Andre Agassi’s ‘amazing accomplishment’

Andre Agassi has led a life of accomplishment on and off the tennis court. But tonight, the Las Vegan is poised to mark one of his greatest achievements.

Mr. Agassi and his wife, fellow tennis Hall of Famer Steffi Graf, will host their 16th annual Grand Slam for Children benefit concert at Wynn Las Vegas. The event is the signature fundraiser for the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education, which supports the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, his West Las Vegas K-12 charter school.

To date, the Grand Slam for Children has raised about $92 million. If tonight's event brings in roughly $8 million, as last year's did, the gala will crack the $100 million mark, the threshold needed to "secure our school in perpetuity and fund it forever," Mr. Agassi told the Review-Journal's Norm Clarke. "That will be an amazing accomplishment, and it certainly will be an amazing celebration."

Agassi Prep is a tuition-free public school in a part of Las Vegas long served by substandard public schools. The state supplies the same level of per-student funding allocated to other Clark County schools, but Mr. Agassi's foundation provides significant additional operating resources. The foundation also covers the debt and interest payments on the state-of-the-art, $40 million campus built on West Lake Mead Boulevard, near Martin Luther King Boulevard.

Students are required to wear uniforms. The school day is two hours longer than a public school day, and the school year is 10 days longer. Students are required to be at school some evenings and weekends. Parents are required to volunteer at the school and be engaged in their children's studies daily. Teachers and administrators are not tenured. The school is built around accountability.

Next summer, Agassi Prep will graduate its fourth senior class. A 100 percent college acceptance rate is not merely a goal. It is expected.

Mr. Agassi wants to build other such charter schools around the country and reform American education in the process. His annual concert has made this vision a reality in Las Vegas. That he continues to give so much to his hometown is an inspiration in deeply challenging economic times.

Thanks for believing in Las Vegas, Mr. Agassi. And congratulations on a landmark fundraising achievement.