark High School, Principal Jeffrey Geihs from Cheyenne High School, the International Baccalaureate Program at Valley High School, teacher Donna Minser from Coronado High School, The Parents as Academic Leaders (PAALS) program from the district's East Region, Principal Lisa Primas from Paul Culley Empowerment School and Trustee Mary Beth Scow from District A.

Ashley Livingston can be reached at 990-8925 or [email protected].

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