Rocketship Leads The Way on Top Bay Area Public Schools Report
By Rocketship Public Schools
School closures due to the Covid-19 crisis disproportionately impact disadvantaged students of color. The New York Times reports, “Racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps will most likely widen because of disparities in access to computers, home internet connections and direct instruction from teachers.”
And remember, our nation’s achievement gap was showing no signs of narrowing even when schools were open. The future outlook for millions of students in underserved communities went from bad to worse this year.
But there are some bright spots.
We are proud to report that Rocketship had the most schools featured on the 2020 Top Bay Area Public Schools for Underserved Students report by Innovate Public Schools. The report analyzed data from the 2019 California state assessment and features schools that are closing the achievement gap for low-income students of color.
Out of 1,280 schools in the Bay Area, only 52 schools earned the Top Schools honor – 11 of these were Rocketship schools! Our schools make up more than 40% of all schools recognized in math for elementary students, more than any other district or charter network for the third year in a row.
Our schools make up 11 of the 26 public elementary schools in the Bay Area recognized as closing the gap for low-income Latino students in math including:
- Rocketship Alma Academy
- Rocketship Discovery Prep
- Rocketship Fuerza Community Prep
- Rocketship Futuro Academy
- Rocketship Los Suenos Academy
- Rocketship Mateo Sheedy Elementary
- Rocketship Mosaic Elementary
- Rocketship Redwood City Prep
- Rocketship Rising Stars Academy
- Rocketship Si Se Puede Academy
- Rocketship Spark Academy
Rocketship Alma and Rocketship Mateo Sheedy are also recognized for closing the gap for low-income Latino students in English Language Arts.
Furthermore, three Rocketship schools were named ‘Distinguished Schools’ by the State of California for closing achievement gaps and achieving exceptional student performance. Congratulations to Rocketship Fuerza Community Prep, Rocketship Mosaic Elementary, and Rocketship Spark Academy!
A majority of students at all three Rocketship schools that received the Distinguished School designation are classified as socioeconomically disadvantaged. On the most recent state assessment, disadvantaged students at Rocketship’s three Distinguished Schools scored above the 80th percentile in reading and math among disadvantaged students statewide. At Rocketship Mosaic and Rocketship Spark, disadvantaged students scored in the 99th percentile in math, which is especially notable given the underrepresentation of diverse backgrounds in technology and science fields in the region.
State assessments for the 2019-20 school year were cancelled due to distance learning. But no matter where learning takes place, our Rocketeers are continuing to grow and achieve. Our innovative online learning progress tracker, Rocketship Goals, is one way that we’re continuing to track student progress and provide personalized support for students during distance learning. No matter what challenges we face in the year ahead, we will continue to advance our mission to create equity in public education.
Published on June 11, 2020
Read more stories about: Education Reform.
