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Allyson Secrest
Mr. Steven Saladino
EDU 201-101
27 October 2019
Portfolio Project #8

I chose to read the article, “Gender Disparity”. This article title caught my interest due to

hearing most of the time that females are more of a majority in education careers. I never put

thought into the roles gender plays beyond teachers and principals and what the preferred gender

is for superintendents and how it effects diversity in the schools and districts.

The part of the article that I found most interesting was reading all the different

experiences that women went through and where they found their inspiration to do more. Most of

the interviews talked about how women found inspiration from other women in more powerful

roles. I feel that because a role tends to be more male dominated, women do tend to be

overlooked because they don’t always have the same experience as men. For women to feel

powerful enough to do more besides teaching they look to learn from other women and their

accomplishments. Time is evolving and women are being recognized for having the same

abilities as men and needing a female in a role to bring a different view to the instructional side

of education.

What I have learned from this article that I didn’t know from before is that back in 1956

Maude Frazier was the head of the Las Vegas Union School District before it became Clark

County School District. I find this to be a fact in history that is important. It was said that there

have been men serving as superintendents over the last 62 years. I am finding that with reading

these articles the human resource department is starting to overlook the fact that gender is an
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issue when looking at candidates. By having women in higher power roles, it creates diversity

and reflects diversity in the district to the community. I believe it is about having the right people

in the right positions not depending on their gender. I see that the district is also starting to see

that also. They need to create the best learning environment and build those teams with the right

candidates to provide that education to students.

I was under the conception that there tended to be more females in the education system

in roles as teachers and principals. I also believed that men did tend to be in the superintendent

role. I have never personally had a female superintendent which is what lead me to believe this. I

felt that diversity was an issue within schools. I think that both males and females can bring

different views to a school district that would benefit it in different ways. After reading the

article and reading the CCSD five-year strategic plan, I believe that there will be changes done

that promote a better education system for students by hiring the best candidate whether is be

male or female.

Learning about diversity in schools provided me a better understanding on where CCSD

wants to be. I found that CCSD wants to improve and get better. By having this five-year plan, it

will implement different types of strategies and tools for teachers to use to improve education. If

the district follows through with these changes it will creates a better education and move the

needle for the district to not be one of the lowest rated districts. I see that CCSD sees the changes

that need to be made to their education system and this plan is the best way they see fit.

After reading and looking through all the articles and plans my views have changed a

little bit. I would wonder all the time if CCSD cared that they were one of the lowest rated

districts in the country. I see this action plan as a way for them to make improvements. It will be

interesting to see what improvement they follow through on and which are not implemented.
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That plan covers a large area around education and the improvements they believe will work. I

will continue to pursue my teaching degree but keep all the factors I have read about in mind.

When you are at the bottom you can only move up and I look forward to the positive changes

that CCSD is looking to make.