LAS VEGAS – It’s been a tough year at Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, with criticism over enrollment in low-income areas, looming budget issues and a testing mishap that cost the middle school principal her job.
But retired tennis superstars Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf say they’re excited about the future for 19 seniors getting set to graduate June 12 from the Las Vegas charter school that bears Agassi’s name.
“This is like the dream day of the whole year; it’s the next set of kids we’re sending off into their futures,” Agassi said as the married tennis champions visited a classroom last week. “This is the best part.”
Agassi, a Las Vegas native, never finished high school. But he has a passion for education, and he founded and opened Agassi Prep in 2001 to serve the historically minority West Las Vegas area.
The first class of 34 seniors graduated last year.
Graf called graduation ceremonies incredibly emotional.
“Everybody has tears in their eyes as they’re talking about the opportunities they have now, how they’re hopeful for the future and being able to accomplish their dreams,” she said. “It doesn’t get any better than that.”
