Las Vegas: Education and Research

Elementary and Secondary Schools

The Clark County School District is divided into five regions and educates about 250,000 students in the entirety of Clark County with a total of 186 elementary, 51 middle, 38 high schools, 28 alternative schools, and 8 special schools or programs. Las Vegas proper is served by the district's Southeast Region. Several grants were recently awarded the school system: the Local Plan grant provides $40 million for expansion and improvements to programs serving students with disabilities; the Gear Up program will provide $845,000 towards efforts to decrease dropout rates, raise academic achievement in the high schools, and development of college preparatory coursework; the Library Books grant will provide $253,000 for library purchases in the elementary and secondary schools. The school district is constantly expanding; in 2002 the district reported a "typical year" as including 14,000 new students, 12-14 new schools, and 1,300 new employees.

The following is a summary of data regarding the Southeast Region of the Clark County School District public schools.

Total enrollment: 58,268 (2003-2004)

Number of facilities

elementary schools: 39

junior high/middle schools: 12

senior high schools:

other: 1 vocational trade center

Student/teacher ratio: 18:1 elementary; 30:1 secondary

Teacher salaries (2004-2005)

minimum: $37,354

maximum: $57,480

Funding per pupil: $5,501

Twenty-eight private and parochial elementary and secondary schools serve the Las Vegas metropolitan area. There are also more than 90 pre-schools and day care centers.

Public Schools Information: Clark County School District, 2832 East Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV 89121; telephone (702)799-5011

Colleges and Universities

Officially opened in 1957 and occupying 337 acres in the metropolitan area, the University of Nevada at Las Vegas enrolled 27,000 students in 2004 and offers them more than 200 undergraduate and graduate programs; engineering, computer science, business, economics, and hotel management are especially strong fields. The university also has a School of Medicine that is affiliated with the University Medical Center, and a School of Dental Medicine. Located in the Las Vegas area are the three campuses of the Community College of Southern Nevada (CCSN), the largest institution in the University of Nevada System, enrolling more than 30,000 students including those taking online courses. Among the top disciplines at CCSN are dental hygiene, culinary arts, computing and information technologies, resorts and gaming, nursing and other health professions, automotive technology, air conditioning, and criminal justice. The International Academy of Design & Technology offers two- and four-year programs in Fashion Design, Interior Design, and Visual Communications.

Libraries and Research Centers

Located in one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the United States, the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District supports more than 850,000 area residents with 24 branches and a comprehensive resource of informational materials. Serving an area larger than the state of Connecticut, the system's collection exceeds 2.3 million items and includes special collections focusing on fine art, the Southwestern region, the building and construction industry and trades, grants and foundations, health sciences, business and finance, aviation, Nevada history, and the hotel and gaming industry. The library is a depository for federal and state government documents.

A variety of specialized or research libraries are also located in Las Vegas; most are affiliated with local corporations, government agencies, and educational institutions. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints maintains a branch of its genealogical library in Las Vegas. Desert Research Institute's research centers carry out about 300 projects focusing on the environment each year. Other research activities in the region focus on the natural history, exercise physiology, computer science, information sciences, and business and economics.

Public Library Information: Las Vegas-Clark County Library District, 833 Las Vegas Boulevard North, Las Vegas, NV 89101; telephone (702)382-3493