Dr. Jesus F. Jara knows our kids only have one shot at school. That is what drives him to help make the Clark County School District (CCSD) the number one choice for students and their families.
Dr. Jara has a unique perspective after moving to Miami from Venezuela as an English- Language Learner. Teachers invested in him as a child, and Dr. Jara has set a priority of ensuring equity and access for our historically underserved and under-resourced students.
In his first 90 days on the job, Dr. Jara completed a listening tour including thousands of parents, employees, students and community members. The result is Focus: 2024, CCSD’s ambitious five-year strategic plan approved by the Board of School Trustees.
In his first year on the job, Dr. Jara also lead an effort to resolve employee contracts with all five of the district’s employee bargaining groups - a historic first for CCSD.
During the 2019 legislative session, Dr. Jara and his team successfully helped advocate for the first modernization of the education funding formula since 1967, changing the education landscape for a generation of Nevada students. They also secured more funding than had been allocated for schools in years, including an average 5 percent raise for all CCSD employees in the 2019-20 school year.
Jara’s first year on the job focused heavily on equity and access, initiating plans to expand access to Advanced Placement classes at all schools. CCSD has one of the highest transiency rates in the nation, and Dr. Jara’s team chose a standard K-9 assessment plan to ensure the district is consistently tracking student success, including for students who move frequently.
Dr. Jara also advocated for various school safety improvements, including putting more officers on campuses and developing one of the nation’s largest K-9 officer teams dedicated to sniffing out firearms.
Dr. Jara brings with him more than 20 years of experience serving public school students, including serving as the deputy superintendent for Orange County Public Schools in Florida, the superintendent and chief operations officer in Monroe County Public Schools (Florida), as executive director of the College Board’s Florida Partnership, and as an assistant principal and principal in Springfield, Mass, He began his career in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, where he was a bilingual biology teacher and coach.
He received his Doctorate in Education, Educational Policy, Leadership, and Administration from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Dr. Jara is married and has three children who thrived in public schools.
