Assistant Superintendent, Curriculum and Instruction Division, CCSD

Alaina Criner-Wilson has served as an educator in the Clark County School District (CCSD) for the past 16 years as an elementary classroom teacher, Pre-Kindergarten–Grade 12 instructional project facilitator, elementary assistant principal, elementary literacy coordinator, administrator on special assignment for school turnaround, elementary school principal, region 1 principal supervisor, and currently as the assistant superintendent of the Curriculum and Instruction Division.

Born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, she grew up in the historic westside as the youngest of three. Her parents, both retired CCSD educators, instilled faith and education as the great equalizers within her and her siblings. Although her family didn’t have much, they had great faith that all things are possible to those who believe. Believing this, Alaina and her two siblings, Tamra and Jerome, experienced the power of God in their lives and how that same power could transform others. Before having a physical church building, Alaina’s dad and mom (founders of Holy Tabernacle Outreach Mission, Inc.) along with other family members would set up the Sunday morning early “Coffee Breaks” on the corner of Main and Bonanza at 5:00 a.m. sharing the Good News along with home cooked food. Watching and participating in these acts of service from a young age, along with many others, began to mold empathy and compassion for others within Alaina. Additionally, it was evident that Alaina set out to be on her own path, not one of her siblings. As a child, she happily spent many hours helping her parents set up their classrooms and read their educator books. She remembers reading her mother’s Masters coursework books and wanting to know more about how one distributes leadership. In third grade, Alaina begged her father to be in his classroom since he was a 3rd grade teacher at the time at Marion Cahlan elementary school. She remembers her dad’s principal responding with, “Criner, can you handle it?” and of course, as a former marine, his response was essentially, “Ooh rah!” Faced with great opportunity, Alaina thrived at her elementary school and went on to attend K.O. Knudson for Fine and Performing Arts and Foreign Languages. Alaina is a graduate from Ed W. Clark High School where she was placed in the Academy for Mathematics, Science, and Technology (A.M.S.A.T) magnet program. This is where her father also entered her into the Naval Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC) which, at first, she strongly fought against. Over the course of the four years of high school, these formative years would shape Alaina’s outlook on education, leadership, equity, and citizenship. By her senior year, she was the battalion commander, unarmed drill team commander, physical fitness commander and ready to enter UNLV. At UNLV, Alaina majored in elementary education and finished her Bachelors degree in three and a half years determined to teach and reach our youth. At 21 years old, her first day of teaching was the same day of President Obama’s first inauguration. She will never forget how much people had to say about the class she would soon grow up with over the course of the rest of the school year.

Alaina has had the opportunity to serve as an educator, primarily in the urban core, focusing her skills on teaching and leading our students with the greatest needs. Her deep commitment and belief to ensuring that all students are academically successful and socially responsible has driven her in each role she has held. As an instructional leader, she believes in the power of investing in educators through a variety of ways, including through professional learning opportunities that are structured to impact sustainable change and will be a source for all students to receive high-quality, standards-aligned, rigorous, relevant, and engaging instruction. As a mother of three, she strives to model and reflect the change she wishes to see in the world each day.