Carolyn S. Reedom was born in New Orleans, LA. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Dillard University, New Orleans, LA, and her master’s and doctorate degrees from UNLV. In addition to her 35 years of service to the Clark County School District, Carolyn Reedom has served as an adjunct professor at UNLV and a visiting professor for other universities across the country.

Carolyn S. Reedom began her tenure with the Clark County School District in 1970. She served as a teacher, dean of students, high school assistant principal, principal, and assistant superintendent. She served as principal for 23 years at Red Rock, Paradise, Estes McDoniel, and John C. Vanderburg Elementary Schools. She served as assistant superintendent in the southeast region from 2000 until her retirement in 2005. Carolyn Reedom continues to serve as a member of the Clark County School District’s Expulsion Review Board.

While principal at John C. Vanderburg Elementary School, Reedom led the campaign to solicit funding to build the $1.4 million Rain Forest Biosphere; also, she was instrumental in the creation of the Marine Laboratory at Estes McDoniel. Both of these science laboratories have received local, state, and national recognition, and serve as field trip destinations for all of the students in the Clark County School District. Under her leadership, John C. Vanderburg became the first elementary school in the Clark County School District to be named a High Achieving School by the State of Nevada under the federally mandated No Child Left Behind legislation. Reedom introduced and successfully maintained the first inclusion program in the district.

At the regional level, Reedom worked with district departments to secure funding for the first international school in the Clark County School District, which opened in 2002. She worked with school communities to implement a successful voluntary school uniform program and led the campaign for mandatory school uniforms which has evolved into the current Standard Student Attire policy in the CCSD.

Carolyn Reedom served as a member of the Drug Abuse Commission for the State of Nevada. She was the first female and African American president of the Nevada Association of School Administrators. She has been active in the Girl Scouts of America, the Frontier Girl Scouts Council, Boy Scouts of America, The United Way, the National Urban League, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the We Can organization (Working to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect), the Links, Inc., The Girl Friends, and served many years in various capacities in the St. James Catholic Church.

Reedom is owner and president of CSR Education Consulting Firm, LLC, an international consultant for Science Weekly, an associate for the Center for Transformative Teacher Training, and an associate for Solution Tree.

In addition to Reedom’s many accomplishments, awards, and honors, she is a National Distinguished Principal selected by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Association of Elementary School Principals, recipient of the Woman of Achievement Award presented by the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, and recipient of the Outstanding School Administrator Award presented by the Las Vegas Alliance of Black School Educators. Reedom and her incredible achievements are featured in the book, Hometown Heroes: Real Stories of Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things All Across America.

On October 12, 2006, one year after her retirement, the Clark County School District voted unanimously to name a new elementary school in honor of Reedom. The Carolyn S. Reedom Elementary School opened on August 25, 2008.

Reedom is married to Ronald Reedom and they have two children, Ronda and Ryan, and a grandson, Kenneth Gregory Brass, III.