New charter school in downtown Las Vegas to open in 2022

Downtown Las Vegas will be home to a new tuition-free public charter school that’s aimed at opening in August 2022.

Battle Born Academy was approved Friday by the Nevada State Public Charter School Authority’s board.

The school’s mission is to “cultivate a community of joyful students” and contribute to an equitable education system in Nevada, co-founder Kathy Rudd told the board.

Battle Born Academy plans to open with kindergarten, first, fifth and sixth grades, and expects to have 135 students for its first year. It plans to gradually expand to 540 students in kindergarten through eighth grades.

The charter authority board approved the school’s application with a few conditions that carry 2022 deadlines, including submitting a revised budget, providing evidence of a secured facility for at least the first year of operation and sharing monthly enrollment updates.

School leaders are projecting about 95 percent of students will qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches, 42 percent will be English language learners and 11 percent will have a disability.

The school is building its foundation on community feedback, including the desire for more real-world learning, proposed school board Chairwoman Chantae Readye said.

Through project-based learning, students will identify challenges in their own community and envision solutions, she said.

The board’s Friday meeting agenda also included considering an application for pilotED Schools: North Las Vegas, but the school withdrew its application last week, charter authority Executive Director Rebecca Feiden said.

The board will soon consider approving more charter schools, most of which hope to open for the 2022-23 school year.

In total, 29 proposed schools — all but one of which are in Clark County — submitted a letter saying they plan to apply during this summer’s application cycle.

There are two application deadlines each year, Jan. 15 and July 15, for new charter school applications, Feiden told the board Friday.

Applicants are required to submit a non-binding notice of intent, Feiden said. Typically, 25 to 50 percent of groups who file a notice later turn in an application.

During Friday’s meeting, the board also:

— Voted on a few COVID-19-related requirements that go into effect May 1 and continue for the rest of the school year. It’s a response to certain mitigation measures soon shifting from the state control to charter school sponsors and local authorities.

The charter authority will continue to mandate at least three feet of social distancing for students and six feet for adults. A face mask mandate will also continue unless individuals have an exemption approved by a school administrator.

Schools can establish any capacity limits, but events of 250 people or more require an approved large gathering plan.

Feiden said she expects the board will revisit requirements before school summer programming and the beginning of next school year.

— Heard an announcement of a new board member.

Current board member Don Soifer’s term ends June 30. He’s one of two board members appointed by the Nevada State Board of Education.

The state education board voted last week to appoint Erica Mosca, founder and executive director of the nonprofit Leaders in Training, to the seat beginning July 1.

— Approved a request by Nevada State High School to defer opening an additional campus until the 2022-23 school year due to pandemic-related challenges. The school will be on West Craig Road in North Las Vegas.

— Approved a request by Girls Athletic Leadership School to relocate to a leased facility on South Maryland Parkway and reduce its enrollment cap — a requirement under a special use permit from the county — from 270 to 160 students next school year.

Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.