Rocketship is holding two more community meetings this week on its proposal to open a third campus near the Fort Totten metro station.

August 8, 2019
6:00 pm-7:30 pm
Library Tavern
5420 3rd Street NW

August 9, 2019
5:30 pm-7:00 pm
North Michigan Park Rec
1333 Emerson Street NE

Based on the timeline shared by Rocketship’s leadership, it is possible the DC Public Charter School Board will hold a public hearing on the proposal some time in September, possibly before the regularly scheduled ANC 5A meeting on the fourth Wednesday of September. I know Rocketship has asked the ANC about the possibility of holding a special ANC meeting to make sure residents receive a fuller presentation of the plans for the new campus before any public hearing. Recall Rocketship presented a high level overview of the Rocketship model and preliminary plans at the June 2019 ANC 5A meeting.

The proposed campus will be located in the single member district (SMD) of ANC Commissioner Gordon Fletcher (5A08). Commissioner Fletcher plans to hold an SMD meeting with a number of agenda items on August 12, 2019, at 6:30 pm at UDC-CC Backus, so he may provide additional information about the ANC’s plan for addressing Rocektship’s proposal for a new campus in the neighborhood then.

Please take advantage of these opportunities to learn about the plan for the new campus, meet the school’s leadership, and ask questions. If you have questions about their traffic plan, blended learning curriculum, disciplinary policy, approach to community engagement, impact on surrounding traditional public and public charter schools and the need for an additional charter school in the neighborhood, anything at all, now is the time to raise them.