#Rocketship san jose professional
"But one of the big question marks is whether this is creating a professional structure that will hold people and satisfy people, where they can stay in it once they themselves decide to have families and kids." Innovative groups such as Rocketship and Teach For America "have proven that they can attract a lot of young, eager people when they're young and eager," he said. Jeffrey Henig, who studies school choice, privatization and the politics of urban education reform at Columbia University's Teachers College, said it's an open question whether Rocketship can sustain such a model over the long haul. He wants to grow it quickly so that it will push its best young teachers into administrative roles at new start-up schools. Now running what amounts to his own school district, Danner envisions a "big farm system" for Rocketship principals. "She said, 'You need to work really hard for 10 years and then do this-and-that,' and I was like, 'Wow, that's not really aligned to what I want to do.'" A Silicon Valley entrepreneur who made his fortune with NetGravity, a company that pioneered Internet advertising, Danner, 45, taught high school briefly in Nashville while his wife taught at Vanderbilt Law School.Īfter a year, he asked his principal what he'd need to do to become a principal, too. Rocketship's ambitious expansion plans also dovetail with co-founder John Danner's ideas on career paths. The savings go into higher teacher salaries, training, a longer school day, an assistant principal and academic dean - luxuries for schools whose students are virtually all low-income. By hiring non-certified instructors to supervise lab sessions at about $15-$16 per hour, each school saves about $500,000 per year.Ī school might have four first-grade classes but need only three rotating certified teachers. Learning Lab also helps Rocketship balance its books in an unusual way. So far the results are promising: Rocketship students score among the top performers on standardized tests. "If a computer can do that, I can talk about themes in books." "I don't have to spend my time teaching homophones," she said. That's key to the school's success, teachers say, because improving basic skills here leaves teachers to do what they love best: Teach big ideas.Īs her students clicked away on games one recent morning, Chrisman strolled into the Learning Lab with a paperback copy of the children's novel Island of the Blue Dolphins under her arm. "Your reward is that you solved the puzzle," he said. The game grew out of MIND co-founder Matthew Peterson's ideas around "math without words" for kids with language deficits. "It's almost Zen-like in its simplicity," said Principal Andrew Elliot-Chandler. It's just JiJi appearing and disappearing. There are no prizes, no fanfares, no cheers. When kids get a correct answer, the program quickly builds a roadway or removes an obstacle, letting JiJi pass wordlessly across the screen.
#Rocketship san jose series
Developed by a Santa Ana, Calif., non-profit called the MIND Research Institute, the series of games is widely known by its mascot, JiJi the penguin. Most kids seem smitten with ST Math - it's what Luis Zepeda was playing as he worked through the axes-of-symmetry puzzle. Once students squeeze into their chairs and pint-sized headphones, the room takes on the hushed air of a study hall during final exams, with each student working at his or her own pace.
The Learning Lab holds 130 students and it's nearly always full. "You lose kids when either they don't understand or (say), 'I know this,'" said Andrea Chrisman, a fourth-grade math and literacy teacher. Sí Se Puede - Spanish for "Yes It's Possible" or "Yes We Can" - is part of a tiny chain of schools set to expand nationwide. His reward: another, harder puzzle.Īnother morning in Learning Lab at Rocketship Sí Se Puede Academy, a 3-year-old charter school built on a sliver of city-owned land in the shadow of the I-680 off-ramp. Finally, after 15 minutes' more work, he cracks the puzzle. "This one's hard," classmate Brian Aguilera says. Nothing works, and their teacher, who could offer help, is nowhere in sight. Two friends appear, offering unsolicited advice and urging him to try their solutions. The fourth-grader, his dark hair cropped close, has been staring at a computer screen for close to 20 minutes, trying again and again to solve a devilish little puzzle built around rectangles' axes of symmetry. Teachers can do what they love best: Teach big ideas.Vast majority have attended prestigious colleges.Most teachers are young and inexperienced.
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