Jennifer L. Black

Lincoln Elementary School
Clark County School District
North Las Vegas, Nevada
blackjl@nv.ccsd.net

Throughout her career, principal Jennifer Black has made it her top priority to build effective teams and school cultures that are supportive, inclusive, and student-centered. In her first principalship at Watson Elementary School, Black inherited a school with low staff morale, high burn-out, and flagging student achievement. By sparking professional collaboration, building internal leadership capacity, and developing effective structures and systems of support for teachers and students, Black led an impressive turnaround effort, with the school achieving Adequate Yearly Progress for two years of her three-year tenure. As principal of Lincoln Elementary School, where she has served for the past 14 years, Black has built on this success by establishing the cultural and relational foundations for high teacher retention and measurable school improvement. Despite the challenges of being one of the most at-risk schools in the state, with all students receiving free and reduced-price meals, Lincoln staff are motivated, engaged, and collaborative, with students reaping the benefits. During her tenure, Lincoln students have made significant gains in their social, emotional, behavioral, and academic development. In recognition of this outstanding progress, the school joined the Superintendent’s Honor Roll in 2024 and earned a two-star rating in recognition of a 15-point gain on the Nevada School Performance index. Black holds an M.A. in Education Administration from the University of Phoenix and a B.A. in Education from the University of Wyoming.