Initially
Rocketship used tutoring as the core of its individualized program because most of the instructional software available was what Danner calls «electronic babysitters».
Rocketship uses software developed by DreamBox Learning, as well as programs developed by Khan Academy and others.
(
Rocketship uses the term «hybrid,» rather than the increasingly prevalent term «blended learning,» because the computers are not actually «blended» with face - to - face instruction in the same classroom.)
Platform & content: I recommended the use of an engaging and adaptive learning products (e.g.,
Rocketship uses i - Ready, Dreambox, and ST Math) for all students at least 120 minutes a week.
Not exact matches
Furthermore, this Harvard study clearly states «
Rocketship students spent an average of 44 minutes per week in the weeks they
used DreamBox.»
One of the main reasons to
use technology at
Rocketship was to free up budget dollars to pay teachers more and have more support capacity.
These approaches suggest innovations that aren't being batted about by opinion - makers yet, such as redesigning jobs to concentrate top teachers» time on instruction, putting star teachers fully in charge of multiple classrooms, and
using technology in combination with in - person reach extension (for one example, learn about
Rocketship Education here).
Rocketship Education, a CMO based in northern California,
uses a «hybrid» model that combines learning technology with great teaching to deliver outstanding results at much lower school site — level costs.
Innovating Toward Sustainability: How Computer Labs Can Enable New Staffing Structures, and New Savings
Using wage and staffing data from states, authors Marguerite Roza and Suzanne Simburg project the financial and staffing implications of one innovative school model (the
Rocketship lab rotation) to highlight potential impacts on the schooling workforce...
The independent study conducted by SRI, Evaluation of
Rocketship Education's
Use of DreamBox Learning Online Mathematics Program, was commissioned by
Rocketship to measure the impact of online math learning on its students» academic growth in Learning Lab, a key component of the
Rocketship Hybrid School Model.
The
use of highly effective, cost - efficient individualized instructional programs like DreamBox Learning is allowing
Rocketship to realize its mission of closing the achievement gap.
First - of - its - kind study of
Rocketship's
use of adaptive, online learning programs as part of its hybrid model; study shows positive impact of online math instruction on student achievement gains
In 2007, we opened our first
Rocketship school and began to pursue blended learning
using a rotational model.
There has been some movement on this front, with
Rocketship and other schools that
use a blended learning model or are fully online, but I think the charter space should really take advantage of some of the innovations in the technology field.
As if
Rocketship's references to New Orleans, Milwaukee, San Antonio and Washington DC were not unsettling enough, EdSurge, a corporation that helps schools «find, select and
use the right technology to support all learners,» doubles - down on the need to replicate New Orleans» failures with a piece titled, How the «Harbormaster Network» Plans to Spread Nationwide Personalized Learning.
In schools that average 500 students, savings are about $ 500,000 a year, which is
used to raise teacher salaries, to extend the school day and to allow
Rocketship to build its own facilities — quite a luxury in the charter - school world.
Rocketship has sidestepped this problem by running 41:1 student to teacher ratios, and padding their numbers
using nearly minimum wage aids.
I do believe that online learning has incredible potential, but
Rocketship is
using it for too long every day which breeds a lack of investment and boredom in our student's experience in the learning lab.
Rocketship Education, a chain of charter schools in San Jose, has
used technology and block scheduling to lift the scores of English learners far above the state average.
Much of what
Rocketship does — such as teacher bonuses and
using technology to change pedagogy — would either be extremely difficult or impossible to implement within traditional schools.
An impact study on the
use of DreamBox Learning software on student achievement in the Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) and the
Rocketship Education charter school network.
Rocketship has been
using blended learning to help close the achievement gap in California, and is seeing results.
Board documents released in November indicate that
Rocketship is considering
using the Tennessee Achievement School District (ASD) to takeover public schools in Nashville Tennessee by August of 2015.
Following the money trail further reveals that
Rocketship solicits investments from hedge fund companies by guaranteeing rates of return above 10 %, effectively
using public taxpayer money to make rich private investors even richer.
Rocketship's test scores
used to be high, but the precipitous drops have left «
Rocketship's high test scores» as nothing but an old urban legend.
Another 15 % of
Rocketship's funding is
used to pay «management» salaries.
It is particularly known for its bare - bones curricular focus on standardized test scores in reading and math, its
use of computer - based «learning labs» that cut down costs, and its promotion of the
Rocketship brand — including a daily pep rally where students chant that they are «
Rocketship Rocketeers.»
Instead, it
uses the money to pay expensive fees to for - profit organizations that are controlled by the very same people who control
Rocketship.
We ran additional analysis,
using the definition provided in the charter petition to Morgan Hill Unified, and found that at best,
Rocketship is in the top 12 %, as compared to all schools in California (including continuation schools, a comparison that strikes us as less than flattering).
The staff stated that those fees, that come from California tax payers, must «be held in a separate account and
used solely to support Bay Area
Rocketship schools.
Every Child Ready is
used at AppleTree's 10 preschools, including the preschools we operate in partnerships with
Rocketship, Democracy Prep and Achievement Prep charter schools in D.C..
Rocketship (see Barbara Miner's report from our new Save Our Schools issue)
uses computer programs to teach children for a significant portion of the day, and eschews «extras» like school librarians, art, gym, and social studies, which further reduce staff costs.
Rocketship had hoped to finance the building
using public bonds, however, pending litigation made selling those bonds impossible.
Most importantly, the Franklin - McKinley staff found that
Rocketship has a unsound educational model as a result of
using uncredentialed teachers in their schools.
Turner Agassi directly
uses taxpayer funds, funneled through
Rocketship Education and their secretive affiliate, Launchpad Corporation, to purchase land and build facilities.
Rocketship is a pioneer in this new
use of paraprofessionals.
The acclaimed
Rocketship Education schools in San Jose, Calif.
use a lab - rotation model, in which students rotate to a learning lab for two hours each day to learn online with paraprofessional supervision.
Using wage and staffing data from states, authors Marguerite Roza and Suzanne Simburg project the financial and staffing implications of one innovative school model (the
Rocketship lab rotation) to highlight potential impacts on the schooling workforce and total per - student spending.
It also has sections examining the efficacy of some of the most over-hyped online programs like Summit PLP,
Rocketship and New Classrooms, as well as widely
used online assessments like MAP and i - Ready.
One of the reasons that may account for this is
Rocketship's reliance on Learning Labs with personalized computer learning and untrained staff, meaning that students are already
used to seeing variation each day in their teachers and caretakers.
According to our analysis
using Rocketship's budget breakdown [1], we can calculate that the bare minimum state funding is $ 52,800,000, the bare minimum federal funding is $ 7,260,000, and the bare minimum «other local revenue» funding is $ 660,000.
This allows
Rocketship to hire six fewer full - time teachers per school than they would otherwise, saving the organization $ 500,000, which is
used to increase teacher pay and program funding (
Rocketship Schools 2017).
The approach we
used calculates the absolute bare minimum dollar values for each portion of the budget, based on
Rocketship's budget breakdown and its reporting of top donors and the amount categories they fell into.