Tennis champion Andre Agassi, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker, community leaders, and local dignitaries joined with Rocketship Public Schools Texas today for the inaugural celebration of Rocketship Dennis Dunkins Elementary, a beautiful charter school campus serving students in the Stop Six neighborhood.
The 46,000-square-foot campus currently serves 350 students in pre-kindergarten to 3rd grade and is on its way to eventually serving students through fifth grade. The school was developed for Rocketship by the Turner-Agassi Education Facilities Fund, a mission-driven social impact investment fund that provides resources and real estate expertise to high-performing charter school operators across the nation.
Opened in August 2022, Rocketship Dennis Dunkins Elementary is Rocketship Public Schools Texas’ flagship school. A festive ribbon-cutting ceremony was held today to welcome the state-of-the-art facility, which features 22 classrooms – including two learning labs, cafeteria and gymnasium structures that serve as storm shelters, parents’ room, and a playground.
Rocketship Dennis Dunkins Elementary is a community school focused on maintaining a high-performing school culture.
“Rocketship Texas is tapping into the cultural capital of this great community to partner with parents to co-create a dynamic and rigorous learning environment,” said Rocketship Texas Superintendent SaJade Miller. “By exclusively serving families at the elementary level, our model is designed to help improve the entire public education system in Tarrant County by setting students up for success in middle and high school, and well beyond. We do this through genuine parent partnership and a learning environment focused on unleashing the full potential of every individual student.”
Rocketship Dennis Dunkins Elementary is located near the Stop Six neighborhood, an area of rapid transition and economic development in southeast Fort Worth.
“We’re proud that our investment is enabling this best-in-class charter school operator to create outstanding results for students, families, and the entire community,” said Bobby Turner, the Fund’s Co-Managing Partner and CEO of Turner Impact Capital. “Our work with Rocketship Public Schools Texas exemplifies the sustainable, positive impact that our Fund is committed to creating in Fort Worth and around the nation.”
“Great public schools are vital to the health of our communities and our city. The City of Fort Worth is delighted to welcome Rocketship Public Schools Texas’s flagship school, Dennis Dunkins Elementary,” said Mattie Parker, Mayor of Fort Worth. “Education is an engine of economic development, and I applaud Rocketship and the Turner-Agassi Education Facilities Fund for fueling the transformation of Stop Six and helping young people achieve their fullest potential.”
Rocketship Public Schools Texas is founded on the core pillars of the nationally recognized Rocketship Public Schools model: parent power, personalized learning, and talent development. Powered by a diverse coalition of local leaders, the Rocketship Texas board and leadership endeavor to prepare students to be intellectually curious, high-performing, and engaged with their whole families in their community. The vision is to better serve the community by establishing an equitable and excellent educational environment that meets the needs of all children and raises the level of achievement across Tarrant County districts.
“We opened the first Rocketship Texas school to serve the Stop Six neighborhood because the community came together to demand change in the quality of local public school options,” said Rocketship Dennis Dunkins Founding Principal Dr. Christina Hanson. “Like many historically Black neighborhoods across the country, this is a community with great pride, but in need of additional resources. We’re excited to be a key part of several new investments designed to improve the quality of life and access to opportunities for families in this part of Fort Worth.”
“Every parent wants to see their child thrive in school and in life. Rocketship not only provides that nurturing environment, they invite parents to be equal partners in shaping and building the school community that we know will serve our children best,” said Founding Parent Keorah Strain. “Rocketship calls this part of their school model ‘Parent Power,’ and for good reason – there is real power in parent involvement. By working together, I know that our parents and our school are going to change outcomes for our kids and our community.”
A joint venture of Turner Impact Capital and Agassi Ventures, Turner‐Agassi is backed by a world‐class group of institutional investors who share a commitment to effecting positive societal change in America’s urban centers. Securing high‐quality, long‐term facilities is often one of the greatest impediments faced by charter school leaders. Turner‐Agassi provides resources, development experience, and a passion for educational excellence to enable top school operators to focus on their first priority: helping students succeed.
“All students deserve a school environment that sets them up for future success. That means creating a safe, welcoming environment that promotes exploration and learning,” said Andre Agassi, the Fund’s Co-Managing Partner, CEO of Agassi/Graf Holdings, and the Chairman of The Board of the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education. “I have no doubt Rocketship Dennis Dunkins Elementary will create lasting benefits for thousands of young scholars who will be passing through its doors in the years ahead.”
“We are thrilled to be able to partner with the board of directors and leadership team of Rocketship Public Schools Texas to create this important institution,” said Glenn Pierce, Turner Impact Capital’s President of Education Initiatives. “We are committed to investing in and strengthening communities, exemplified by the creation of this beacon of hope for the families of Stop Six.”
Turner-Agassi is managed by Turner Impact Capital, one of the nation’s leading investment firms dedicated to social impact. Since opening its doors in 2014, Turner Impact Capital has made significant investments to address three core challenges: K-12 public education, affordable workforce housing, and outcome-based healthcare in underserved urban communities.
About the Turner-Agassi Education Facilities Fund
The Turner-Agassi Education Facilities Fund, managed by Turner Impact Capital, is the nation’s largest market-driven real estate fund dedicated to accelerating the growth of high-performing, urban charter schools. The Fund enables more students to attend great schools by developing learning-friendly facilities for best-in-class charter school operators. Since its inception in 2011, the Fund has developed and delivered 120 schools creating over 59,000 seats for students throughout the United States. For more information, please visit https://www.turnerimpact.com/.
About Rocketship Public Schools Texas
Rocketship Public Schools Texas is supported by Rocketship Public Schools, a nonprofit network of high-performing public elementary charter schools serving disadvantaged communities across the country. The organization launched in 2007 with a vision to eliminate the achievement gap in every community it serves. Rocketship schools consistently rank among the top 10% of all public schools serving similar student populations. Through its high-performing public school model, Rocketship Public Schools propels student achievement, develops exceptional educators, and partners with parents who enable high-quality public schools to thrive in their community. To learn more, visit https://www.rocketshipschools.org/texas/.
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Randy James | (310) 974-6684 | randy@sugermangroup.com