About Us
Rocket Academy is a tuition-free, public charter school for 11th and 12th-grade students in the manufacturing space authorized by the Cedar Grove-Belgium School District.
Innovative Approach to Manufacturing Career Pathways
Students at Rocket Academy take only career and technical courses, yet they still meet the state requirements for high school graduation. This is because the State of Wisconsin’s core requirements for language arts, math, science, and social studies curriculum have been built into our workplace-focused and manufacturing-ready career pathways and training. Simply put, our students experience a direct connection between what they are learning and the application to a workplace. On our “Tour-it Tuesday” all students visit a variety of different manufacturing facilities, where they are able to hear from business professionals across the organization (i.e. from c-suite, HR, operations, logistics, sustainability) and observe skilled operators and technicians.
The school offers a competency-based education (CBE), model that allows students to learn and progress at their own pace. This is a unique learning opportunity for high school students and allows them ownership and flexibility in personalized learning.
All courses are dual-credit via Lakeshore Technical College (LTC) and require an element of independence and hard work from students. We are focused on developing diligence as we guide and help build the executive functioning skills our students need to be successful. Students will earn a one-year technical certificate from LTC during their first year of the academy and motivated students could potentially earn a two-year technical college degree by their high school graduation.
Rocket Academy provides a unique learning experience for students
All content is self-paced and based on skill achievement. Once a student exhibits competence in a skill, they progress to the next. So, if they already know the material based on past experience, they can test it out and jump ahead in the curriculum. If the material is new and requires more time and multiple attempts to become proficient, then the flexibility to do so is afforded.
Most of the assessments are demonstration-based. Students have access to learn via recorded lectures, readings, or face-to-face inquiry, they then participate in skill-building activities. When they are comfortable, students show an instructor that they can competently perform a prescribed skill.
Each Rocket Academy student will participate in a required work-based learning experience. Youth Apprenticeships with one of our area manufacturing partners are the primary means of this delivery. We believe so strongly in the value of learning directly from expert mentors that we allow extended school hours and additional credits for these experiences. Coupled with the school’s flexible CBE (competency-based education) delivery model, some students spend 50% of their school week on the job and 50% at school.
Students will still earn the required credit loads in the state-required core courses. However, these courses have been designed as manufacturing or employability-relevant. For example, Rocket Academy courses that focus on the science of metals will count toward the three science credits that the Wisconsin Department of Instruction requires for high school graduation. Rocket Academy students will still graduate with four English-Language Arts credits and three credits each in math, science, and social studies, but the content of each course will be directly related to one of the offered manufacturing career pathways.