A Las Vegas valley school teacher is taking on the daunting task of offering a better education to dozens of children, and he says he has a unique approach.
Justin Brecht is trying to start a public charter school from scratch.
"It's quite an undertaking, but it's worth it," Brecht said. "We're talking about education."
Brecht taught in the Clark County School District for 13 years, and now he's taking on the new challenge of administration.
"We're seeking to provide options to families who currently do not have any high-quality options," Brecht said.
Brecht measures "high quality" by a school's state assessment scores.
He calls his vision Nevada Rise Academy, and he plans to serve kindergarten through fifth grade.
Lydia Saleado has had more than one of her children go through Brecht's classroom, and she believes he has what it takes to pull this off.
"He might not be an administrator but I know he's a great teacher and he pours his heart towards benefiting those children," Saleado said.
At Nevada Rise, Brecht wants longer school days, more training and feedback for teachers and plenty of events encouraging parents to participate in their child's education.
"We seek to be interwoven to every community we serve and parents are a big part of that," Brecht said.
Brecht has applied for state funding and will hear back later this year.
His goal is to open the academy for the 2018-19 school year with five classrooms serving kindergarten and first grade, then adding a grade every year after that.
Brecht says he has signatures from 150 parents interested in enrolling their children.
