Jenny Serrano told a crowd in Nashville on Tuesday that, nearly 10 years after graduating, she is still part of the “Rocketship Familia.”¶
“My cousin Stephanie Serrano works on the OPS (operations) team, and her little sister is a proud RUA (Rocketship United Academy) student,” Serrano said. “My mom has even catered for some events for the school.”¶
Serrano first became acquainted with Rocketship as a fourth grader when her mother enrolled her at Rocketship United Academy during the public charter school’s first year of operation. The now Lipscomb University student says she felt something different there: a sense of cooperation rather than competition, a sense of passion, not pressure. Learning was a responsibility, not an albatross. Her experiences eventually led her to serve as a bilingual family recruiter for Rocketship’s leadership office.¶
“I first gained this sense of civic pride and civic duty by reciting the same Rocketship creed that started our program today,” Serrano said. “I am respectful. I am responsible. I am empathetic. I am persistent. These words are more than a creed. They are lifelong values.”¶
Rocketship’s Model
Unlike traditional elementary schools, Rocketship’s three public charter schools alternate between four content blocks: Humanities, STEM, Learning Lab, and Enrichment. Teachers serve through independent learning, small group tutoring, and online learning programs.¶
The focus is to educate “the whole child.”¶
“All our schools offer a diverse array of enrichment classes, selected in partnership with our parents, such as art, nutrition, gardening, music, dance, and more,” an excerpt from their website reads. “Delivering a well-rounded education builds the critical thinking, teamwork, character skills, and values that our Rocketeers need to thrive in school and life.”¶
Rocketship also makes an effort to be present in students’ lives outside of school by staying active in each school’s community and even having teachers conduct in-home visits with their students once per year. The schools are often located in underserved and disadvantaged communities whose students have more potential than their families have money to support.¶
Rocketship’s Origins and Nashville Expansion
Preston Smith and John Danner founded Rocketship Public Schools (RPS) in 2006, and the first school, Mateo Sheedy Elementary School, opened in San Jose, California in 2007. After high test scores and word of mouth among parents, RPS expanded with four more elementary schools in California, opening by the fall of 2011. In 2013, expansion came to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and in 2014, Nashville was next.¶
Former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean discovered Rocketship on a trip to California while scouring the country for programs and organizations that would make the biggest impact in urban education reform back home. He visited a Rocketship campus and was so impressed that he extended an open invitation to the organization to develop a new school in Nashville.¶
In 2014, Rocketship Nashville Northeast Elementary opened its doors. In its first year, it finished second in academic growth among all 73 public elementary schools in Davidson County. The next year, Rocketship United Academy (RUA) opened in South Nashville, immediately becoming the highest-performing school in its cluster and earning Reward School status. Finally, Rocketship Dream Community Prep opened in 2022, which earned Reward School status by its third year.¶
At this week’s event, celebrating Rocketship’s decade of impact in Nashville, Dean spoke to the crowd about how grateful he was for his experiences with Rocketship.¶
“The pathway that leads a student to graduate from high school, prepared for life and for college, begins in elementary school,” Dean said. “And so, I am grateful that’s where Rocketship puts its focus. Rocketship believes in the potential of Nashville's children.”¶
Rocketship Public Schools Executive Director Dr. Eric Dailey also spoke, underlining that the success of the three campuses set a clear course for future growth and announced that the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission unanimously approved Rocketship’s expansion into Rutherford County, with its first campus there scheduled to open in August 2027. He said Rutherford County is a community defined by a rapidly growing population and economic development.¶
“Our move into Rutherford County is a direct response to a clear demand for our proven model,” Dailey said. “Ten years of progress is a milestone, but as April said, it is not a finish line. Across Tennessee, too many families are still waiting for a school that sees the same limitless potential in their children that we do. The next decade is about expanding that access and deepening our impact.”¶
