Rocketship Public Schools Executive Director Eric Dailey says the decision to expand into Rutherford County wasn’t made on a whim.¶
The public charter school operator currently runs three elementary schools in Nashville, in addition to schools in California, Wisconsin, and Washington DC. Its leaders sent a letter of intent to apply last year to open a school in Rutherford County, but opted instead to spend more time refining its proposal.¶
Dailey says the initial response provided optimism to apply this year. ¶
“There were a number of board members and other local leaders who read that letter of intent, who engaged with us, who certainly expressed deep interest in our model,” said Dailey. “That was an encouragement for us as we thought about spending the next year really refining our work, engaging with the community, and making sure that we were set up to be in deep partnership.”¶
Rutherford County’s Growth Provides a School Need¶
The Rutherford County Schools Board of Education denied Rocketship’s application in April, but multiple members encouraged the charter operator to make revisions and resubmit. The board will decide tonight whether to approve that amended application.¶
Charter schools are free public schools operated by a non-profit entity like Rocketship under a “charter” with a school district or the state.¶
Dailey says Rutherford County’s growth is a big part of why Rocketship wants to expand there. The county has faced challenges building schools fast enough to keep up with the growing population.¶
“As we did (in Nashville) ten years ago, we see a need there in Rutherford County, specifically the Smyrna and LaVergne communities where the elementary schools in those communities all are at capacity, if not over capacity,” said Daily. “And so, you can imagine the impact that will have on students and families and the ability to really personalize learning for young folks.”¶
The Rocketship Model¶
Personalized learning is one of the three pillars Rocketship’s Nashville schools operate on, in addition to talent and development and parent power. The proposed kindergarten through fifth-grade Rutherford County school would follow that same model.¶
Dailey says each child receives exactly what they need for literacy and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) skill building. Unlike most elementary schools, Rocketship students don’t just have one teacher.¶
“Students are receiving expert instruction from expert humanities teachers and expert STEM teachers. In a lot of elementary structures, you’ve got one teacher that you see all day. We deeply believe, and the results suggest, that having expert instruction from folks who are certified and endorsed in certain content areas helps to accelerate learning,” said Dailey.¶
The model has produced results in Nashville, with multiple Rocketship schools outperforming comparable district-run schools in recent years.¶
If approved, Rocketship would open its Rutherford County school next year to an initial class of kindergarten through fourth-grade and then add fifth-grade the following year. At capacity, it would serve just under 600 students.¶
