Why was tennis legend Andre Agassi at a school in Charlotte Friday?
“The greatest experience you can have in life is changing an experience for others,” said tennis champion Andre Agassi.
Andre Agassi, co-managing partner of the Turner-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund, joined officials from KIPP Charlotte October 13 at a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of its newest elementary school campus, KIPP Change Academy.
After retiring from professional tennis in 2006, the Las Vegas native became heavily involved in education, particularly with at-risk youth and charter schools in underserved communities.
“I was an eighth grade drop out,” said Agassi. “My father was all about tennis and there wasn’t much choice in my life. That lack of choice led to a real disconnect.”
“When I see other kids with a lack of choice, it doesn’t mean being great at tennis, it means a cycle of activity that they can’t break out of,” said Agassi. “That’s when I was compelled to give them a choice.”
In 2011, Agassi linked up with real estate executive Bobby Turner and launched the Turner-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund. The fund is an innovative, mission-driven investment fund that provides resources and real estate expertise to high-performing charter school operators across the nation, enabling them to access top-quality facilities.
“We share the same passion and frustration for education,” said Agassi. “We sat down and hammered out a business model to get away from philanthropy on one level, not depend on the government on another level and have huge societal impact at the same time.”
Throughout the years, the fund has opened 79 schools serving 41,600 students in the United States. By 2020, the fund will open an additional 85 schools serving 49,000 students.
Agassi formally opened Charlotte’s newest 34,000-square-foot elementary school campus, KIPP Change Academy, at 5431 Hickory Grove Road. KIPP Change Academy serves around 250 students in grades K-1 and 4-5. By 2019, they’re expected to grow to 560 students in grades K-5.
“By partnering with Turner-Agassi, we are now able to offer a cutting edge campus for our faculty and students to teach and learn in as we increase our focus on early childhood education,” said Tiffany Flowers, co-founder and executive director of KIPP Charlotte.
“Through education, there’s hope and a future of choosing,” said Agassi.
Photos: Sallie Funderburk
This story was originally published October 15, 2017 at 11:00 PM with the headline "Why was tennis legend Andre Agassi at a school in Charlotte Friday?."