Mission & Vision:

"The mission of Explore Knowledge Academy (EKA) is to provide personalized learning through educational discovery, building 21st century leaders, one project at a time."

We achieve this through instilling in our community:

• Kindness, tolerance, and respect amongst all learners.
• Certainty that honoring the individual means honoring diversity.
• Conviction that a democratic community is the basis of individual excellence.
• An ethic of school & community stewardship exemplified by the servant leader.
  

Public Charter Schools Are:

• Public schools that utilize a range innovative strategies & programs to drive instruction & learning.
• Are exempt from some regulations in exchange for greater accountability.
• Funded directly from the State Department of Education and are sponsored by the state or school district. The academy is sponsored by Clark County School District.

The Academy Community:

• Serves students in grades Kindergarten to year 12.
• Elementary students (grades K-2) attend school at 4845 Community Lane, Las Vegas, NV 89121.
• Elementary students (3rd-6^th grade) attend school at 4801 S. Sandhill Road, Las Vegas, NV 89121.
• Secondary students (grades 7-12) attend at 1711 Whitney Mesa Dr., Henderson, NV 89014.
• Older students frequently visit the Sandhill and Community Lane site to participate in special activities with the younger students.
• Many families have students in both the elementary and the secondary programs.

Project Based Learning:  

• Students complete projects in which they incorporate the curriculum standards for the courses in which they are enrolled.
• They select areas of interest that are relevant to them and create an essential or guiding question to frame the investigative process.
• A minimum of three resources are required to frame student research which include primary, secondary & Tertiary resources (i.e. Texts, websites, human experts and original factual documents & accounts).
• Each project concludes with a presentation to an audience to illustrate what has been learned.
• Students then enter evidence of the learning, which includes a reflection, pictures & images, or an essay in their portfolios.
• Students must take responsibility for learning the curriculum standards for their courses, with the advisor acting as the learning coach to guide them to a higher level of work than they would produce on their own.

A Four Day Work Week:

• Students attend school Tuesday through Friday, with each day counting for 1 1/4 days.
• Students use Mondays for research, working on projects, visiting places of interest in the community (art galleries & the cultural district).
• Participating in leadership, service learning, community service & extra-curricular activities.
• Staff members use Mondays for collaborative planning and professional development activities.

Academy Tuition:

• Charter schools are publicly funded so there is no tuition.
• Fees may be collected for planners, field trips, library fines, textbook replacement for lost books, special activities, & class projects where students keep the finished projects
• Parents are also asked to volunteer for a range of activities and programs during the school year.
• Families are expected to participate in school fund-raisers.

Multi-age classes:

• All students, with the exception of Kindergarten, are assigned to multi-age advisories which creates a family like environment at the academy.
• For instruction in Reading and Mathematics, students are grouped by their developmental levels rather than grade level.
• Students are encouraged to work at the highest level of their abilities and interests.
• At the secondary campus, students attend seminars and Mathematics classes based on topics and proficiencies rather than grade levels.

Registration:

• As mandated by state law, a student entering Kindergarten must be 5 years old by September 30th. There is no testing for early admission and no exceptions are able to be made.
• Anyone interested in enrolling their child or children at the Academy may submit a registration form available in any of our office locations.
• For more information on the enrollment process, please consult the enrollment section of the academy website.

General Information:

• All students attend 1.25 days of school Tuesday through Friday in order to meet the minimum number of minutes required by state law.
• The Sandhill and Community Lane sites begin at 8:15am and end school at 3:15pm.
• The Whitney Mesa site has a split schedule for the 2008-2009 academic year. School begins at 7:45am and ends at 3:15pm for the regular school day. The late program begins at 10.00am and concludes at 5.30pm.
• Parents must provide their own transportation to and from school.
• The academy does not provide lunch. Students must bring their lunch.
• Both elementary sites offer before & after school care through our explorations before & after school program. More information is available from the elementary campus offices.

Millennium scholarships:

• Students who meet the eligibility requirements for the millennium scholarship are eligible through Explore Knowledge Academy
• Our school counselor will also be working with students to ensure they are aware of other scholarship opportunities.