Rocketeer Supporters and Friends,

 

Each morning, our students recite the Rocketeer Creed, pledging to be leaders at home, at school and in their communities. Our school staff and families hold themselves to the same standard.

 

Truly great schools do more than drive student achievement. Great schools transform communities. The families we serve have the capacity to revitalize entire communities and drive social change far beyond the confines of the classroom.

 

Today, parent voice thrives in San Jose. High quality seats in schools of choice have grown to over twelve thousand seats in the last eight years. San Jose now leads the country in cities making gains for students.

 

In November, Rocketship families brought elected officials to the table in San Jose’s first parent-organized mayoral forum. And just north of Santa Clara County, Redwood City families demanded choice. Because of this parent-led movement, we were proud to open Rocketship Redwood City Prep in 2015.

 

But it’s not just our parents who are accomplishing incredible things. Rocketeer alumni continue to outperform their peers in middle school. Two proud alumni, Maya and Pedro, gained national recognition for their science project that was designed to take on the biggest drought in California’s history.

 

As Rocketship reaches more communities across the country, our model of excellent teachers and leaders, personalized learning and engaged parents is picking up steam in Milwaukee, Nashville and Washington, DC. Our Milwaukee Rocketeers continue to redefine excellence in a city with robust choice but limited quality. In Tennessee, our inaugural class of Rocketeers earned the second highest growth score of all 73 elementary schools in Nashville, setting the tone for future Rocketship schools in the region.

 

In the pages that follow, you will learn more about what our network has achieved in our eighth year. While we can always do better, we are proud of all we have accomplished to date. Together, we will eliminate the achievement gap in our lifetime.

 

Let's get it done,

 

 

 

 

Preston Smith

Co-Founder & CEO

Preston and his son Zeke before Fuerza Community Prep’s kindergarten graduation ceremony.