Rocketship Education has pitched for the opportunity to end San Jose’s education achievement gap by the year 2020. It will now have the chance.
With ambitious growth plans and the Santa Clara County Board of Education’s consent to pursue them, Rocketship is set to quickly become the equivalent of the second largest elementary district in the state’s sixth most populous county and one of the largest charter school organizations in California.
Mostly on votes of 5-2, the board granted 20 additional K-5 charters after a marathon meeting that crawled beyond midnight and into the early hours of Thursday. Together with its 10 schools operating or already approved charters, Rocketship plans to open all 30 schools by 2016-17 in eight school districts. Once built out, they will serve more than 15,000 primarily low-income Hispanic students. Rocketship also has two more charters, in San Francisco and East Palo Alto, on appeal with the State Board of Education, and plans to announce an expansion outside of California sometime in 2012. Milwaukee and New Orleans are among cities vying for eight-schools.
Its geometric growth will sharply test the scalabilty of a school model that’s drawn national attention for high test scores and a blend of online and classroom learning. Rocketship recruits primarily high-achieving college graduates through Teach for America, trains them intensely, and offers them career paths as teacher leaders and administrators with higher-than-average pay in the expanding school network.
Rocketship and its supporters, who included San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, San Jose Democratic Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, and impassioned parents, characterized the need for Rocketship as a civil right and a fulfillment of the board’s commitment to SJ2020 to serve the needs of low-income children in 97 schools below the target of 800 on the state’s standardized tests.
“For my child, right now, there is urgency,” said Rocketship co-founder Preston Smith, a former teacher in Alum Rock, a district that would be most affected by the charter expansion.
But local school trustees questioned the urgency of pressing ahead with so many charters and the capacity of the county to monitor them all, and criticized the county’s granting a countywide charter as an encroachment on districts’ right to review and approve individual charters.
“I am asking you tonight to delay the approval of the 20 petitions before you in order to prepare for a slower rollout, to develop appropriate oversight mechanisms, and a method for measuring success,” said Pam Parker, president of the Santa Clara County School Boards Assn., in a letter she read, with a dozen school board members at her side.
In a hearing this fall, four district superintendents signed a letter in which they implied they would consider suing the county board over its authority to issue a countywide charter to Rocketship. The board determined that Rocketship’s plan to target its schools to low-income, English learners from any of the county’s 32 districts met criteria under state law.
Superintendents nonetheless said that Rocketship should be required to apply individually to each district and then appeal to the county board if rejected. Among those making the argument was Vincent Matthews of San Jose Unified. It rejected the first Rocketship charter five years ago but approved a Rocketship school last month, proof, Matthews said, that the district has a different mindset.
San Jose Teachers Association President Stephen McMahon, a rare union leader who praises Rocketship, even though nonunion teachers work in those charters, seconded Matthews. The county board is encouraging competition when it should be promoting cooperation between Rocketship and districts, he said.
Stating that San Jose teachers are “anxious, angry and frustrated” over roadblocks to reform, McMahon repeated a previous invitation, offering to sign off on turning over a failing elementary school to Rocketship. “This is not about unions but about student achievement,” he said. “If students succeed, the teaching profession wins.”
But county trustee Leon Beauchman said there was nothing to prevent districts from now negotiating with Rocketship over a district charter in exchange for dropping a county-approved charter. He doubted most would, so there was no longer cause for delay. Because it buys land and builds its own schools, Rocketship needs at least an 18-month lead time.
County trustee Grace Mah summed up the views of the majority of the board in reaffirming the commitment to move decisively to improve the education of underserved minorities within the decade. “And so we need a revolution,” Mah said, led by Rocketship.
canada drugs online
no 1 canadian pharcharmy online
canadian pharcharmy online
canada pharmacy online
erectile disorder psychology
buy erectile dysfunction medications online
what does erectile dysfunction mean
buy erectile dysfunction pills online
online canadian pharmacy
canada pharmacy
top rated online canadian pharmacies
canadian pharmacies that are legit
drugs without prescription
canada drug
canada pharmacy online reviews
canadian drugs
mexican pharmacy online
canadian pharmacy viagra brand
buy prescription drugs canada
aarp recommended canadian pharmacies
erectile function after prostate cancer
erection pills
erectile injections pics
best erectile dysfunction pills
meds online
canadian pharmacies that are legit
online drugs
top rated online canadian pharmacies
erectile enhancement pills
herbs for erectile dysfunction
does erectile dysfunction cause depression
cheapest ed drugs
erectile assistance
erectile pills without a doctor prescription
best erectile
solutions to erectile dysfunction
global pharmacy canada
canadian drugs
canadian mail order pharmacies
canadian pharmacy viagra brand
mexican pharmacies shipping to usa
canadian pharmacies shipping to usa
online pharmacy
northwest pharmacy
online pharmacy without prescription
canadian pharmacy online
canada online pharmacies
canadianpharmacy
erectile herbs
erectile pills
best erectile drug
buy erectile dysfunction pills
best erectile dysfunction medicine
cheap ed drugs
erectile stimulation treatment
ed drugs
canadian pharmacies online
canada drug
discount prescription drug
canadian pharmacies shipping to usa
most reliable canadian pharmacies
canadian pharmacies online
global pharmacy canada
canada pharmacies online prescriptions
canadian pharmacies shipping to usa
canadian pharmacies
mexican pharmacies shipping to usa
drugs for sale
Buy Generic Cialis Online Without Prescription non 5 mg cialis generici cialis efficacit we choice free trial of cialis cialis baratos compran uk generic cialis review uk cialis usa cost chineseteacrafts.com
canadian online pharmacies
canada online pharmacies
pharmacy cost comparison
canadian pharmacies online prescriptions
reviews of erectile dysfunction treatment
cheapest ed drugs
top erectile pills
top erectile dysfunction pills
erectile issues after 40
new drugs for ed
erectile hypertension
best erectile pills
walgreens pharmacy
canadian pharmacy online
canadian drugstore online
canadian pharmacies that are legit
best online pharmacy
trust pharmacy canada
pharmacy price comparison
canadian cialis
best online pharmacies canada
canadian pharmacy viagra brand
buy prescription drugs online
no 1 canadian pharcharmy online
canadian online pharmacy reviews
highest rated canadian pharmacies
top rated online canadian pharmacies
canadian cialis
pharmacy cost comparison
canadian online pharmacies
no prescription pharmacies
highest rated canadian pharmacies
can erectile dysfunction cause depression
cheap ed drugs
does erectile dysfunction get better
erectile dysfunction pills
erectile trick
buy erectile dysfunction meds online
erectile brokenness
erectile dysfunction medications
erectile video
ed drugs
erectile vacuum pump video
ed drugs
cheapest canada http://gardens-4-u.com/pharmacy/bisac-evac where to buy generic.
buy usa http://www.davejohnsondesign.co.uk/pharmacy/solaraze where to buy real online.
can erectile dysfunction be treated
new drugs for ed
why sudden erectile dysfunction
erectile dysfunction medications
viagra without erectile dysfunction
best erectile dysfunction drug
treat erectile dysfunction without drugs
best drugs for ed
erectile help
erectile pills
erectile dysfunction exercises
new drugs for ed
ordering generic http://www.dancemax.co.uk/pharmacy/difenhidramina Getting in uk.
erectile method
erectile pills
compare erectile dysfunction drugs
erectile dysfunction pills
can erectile dysfunction come on suddenly
best erectile dysfunction pills
erectile vacuum systems
erectile dysfunction remedies