New charter school will open in August in North Las Vegas

CIVICA Nevada Career & Collegiate Academy will open to about 600 kindergarten through seventh graders in a new facility currently under construction on East Carey Avenue.

Open enrollment is underway through the end of this month and an enrollment lottery is scheduled for Monday. School officials, though, say parents can submit an application even after that in case there are still open seats or a student who’s selected decides not to attend.

The Nevada State Public Charter School Authority’s board approved CIVICA’s new school application in May. And on Friday, school officials gave an update to the board.

“It’s been a long journey, but we do see the light at the end of the tunnel because August 2021 is right before us,” Carlos Alvarez with the CIVICA network told the board. “We are excited to bring something energetic and innovative to North Las Vegas and the kiddos there.”

CIVICA is among several new Las Vegas-area public charter schools slated to open next school year. Others are Las Vegas Collegiate Charter School, Sage Collegiate Public Charter School and Eagle Charter Schools of Nevada. And on Friday, the charter authority conditionally approved TEACH Las Vegas, which also aims to open in August.

As for CIVICA’s new North Las Vegas school, it will be part of a network that includes a campus in Florida, as well as one in Colorado that will open in August. The local campus plans to add one grade level each year until it reaches 12th.

The school building is slated for completion this summer. The first phase of the project is 41,000 square feet of space, but the full build out will total 120,000 square feet. The capital investment is $13.5 million for the first phase and the remaining projection is $30 million.

School offerings will include leadership and character development programs, industry certifications and dual enrollment classes for high schoolers. High schoolers will have academy options in criminal justice, firefighting and nursing, as well as in advanced academics.

The school will also provide before and after school care, a free lunch program, sports and extracurricular activities.

Principal Eve Breier is currently the only person on staff for the new charter school, but is in the process of hiring. She said the school is looking to initially open with about 40 employees, including 28 licensed teachers.

To fill out an enrollment application, visit civicanv.org.

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