Western Youth Leadership, Engagement & Empowerment Middle School
About WYLEES:
At WYLEES, we center students’ interests and goals at the heart of our work. With 75 years of education experience in downtown Las Vegas, our team has a strong connection to our community and a deep commitment to incorporating student and family voices into our design.
About the Founder:
Mike Taack grew up in the Vegas valley and has been in education for over 14 years. He believes in educational equity and empowering students and families to lead the lives they dream. As such, he is founding WYLEES, the Western Youth Leadership, Engagement, and Empowerment Middle School, a proposed public 6th-8th grade charter school that will serve downtown Las Vegas and empower tomorrow’s leaders to change the world today through civic engagement and service oriented Project Based Learning.
More About Design to EdRupt
Opportunity 180’s Design to EdRupt fellowship looks to disrupt the current educational landscape by surfacing and supporting underrepresented PreK-12 future and current education leaders and helping to reimagine the future of learning. During the fellowship, individuals explore the idea of designing and launching a new learning environment, such as a school or program.
The fellowship exists in three stages: Explore, where fellows assess and explore their leadership readiness to design and launch a new school or program; Cultivate, where fellows pilot their ideas; and Prepare to Launch. Their programs and school concepts will ensure more kids have access to innovative, high quality learning environments, and ensuring every kid can graduate from high school college and career-ready, prepared to live the life they dream. Mike is one of our Cultivate Cohort I fellows. For more information, click here.
