Seeking a Great Education For My Son

by Rony Turgos, Proud Parent, Redwood City

My wife and I have a son who is eight years old and was recently accepted to a Rocketship school in San Jose.

We chose Rocketship for our son after noticing that he was struggling in a traditional public school. Although he was falling behind his peers, he kept being moved ahead in grade levels. When our son was in second grade, we found out that he was at a kindergarten level for reading and math. My wife and I were heartbroken. We worked very hard with our son, and soon he began reading at the second grade level. But, we knew we had to find a better option.

We took trips around the area to visit other schools, and when we visited Rocketship in San Jose, we knew it was a school that would give our son a great education. We liked how the teachers get involved with families — they call parents to give updates on their kids and do home visits to get to know each family.

As a volunteer in the Redwood City County Jail, I’ve noticed that some of the prisoners read at a very low level and some do not read at all. Talking with them I’ve learned that most dropped out of high school because they had been consistently falling behind since elementary school. We don’t want that for our son.

It’s going to be hard for our family to drive to San Jose, but as a parent, my responsibility is to find better options for my child. That’s what Rocketship can provide. We are proud to be a part of the movement of parents in Redwood City who want options like Rocketship in our community. We hope the Redwood City School Board votes to approve the new Rocketship Redwood City school on June 25th.

Editor’s Note: I first met Rony at a Redwood City School Board meeting where Rocketship and KIPP were presenting their charter applications. Rony spoke passionately at the meeting, which inspired us to ask him to share his story.  

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Published on June 2, 2014