On September 19, 2023, the Nevada Department of Education honored Laura Penrod as the Nevada State Teacher of the Year for 2024.
The surprise ceremony was held in the gym, with junior and senior students and teachers present, along with Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo, CCSD Superintendent Dr. Jesus Jara, Senate District No. 6 Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro, Nevada Superintendent of Public Instruction Jhone Ebert, and Penrod’s family.
“It’s easy to come to work and be agnostic to your environment or just be there for your paycheck,” Gov. Lombardo said. “In this case, Laura is here for the students. She chose to be a teacher and make a difference in kids’ lives and education, and [give them] a quality of life upon graduation. She does everything with honesty in mind, and I would even say with tenacity because it’s frustrating when you don’t know whether you’re achieving your goals [as a teacher] or not. But if you continue to work hard, you can be successful, and I would describe Laura that way.”
More updates will follow as this story unfolds.
![Painting their pumpkins during FCCLA’s annual pumpkin painting meeting, juniors Aki Javier and Rizzael Maniego work alongside each other. The members were able to choose their own designs when decorating their pumpkins. “I wanted to win the best pumpkin [award],” Maniego said. “I tried painting Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh and I feel that it turned out pretty good despite the short amount of time we were given.”](https://southwestshadow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/club_preview_nov_11.jpg)
