Excellence 

Creating Opportunities through Education

In 2001, the Foundation opened the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy (Agassi Prep), a public, K-12 charter school that strives to provide underserved youth with a quality education to prepare them for excellence in college and beyond. 

Agassi Prep was conceived in the belief that nothing has a greater impact on children's lives than the education they receive, and that all children deserve outstanding academic experiences, regardless of what neighborhoods they live in.  Ours is a climate of hope and high expectations, where we nurture children but also provide the focus and discipline they need to reach their potential and achieve their dreams.

Click here to view the Agassi Prep Resolution

Bringing Best Practices to School

The goal of Agassi Prep is to build character and inspire motivation and self-discipline while imparting the skills and knowledge children need to prepare for excellence in college and in life. We inspire learning through academic rigor, shared responsibility and a culture of respect in which every student, parent, teacher and administrator plays a valuable role.  

Our approach is straightforward and proven.  It's based on a series of educational best practices that include:

• Providing small classrooms focused on curricula that are aligned with state standards and coordinated across grade levels to ensure continuity;
• Emphasizing more time on task, with two extra hours of class work each day and two extra weeks in school each year;
• Incorporating technology into all that we do;
• Requiring parent involvement and holding administrators, teachers, parents and students accountable for students' success;
• Offering a full-day kindergarten program to enhance early learning; and
• Providing additional intensive staff development to ensure that our educators grow alongside our students.

Helping Students Excel

Educational best practices and the unending generosity of our supporters and partners enable Agassi Prep to provide a quality education in an environment structured around personal responsibility in which students can thrive. While our dedicated and experienced staff provides a critical framework and valuable resources, it is ultimately our students' drive and commitment that enable them to excel academically and embark on the path to achieving their dreams.  

Academic Rigor Achieves Results

The most recent year of student achievement results showed all three schools earning the "High Achieving" status under No Child Left Behind. While these results are important barometers of student achievement, college acceptance and attendance is the ultimate measure of our success. 100% of the students in the inaugural graduating class have been accepted to college. The following are just some of the schools where our students were accepted: Spelman College, United States Military Academy, Pepperdine University, University of Nevada, Las Vegas and Reno, Morehouse College, Occidental College, Lehigh University, and Clark Atlanta University.

The extra time focused on learning is giving our students the competitive edge they need to excel in college and beyond. Students attend school for an additional two hours daily and an extra two weeks per year. What's more, most of our students voluntarily stay an additional 1-2 hours for after-school activities, elective classes or tutoring.

Preparing for Excellence in College and Beyond

A Ceremony to Remember

In June 2009, Agassi Prep graduated its first senior class with 100% of the students accepted to college.  With the whole school watching below, the graduates were the first in the school's history to cross the sky bridge; a symbol of where they've been and where they are headed. 

As they crossed the bridge they taped a pennant from the colleges they would attend to the bridge. They then proceeded to a room in which they wrote inspirational words for future graduates in a special, commemorative book. From this point on, only seniors who graduate will be allowed to walk across the bridge, and only future graduates will be able to read what other students have written in the book.  This moving ceremony demonstrates to all our students the importance we place on their preparation for college and their futures.

Our Support Doesn't End at Graduation

Agassi Prep's Director of College Access helps students navigate the bureaucracy and paperwork necessary to access the financial aid and scholarships they need to pay for college tuition and associated costs.

Closing the Financial Gap in Education

In the 2009-2010 school year, public schools in the Clark County School District will receive a per-pupil allotment of roughly $6,400 from the state.  Clark County School District makes up 72% of Nevada’s school age children.  Currently, Nevada ranks a shocking 49th in per-pupil spending.  The money that is raised by the Agassi Foundation helps underwrite Agassi Prep’s operating budget and sustain the Foundation’s work to impact education and educational policy on a local and national level.

Our need is ongoing, and you can help us continue to provide an outstanding education to Agassi Prep students.  

Design Awards - Pride in Attending an Award Winning Institution

The Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy was built in three phases. Phase I, the elementary school, opened in 2001 and Phase II, the middle school, opened in 2003 and High School was completed in 2007.

The last two phases were designed by Carpenter Sellers Architects, which received three design awards for Phase II: the AIA Nevada Citation Award, given to entries exemplifying the highest standards of design quality; the CEFPI Southwest Region Monarch Award, which recognizes excellence in educational facility planning; and the Southwest Contractor Magazine Best of 2004 K-12 Education Project.