Las Vegas parents looking for a fresh take on education now have a new option. The Western Youth Leadership, Engagement, and Empowerment School (WYLEES), which has taken up residence in the Boulevard Mall, opened its doors to students with a ribbon-cutting ceremony commemorated by patriotic renditions of the Star-Spangled Banner on violins performed by students. Mike Taack, the school's founder and a former CCSD teacher, is steering this institution towards project-based learning within the unconventional walls of a former department store.
With an initial enrollment of 210 students, the newly opened charter school promises to be an academic haven that pivots away from a traditional curriculum. The emphasis is placed on tailoring education to personal interests and career goals, with a flexible elective program that lets students dictate their learning journey. As Taack proudly shared with News 3 Las Vegas, "Our elective that we have is called exploration, so they actually tell us what they want to study, and then we kind of teach them how to plot a course for achieving their goals."
This approach is being met with optimistic reviews from both students and parents alike. One parent, Danielle Norris, speaking to 8 News Now reporters, told them, "I needed something that was more focused on the child and not so much the rigid curriculum." And it's not just about academia—the school operates on a four-day schedule, from 8:15 am to 4 pm, a move that benefits students with medical needs.
The location within a mall might raise eyebrows, but for WYLEES, which still has space for 90 additional students this academic year, it's seen as a positive feature. Despite concerns, the unique setting provides an extra layer of security with a single entry point to the school, which, according to Taack, "there's really only one way into the building, and there's lots of layers of security before you get up into our floor." The installation of robots was expressed by Henry, a student transferring from another charter school, as he mentioned to News 3 Las Vegas, "I would like to build robots here because when I first learned about battle bots, I was very interested in it."
As WYLEES takes shape within the Boulevard Mall, it carries with it the hopes of parents and educators alike, yearning for a more engaged and custom-fit education for their children—something that the typical one-star schools in the vicinity have failed to deliver according to Cece Rice, School Support Director for Opportunity 180, who expressed to News 3 Las Vegas the importance of having educational alternatives that serve the community.
