Rocketship Public Schools reviews

Rocketship has changed significantly over the past few years, and unfortunately, not in positive ways. While the work has always been challenging, this past school year under new regional leadership was especially difficult. In previous years, there was strong HR support, and employees felt comfortable raising concerns and seeking guidance. During the 2022–23 school year and part of 2023–24 our assigned HR partner was highly supportive and accessible. That support has since diminished since April 2025. Staff have been discouraged from engaging with HR, and communication and professional development opportunities, such as informal HR sessions (brown bags), are no longer offered. Leadership has become more hierarchical and less approachable, which has affected morale. Many employees feel hesitant to raise concerns due to fear of negative repercussions, particularly given the strong support the region’s leader receives from senior NET leadership. After nearly ten years with the organization, I ultimately decided to leave midyear due to these ongoing challenges. I continue to deeply value the students and the mission, and I remain grateful for the meaningful work I was able to do. However, sustainable success requires leadership that fosters trust, transparency, and mutual respect.

I hesitate to write this review but I know that it's important for everyone to understand that there is no work life balance or real joy in the work that you do because of an unspoken culture that you are not able to have boundaries or able to say that you don't have capacity to do the work or do it well. Teams are incredibly lean and the expectations and workloads are not realistic or manageable - with the need to reschedule, juggle and reprioritize critical work daily. Internal systems and processes are not built, which creates additional stressors for already lean teams who are not allowed to say no or share the reality that information is unknown or not available. There is a daily feeling of failure and lack of support. You are not allowed to say No and when you do you are viewed negatively. Overcapacity and underwater, with more tasks being delegated daily is normal. Outside of CA, the Rocketship model and "way" does not hold true and the culture, specifically leadership standards and expectations vary drastically. The CEO does not listen and it is common for people to tell him what he wants to hear ( yes) versus the truth, which includes a high level of frustration, inability to follow through or the burn out being experienced. You can't give an excuse so blame is passed to others, There is also significant disparity on teams, largely driven by favoritism and perceptions of the value of work being done. Teams accross Rocketship are not right sized for the work being done or expected. Overall review of infrastructure needs, core team functions, team size and expected output based on organizational priorities is long overdue. Leadership is toxic and doesn't listen to their employees and are more concerned about their own personal agenda's. Leaders do not behave as leaders and there is an overall casualness and social aspect within teams that should not be accepted. It is widely known who the favorites are within the org as bad behavior is not only tolerated but excused. There is significant organizational confusion and lack of clarity on roles, responsibilities and reporting structure due to changes. Expectations need realigned.