In 2006, a Memorandum of Understanding between the Clark County School District (CCSD) and the Clark County Education Association (CCEA) was signed to establish the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE). The CTE was created to provide meaningful professional development for teachers that would focus on meeting the needs of the No Child Left Behind Act, Highly Qualified Teacher status, and the specific needs of teachers in the CCSD and their students. Teachers who enrolled and completed a master's degree through CTE became district models for educators seeking quality professional development. Their newly acquired pedagogy and motivation led to opportunities for increased student performance.

The Center for Teaching Excellence has generated a method for School Districts to sustain the quality of education for teachers obtaining masters degrees and specialized certifications. Since its inception, CTE has provided quality advanced studies programs for more than 7,000 teachers throughout Clark County, Nevada.

Our Mission

Teacher Growth and development is a necessary component of the teaching profession. Laws, such as the No Child Left Behind Act, make it increasingly important for teachers to take classes, focus on professional growth and make monetary advancements afforded by school district salary schedules.

I wanted to let you know that I just completed my first CTE course and thought it was excellent. The teacher was fantastic and many excellent ideas were shared and discussed throughout the class.

-Fernando S.

The Center for Teaching Excellence mission is to serve as a delivery system so that receiving advanced degrees is more convenient as well as more affordable for teachers. The CTE collaborates with accredited colleges in order to provide advanced degrees that are in high demand among teachers as well as concentrated certifications like autism and teaching English as a second language. Through these partnerships, CTE will offer Master’s degrees at discounted rates and classes designed to accelerate the learning experience without sacrificing instructional quality.