Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy

Part of my visit to Nevada took me to the Andre Agassi College Preparatory School in Las Vegas. Begun in 2000, this school exists for the sole purpose of helping students who might not be successful in school graduate and go to college. Those who graduate have the honor of walking across this skywalk as part of their graduation ceremony. Students at the school are selected through a weighted lottery system, giving first priority to students who live within a two mile radius of the school. Beginning in Kindergarten through high school, the school stresses high academic expectations and a value on education. Three state-of-the-art buildings make up the secured campus, where there is an emphasis on art and music as exhibited by the artwork in the hallways (professionals and students), the orchestra, Suzuki violin classes for elementary students and the African drumming class taught by an African who returned to Africa one summer to have the drums for the class hand-made.

I spent most of my time with the Kindergarten teachers, where they were celebrating Nevada Read Week by dressing up as a favorite book character. One of the K teachers is dressed as Clifford. The students were just finishing writing time as I entered. For several, they are recopying a rough draft that has been edited by the teacher in blue pen. They are able to work independently as the teacher conferences with individuals. Between the two classrooms there are three teachers. One is a floating teacher who goes back and forth, working with small groups of students. She was an apprentice last year through a program sponsored by Beachum where new teachers are hired for about half salary as they serve under a more experienced teacher. The program was discontinued, but AACPA elected to hire an aid for each classroom and a full time teacher for K, where they have 39 students. The students are grouped for reading into four groups – the first grade aid takes one group. Also, they are grouped into 3 groups for phonics and some math.
Kindergarten students come for a month in the summer before K starts. There they are taught about the structure of school and begin on the K curriculum. The academic expectations for the school are very high, so by October the Kindergarten students are beginning on the first grade curriculum. They use Saxon phonics and math, and I watched the students using first grade materials.

The Board of Directors sets the academic expectations for the school, but the K teachers can adjust the schedule and teaching activities to best meet these expectations. For instance, at the beginning of the year, they spend a lot of time on handwriting, to teach letter formation, and this is usually taught first thing in the morning. Then after a month or two, they back off from handwriting and move it to the end of the day, and process writing becomes more important. They have the professional freedom to make such decisions, and the two K classrooms operate jointly when making these decisions. Since the students move back and forth between the classrooms for grouping, all three of the teachers know all of the students. They discuss student progress frequently. I heard a discussion of a student’s writing, and how she had three disjointed sentences instead of three sentences on topic, like another student. They talked about how to help the one student move to this level.

Nothing I saw at the school was innovative or unique. Of course the facilities were top of the line, and materials were not in short supply. So I found myself wondering what made this school special. How were these teachers able to move the students at an accelerated pace? First, more time. The school day is extended. Other schools in Las Vegas get out of school at 1:30 while AACPA gets out at 3:30, not to mention the Kindergarten students coming for a month in the summer. Second, the quality of the teachers. The two teachers I visited with had experience and knowledge. One had finished her masters degree and one was working on hers. Third, class size. With three teachers and 39 students, more individualized attention could be given to students. Fourth, high expectations. The ultimate goal of the program is for these children to graduate from college. Instilling this value begins in Kindergarten. I heard one teacher give an explanation of what a banker does – helping students to “see” what the possibilities are for their futures. Fifth, parent involvement. Parents are expected to do 12 hours of volunteer work each school year. These parents are involved and their dedication is seen and passed on to their children. I think sixth on the list is facilities/materials. Having these things is helpful and gives a message to the students that education is important.

One has to look up to see the skywalk in the photo. I think this symbolizes having the students look up for their dreams, which clearly is promoted by the school. I am impressed with what they can accomplish and with Andre Agassi's commitment to education.