Ms. Bott currently serves as an Instructional Strategist at Gordon McCaw STEAM Academy in Henderson, NV. She has both her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, as well as a Master of Education in Educational Leadership (K-12). She has over seventeen years of experience in the educational setting, and has served as a curriculum specialist for seven of those years. Throughout her tenure at McCaw, she has been an integral part of the leadership team. She has helped grow the school from a two star status to a five star school, which has directly affected students in the areas of overall growth, growth of sub groups, achievement, and attendance. Through this position and experience the importance of purposeful planning of rigorous curriculum. She is responsible for all Read by Grade 3 legislative and district requirements, Title I budget and documentation requirements, curriculum planning and alignment of all Kindergarten-5th grade standards, embedding specialists (Art, Music, Library and GATE) into grade level Project Based Learning, maintaining school-wide curriculum data, supervising school-wide intervention supports, and coordinating/supervising all after school tutoring enrichment clubs. She serves as a mentor teacher both within the school and across the school district. Her experience includes leading teachers in district initiatives, modeling and coaching teachers in effective lesson planning using data to drive instruction, unwrapping the Nevada Academic Content Standards, facilitating professional learning communities, as well as leading staff and district-wide professional developments.

Ms. Furman-Born’s professional experience includes working as a human resource recruiter for small and large businesses and working for the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour International Headquarters in the Creative Service Department. While attending university, Ms. Furman-Born worked for seasonal employment with the United States Tennis Association under the Chief Photographer and for the ATP Tennis Masters Series in Cincinnati in the Marketing and Public Relations Department. Ms. Furman-Born began her educational career in the Clark County School District in 2000 as an art specialist before accepting her first administrative position. Over the next eleven years, Ms. Furman-Born served as an elementary school assistant principal. In this position, she worked to assist in the turn-around of an elementary at-risk school. In October of 2012, Ms. Furman-Born became the school principal of Gordon McCaw Elementary School, a Title I school seeing declining achievement. In 2014, Gordon McCaw Elementary School was selected as a CCSD magnet school to assist in school overcrowding and increasing school choice across the Las Vegas Valley. Since arriving at McCaw, the school has been transformed into an academically challenging environment for all learners with high expectations, goals and data driven accountability, and a collaborative family-centered culture. In February of 2018, the National Title I Distinguished Schools Program publicly recognize McCaw ES for their positive educational advances in exceptional student performance for two consecutive years. In 2019, Ms. Furman-Born was recognized by Magnet Schools of America Region VII Principal of the Year. Most recently, Ms. Furman-Born serves on the Southern Nevada STEM Network High Quality Programs Subcommittee and the McCaw School of Mines Foundation Board. Recent awards include, MSA Award of Distinction in 2020 and 2022, MSA designated Nationally Certified-Demonstration School, and Model STEM School through the Nevada Governor’s Office of Science, Innovation and Technology.

My name is Wendy Hale and it is an honor to introduce myself. I am originally from Reno, Nevada and moved to Las Vegas in 1999 to attend the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. I graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science from the University of Nevada Reno, a master of Art in Teaching from Sierra Nevada College and a Masters in Educational Leadership from University of Nevada Las Vegas. It has been my pleasure to work for the Clark County School District for over 20 years. I have worked as an elementary teacher at David Cox Elementary School and an assistant principal at Robert Taylor Elementary, Whitney Elementary as well as McCaw STEAM Academy Elementary School. I am committed to excellence in education. It is my mission to provide an equitable, positive and safe learning environment. I work to ensure every child is challenged to achieve, grow, and is provided enriching experiences that foster a growth mindset, perseverance, and responsibility. It has been an honor to work at McCaw Elementary School as we transitioned the campus into a five star achieving STEAM Academy focused on student growth, wellness, and achievement for the past 10 years.

Ms. Vera currently, serves as an Instructional Strategist at Gordon McCaw STEAM Academy in Henderson, NV. She has her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, Master of Education in Early Childhood Education, and Master of Education in Advanced Teaching and Leadership (K-12). She has over twenty-two years of experience in the field of education and has served as a curriculum and literacy specialist/strategist since 2007. Throughout her tenure at McCaw, she has been an integral part of the leadership team. She has helped grow the school from a two-star status to a five-star school; which has directly affected students in the areas of overall growth, growth of subgroups, achievement, and attendance. She is the Student Intervention Team Chair, Dyslexia Liaison, and EL Student Support Advocate. Through this position, she facilitates the purposeful planning and creation of a rigorous K-5 curriculum, maintains school-wide program and benchmark data, supervises school-wide intervention supports, and serves as a new teacher mentor.  Her experience includes leading teachers in Clark County School District and site-based initiatives, facilitating professional learning communities, as well as leading site-based professional development.