Porter shows off school to colleague

By Emily Richmond

Monday, May 5, 2003 | 9:04 a.m.

Calling it a "model charter school for the rest of the nation," Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., praised the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy on Friday as an example of innovation in public education.

The school, which opened in August 2001, was built by the tennis champion to serve a hardscrabble neighborhood off Lake Mead Boulevard not far from the North Las Vegas city limits. It's a community that has more than its share of crime, much of it gang- and drug-related, said Agassi Principal Wayne Tanaka.

"Do our students face more challenges than their peers across town? Absolutely," Tanaka said. "Does that mean they aren't as capable of success? Absolutely not. We tell them, 'Smart is not what we are, it's what we become.' "

Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., chairman of the House Education subcommittee, joined Porter for the visit.

"I wanted (McKeon) to see for himself what I've been praising to the skies," said Porter, serving his first term in Washington. "They're doing incredible things here in the face of tremendous odds."

Charter schools shouldn't be viewed as a threat to public education, Porter said.

"There's competition in the sense that (charter schools) challenge other schools to be better, but there's no competition for dollars," Porter said.

A resolution praising charter schools, authored by Porter, was passed by the House last week.

"It's about choice for the students and choice for the parents," Porter said.

Tanaka escorted the congressmen through the school, stopping to visit the computer lab as well as the music room where students practiced scales on recorders and xylophones. Clad in the school uniforms of navy pants and maroon shirts, students moved almost silently between rooms.

"They know what's expected of them -- respect for themselves, for their teachers and for their peers," Tanaka said.

The school serves about 200 students in grades three through six, with a middle school opening next fall. As a charter school, the academy receives the same per-pupil amount as the rest of the district's campuses but is not subject to the same rules and requirements. There is greater freedom in choosing curriculum, hiring staff and setting class hours.

The academy holds classes 190 days a year, with eight hours of instruction, compared with the district standard of six hours. The extra time gives students who come to the school lacking in the basics the chance to make up lost ground, Tanaka said.

While the school depends largely on contributions from the Agassi Foundation's corporate partners, federal grants are also used. The school received $1 million this year as part of the 2003 Omnibus Appropriations Bill, secured by Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev. and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.