Antioch Chamber of Commerce supports new Rocketship charter school facility
The Antioch Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) has endorsed the plan by Rocketship Public Education (Rocketship) to build and operate a new, state-of-the-art, elementary school in Antioch. The approximately $14 million investment by Rocketship in the Antioch community was approved by the Antioch Unified School District (AUSD) Board of Trustees last December. (See related article)
The facility proposed by Rocketship will be the first Net Zero Energy charter school to be built in the United States. It’s construction on Cavallo Road near 18th Street is expected to help spark revitalization of the area while allowing access to a high-quality educational opportunity for socioeconomically disadvantaged students.
The school is scheduled to open in the fall of 2018 with about 300 students, and to ultimately serve 600. Rocketship has an impressive history of helping students achieve academically throughout the San Jose area and other parts of the country. Their schools feature extended school days with imbedded learning labs, effectively providing every student with the opportunity to participate in enrichment activities that lead to some of the highest test scores achieved by schools serving similar populations in the state of California.
The site plan for the Rocketship school will come before the Planning Commission and the Antioch City Council for approval in the coming weeks, and the Chamber urges both bodies to work swiftly to ensure that this new option for our Antioch students becomes a reality as quickly as possible. The Chamber further urges all members of the community to work together to support the new Rocketship school and the opportunity it presents for Antioch’s children.
The Chamber, in addition to its primary mission of promoting local businesses and jobs, has long been an advocate for local education and the AUSD. These efforts include support for the creation of innovative programs, the development of high school academies, and the celebration of student talent in our community.
Richard Pagano, CEO
Antioch Chamber of Commerce