WYLEES
WYLEES, The First of Its Kind
Previously a Macy’s department at Boulevard Mall, WYLEES is an upcoming public charter middle school opening its doors in August 2025. Located at 3634 S. Maryland Parkway in Las Vegas, NV 89169, WYLEES: Western Youth Leadership, Engagement, and Empowerment Middle School is the first of its kind. It will be the first school to open inside a mall in Las Vegas. As a publicly founded institution, it operates independently from the traditional school district structure. From community members, families, teachers, to nonprofit organizations, these independent bodies help manage the school.[1] This charter school’s goal is to focus on personalized learning, project-based exploration, and social emotional growth.
The Uniqueness of WYLEES
There’s much more to WYLEES than a school located in a mall. It’s actively re-imagining retail space, bringing architect and design firms like SCA Design to help with its renovation. Their plan to make college-inspired classrooms by including whiteboard walls and glass-walled collaboration rooms is a prime example.[2] Fostering this environment is the charter school’s main goal, encouraging incoming middle schoolers for independent thinking. Unlike traditional schooling, WYLEES will teach students through project-based learning (PBL), engaging them in solving real-world problems and projects they can deepen their core skills with. Attaining stronger communication, collaborative, and critical thinking skills throughout these PBLs that can take “from a week up to a semester”.[3]
The Safety of WYLEES
There have been safety concerns over WYLEES though, as it will be occupying an area inside the mall. However, despite these concerns, safety is ensured through their single point of entry. WYLEES website assures they have emphasized that they will have a designated entrance that will be monitored. This is the only entrance that all visitors will have to access to.[4] With visitor protocols implemented, visitors are required to check in, present identification, and follow safety procedures before accessing student areas. This diminishes the possibility of any threats and creates a safe campus plan. This shows how other malls can implement schools into their communities without any uneasiness.
WYLEES is Reimaging Boulevard Mall
Due to its unique location at Boulevard Mall, WYLEES can create a hub for learning. Being surrounded by various other local businesses and entrepreneurs, it brings a chance of allowing students to be able to learn from the real world. This can be through partnering with small businesses located in the mall or helping work on civic projects in the local community. It brings a unique type of learning experience that traditional schools often cannot provide.
Benefits of Introducing Schools Like WYLEES
Boulevard Mall general manager Timo Kuusela has stated that WYLEES will bring opportunities such as bringing revenue to the mall. [5] Its opening will attract families, drawing in parents and children into the mall, creating new foot traffic. This fresh foot traffic can tackle the issues that shopping centers have had with vacancies. Instead of trying to find retail tenants, they can repurpose these spaces, opening schools. With the success of WYLEES, it can determine the possibility of future schools opening in other malls. Being able to benefit society overall. So, it’s crucial to acknowledge the importance of how a school like WYLEES is opening. This charter school is something new and unique, bringing unique ideas to the table when rejuvenating existing retail in the community.
WYLEES Creation
WYLEES will occupy approximately 51,406 square feet on the third floor of a four-story building of a 178,114 square foot building at Boulevard Mall. Its parcel number is 162-14-213-003, being zoned under Commercial General (CG). It is led by the general contractor, E2W Construction, delivered through a design-bid-build approach, with architectural design by SCA Design. Structural engineering is provided by Vector and Empire Structural, with MPE services from Turpin and Rattan and Infinity Engineering. Additionally, fire protection systems are designed by TERP Consulting. This team is actively re-imagining retail space, creating a first-of-its-kind learning space that can redefine how retail spaces can be repurposed nationwide.
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About the Author
My name is Gabby Bazan, I am a summer intern at SCA Design. I have had the opportunity to research and develop website blogs to inform potential clients about architecture-related topics. This process has strengthened my ability to create engaging content that resonates across generations. Throughout the summer, I also contributed to Instagram content creation and gathered quality information to deliver thorough and informative content for readers. This experience has helped me deepen my knowledge about marketing. While also providing me with valuable insight into working in a professional environment.
[1] https://www.wylees.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=594779&type=d&termREC_ID=&pREC_ID=1150053
[2] https://www.wylees.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=594779&type=d&termREC_ID=&pREC_ID=1157540
[3] https://www.wylees.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?type=d&uREC_ID=559888&pREC_ID=1070492
[4] https://www.wylees.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=594779&type=d&termREC_ID=&pREC_ID=1156292
[5] https://www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/new-las-vegas-charter-school-to-open-at-boulevard-mall/
