Tuition-free Vegas school puts discipline and reason over dysfunction and bureaucracy

By Kristen Kniep  

Nevada News and Views

Michael Paxinos is the founder of Pax Academia High School, a private, tuition-free high school he plans to launch here in the Las Vegas valley.

We sat down this week to talk about our school system, its many shortcomings, and how Pax Academia aims to do things a little bit differently.

Its mission? Give smart, hard-working students from Title I schools a shot at a serious education.

Mike is working on being able to open for the ‘26-‘27 school year. The school will teach all your basics — reading, writing, math, history, etc. — but with one big addition: Pax Academia aims to teach kids how to actually think.

Crazy, right?

No Tuition. No Government Strings.

Paxinos doesn’t want government money.

“I’ve been encouraged to apply for state and federal grants, but I won’t do it,” he says. “Once you take their money, you take their rules. And their rules are part of the problem.”

Instead, Pax Academia is fundraising the old-fashioned way: through community support and private donations. Some organizations have already shown interest in sponsoring the school, with more local partners expected to follow.

What’s Wrong with the System?

Paxinos spoke on removing the tuition barrier: “We’ll be the only private school in Nevada that’s a tuition free school,” he said proudly.

“The reason we’re doing that is so we can reach the really good, hard working, driven kids that are in the title one schools who can’t afford private schools.”

Paxinos speaks from experience. He’s taught in public and charter schools, and what he saw stunned him.

“It was a culture shock,” he says. “The level of dysfunction is worse than most people realize.”

According to Paxinos, there are about 6,800 police calls to Las Vegas-area public schools each year. Those calls range from drug busts and fights to threats against teachers. Classroom disruptions top 65,000 annually — and that’s just what’s reported.

The problem isn’t just chaos, it’s mismanagement. Paxinos says since 2014 the district has hired administrators at a pace 13 percent faster than teachers. As of 2023, more than half the education budget is going to administration, not student instruction.

Charter schools are often slightly better versions of public schools, but they still have an enormous amount of problems.

Finding the “Annas”

But for Paxinos, this effort isn’t about politics. It’s about kids — especially the ones like Anna, a driven, architecture-loving sophomore he once taught at a charter school.

“She usually was found helping her other students out, because she would study at night what we’re going over the next day, and then she would come and prepare,” Paxinos recalled.

“She was a dream student,” he says, “Smart, focused, protective of her siblings”.

Then Paxinos shared what really started him on the path to building a better environment. A fight broke out at Anna’s charter school in the hallway.

“She got shoved. She wasn’t in the fight. She was just in the vicinity, and she got shoved into one of the lockers.”

“One day, she was just gone. No transfer, no warning. Just disappeared. I tried calling home, but I couldn’t get anybody.”

It’s stories like Anna’s that drive Paxinos to build something different. He knows the private school students are not smarter than the public school students, they just face hurdles of a different caliber.

“All I could think of is how smart she was, how smart the kids in the private school are. No difference, but yet, one is drowning here and the other isn’t.”

Building on Classical Roots

Outside of the core courses we’re all used to, Pax Academia will be teaching classical education courses as a requirement for all students.

Every student will study logic, philosophy, and the great thinkers (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle) not just once, but every year.

“We don’t preach what to think,” Paxinos explains. “We teach how to think. Critical thinking is a skill, like learning an instrument. And our kids will master it.”

“We don’t really teach the top, which is the conclusions, because there’s things in there that I don’t agree with. But the point is, I do agree with how they think the method that they’re using to get there.”

It’s not just the students who will be learning differently; the teachers will too. Teachers will also be trained in the Socratic method, an interactive, question-driven way of teaching that encourages and demands students to think for themselves.

Paxinos plans to hire educators who’ve already worked in tough Title I schools and understand the challenges these students face.

“Some of the staff I’m hoping to bring on are more aware than even I am,” he says. “They’ve seen it firsthand, and they’re completely on board.”

The school will also emphasize life skills: personal finance, taxes, car maintenance, and entrepreneurship — pretty important subjects that many schools skip.

Small Start, Big Mission

The plan is to start small: just 25 ninth-graders in year one, capped at 400 students by the time the first class graduates.

Classes will be limited to 20—25 students, and conduct will matter just as much as academics.

“We’ll be turning away students, but never because they can’t pay,” Paxinos says. “If a kid wants to learn and is willing to show it, we’ll do everything we can to make room. We’re trying to find the ‘Anna’s out there.”

How to Help

If you want to support Pax Academia, Paxinos invites the community to get involved through advocacy and donations of any size.

Paxinos also said he looks forward to inviting community members to volunteer and be a part of the change for these students.

“I want this to be from the people. We’re not a charter school. We’re not a magnet. We’re private, but we’re free.” says Paxinos.

“We’re going to find those kids who want more out of life and give them a chance.””

To learn more or get involved, visit PaxAcademia.com.