LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Like Nevada, which was born in a time of change, Battle Born Academy saw a need for a community of joyful students who are able to lead their own learning and ultimately be change-makers in the community and the world.
"Kids drive it," said the school's vice principal Katie Krackhard. "What are you interested in? What do you love? Do you want to learn about blockchains and NFTs? I don’t know about that, but let's create something around that. Let’s learn more about that together."
Battle Born Academy is a new tuition-free charter school on the east side near downtown that aims to be up and running for the 2022-2023 school year in the fall.
It will be the first of its kind in Nevada, focusing on project-based and student lead learning for every kid, every day.
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"We also have a very strong focus on social and emotional learning for children. That includes understanding the background of trauma some of our students have," said principal Kathy Rudd.
"Understanding the mental health crisis and other concerns many of our students have and seeing what’s happening at home in a holistic way that brings kids' real selves into this building," added Rudd.
Former CCSD teachers Kathy Rudd and Katie Krackhardt noticed and decided a change was needed.
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"It’s important to keep quality teachers. When the answer to, 'What teacher did you have for 5th grade?' is seven different teachers that all rotated in and out, that shows up in those students. We know that kids deserve better. That was a lot of our initial conversation around." Krackhard said.
Most staff is hired but they have a rolling application for teachers, prioritizing Special Education, English Learner and Spanish Speaking candidates. They’ll kick off serving kindergarten, 1st, 5th and 6th eventually serving K-8.
"We knew that this was a community that is largely students of color, largely students growing up in poverty and aren’t being served traditionally by the school district very well," Rudd said.
Learn more on BattleBornAcademy.org.
