“Is this even important?” “Why do I need to learn this?”

As a middle school educator for over 15 years, Mike Taack, ‘11 M.Ed. Secondary Curriculum and Instruction, had heard those questions from his students more times than he could count, so much so that he sought and found a solution in project-based learning. 

By connecting teaching approaches to students' interests, Mike helped his students deepen their drive for learning. And now, he is replicating it on a larger scale, as the founder and Head of School of WYLEES, a newly opened, tuition-free charter middle school in a Las Vegas shopping mall.   

Project-based Learning in Action

Short for Western Youth Leadership, Engagement, and Empowerment Middle School, WYLEES is a public charter school that uses personal learning goals and civic engagement to build students’ academic and creative skills.

The decision to start with middle school stems from seeing too many middle-grade students check out mentally from school. 

“We have a unique opportunity to help the students continue their excitement for learning from elementary to high school and beyond,” Mike said.

For the first year, the students are introduced to project-based learning and why it works. Unlike traditional learning, which emphasizes direct instruction, project-based learning immerses students in hands-on problem-solving. For instance, rather than simply read about ecosystems, the students at WYLEES can create and maintain a community garden that teaches science and civic responsibility at the same time. 

“We want students to learn about issues in the community, and be able to take action to raise awareness and solve those problems.”  

Where the Vision Began

Mike’s call to education came a little later in his career. After earning his bachelor’s in English, he worked in insurance for a while.. He found a way back to his dreams through the graduate alternate route to licensure program.

He started as a student teacher at Fremont Middle School and stayed there as a magnet school theme coordinator. Those experiences reinforced the importance of mentor teachers, which grew into the idea of building a school that thrives on innovations. Mike also credits the long-standing relationships with some of his teachers, like Professor Shaoan Zhang, who is also on the school’s board of directors, as an inspiration. 

“Having those connections helped me to be a successful student, and I wanted to give back all the support I had gotten,’ Mike recalled.

From Dreams to Brick and Mortar 

The journey to founding WYLEES was long and arduous, but Mike persisted. From writing and submitting a 188-page-long plan to get state approval for the school on his first attempt, to raising over $2 million in grant funding, Mike’s dream soon became a reality. 

But he couldn’t have done it alone. 

With years of experience as an assistant principal at Girls Empowerment Middle School, long-term preparation aided by educational leadership-focused fellowships through organizations like Opportunity 180, and support from the connections he made during his graduate studies at UNLV, Mike navigated the path to founding a school. 

This fall, WYLEES welcomed its first class of future innovators at an unconventional location-- a converted Macy’s store in Boulevard Mall. 

Empowering Families and Strengthening Community

A Las Vegas native and the proud father of three boys, Mike sees the school as both a professional and personal passion. Growing up with his immigrant great-grandmother and being a first-generation college student, he recognizes that his struggles are mirrored in the students the school serves, a fact that ensures his work is rooted in community.  

“Mike is passionate about empowering students and families to co-create meaningful, real-world experiences,” Dr. Zhang commented. 

At WYLEES, families actively participate in their children’s education, working with the teachers to ensure each family’s needs are met. This collaboration also extends to the broader community through partnerships, one of which is with the UNLV College of Education as a professional development school. This partnership offers mutual benefits, including teacher training and evaluation, clinical placements, field experiences aligned with the project-based learning model, and applied research to strengthen the model. 

What the Future Holds

For Mike, founding a middle school in the heart of his community is only the beginning. He hopes to expand into high school in five years, collaborate with more community partners, and inspire students from all backgrounds to pursue educational careers. 

What began as a dream has become a reimagined, breathing space where students are at the center of learning.