Guest Post: Rocketship Education

How Rocketship Education Is Launching A Brighter Future For Children 

The education of our children is one of the biggest challenges we face as a community. Now, one network of school is helping to close the educational gap that currently exists between upper income and lower income children. That network of schools, Rocketship Education, is innovating the world of charter schools. 

Beyond merely teaching children from lower-income families, Rocketship Education has found a way to become a part of the lives of both the students and teachers. There is perhaps a no better example of this when tragedy struck one of the students. In San Jose, a student from a Mexican immigrant family found himself in a tough situation when his family was adversely affected by recent Northern California floods. Volunteers at Rocketship Education got together to provide aid and housing for the family. Since adverse situations at home can find their way into the classroom, the school works hard to ensure that every student has a comfortable foundation to pursue their education. 

 

Going one step further, the volunteers at Rocketship Education, known as "Rocketeers" have set up various charity fundraising efforts to further help the students. Recently, these Rocketeers were able to raise over $62,000 for charity which assists families with disaster relief. This effort was performed in conjunction with several Catholic Charities.  

 What really sets Rocketship Education apart from other schools is the well-rounded approach to a child's education. The school puts an emphasis on the connection between the student, the teacher as well as the parent. By creating this bond, a child is better able to handle the challenges of pursuing an education. 

 The curriculum at Rocketship Education goes one step further than traditional schools. In addition to providing classes in the STEM disciplines, the school also offers extracurricular activities such as painting, gardening, and music to give the child a chance to pursue her creative energies. 

 The results of Rocketship Education's well-rounded approach to teaching lower income students has been nothing less than a revelation. Students have been consistently overperforming in Math and ELA testing with scores at a grade level higher than their current position. Overall, the school has a 90% retention rate. 

 Rocketship Education currently operates 20 schools in four metropolitan areas. Those areas include the San Franciso Bay Area, Washington D.C., Nashville and Milwaukee. Founded in 2006, Rocketship Education had its genesis in Northern California where many lower-income students had spent decades on the wrong side of the educational gap. With the leadership of co-founder and current CEO, Preston Smith, the non-profit, charter school was able to quickly close that educational gap with consistent testing outperformance by the students. Today, Rocketship Education stands as on the shining beacons in the charter school system. 

**Disclaimer: this is a sponsored post