---
title: 'Principal at Rocketship Public Schools'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/principal-rocketship-public-schools-san-jose-3kmqcfqhwhjv'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-20'
---

# Principal at Rocketship Public Schools

- **Company:** Rocketship Public Schools
- **Location:** San Jose, CA
- **Compensation:** $128k–$147k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-02-27
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-20
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/rocketship/b47cfd2f-0cca-41a5-a7fc-2da67a0942fa

## Job description

At Rocketship Public Schools, we believe in the infinite possibility of human potential. We believe that every student deserves the right to dream, to discover, and to develop their unique potential and it is our responsibility and our privilege to unleash the potential inside every Rocketeer we serve. Our non-profit network of public elementary charter schools propels student achievement, develops exceptional educators, and partners with parents who enable high-quality public schools to thrive in their community. We are a collective of parents, teachers, leaders, and students working together to transform the future for underserved communities across our country. At Rocketship Public Schools, we are unleashing potential.

Position Description Principals are the backbone of our school communities. They are charged with driving academic achievement and building a rigorous college preparatory culture. The Principal also serves as a cultural and community leader by building staff capacity in culture, behavior, and parent engagement. We staff Rocketship campuses with a Principal, Assistant Principals, a Business Operations Manager, and an Office Manager. Together, they lead a team of teachers, tutors, enrichment coordinators, and support staff who collectively deliver gap-closing, personalized instruction to students from pre-K to fifth grade. Principals provide instructional leadership by regularly observing classrooms, providing continuous feedback, co-planning units of study and lesson plans, and leading data analysis cycles.  They share responsibility for professional development, culture and behavior in common spaces, and special events. Rocketship principals are partners with parents and families and community leaders. As a Principal, you will receive ongoing professional development in conducting rigorous observations, providing meaningful feedback, and strategically planning based on analysis of results.  Additionally, since Rocketship is a growing network, our school leaders can access a number of career paths within our Network Support Team. The Principal reports to the Director of Schools and has direct reports including Assistant Principals, Business Operations Manager, Office Manager and Teachers.

Our Ideal Candidate Understands that eliminating the achievement gap is hard, but deeply rewarding work Believes that adult preparation is essential to student success Has a track record as an instructional school leader of leading a group of adults to achieve excellent student outcomes Possesses elementary content expertise and is eager to use that knowledge to develop assistant principals and teachers’ instructional and leadership skills Has experienced success managing and coaching adults Values parents as partners in ensuring student achievement

Essential Functions: The essential functions of this position include, but are not limited to the following:

- Developing Effective Educators
- Our Principals’ primary focus is around making sure all students receive an excellent education and that our teachers are prepared to deliver on this goal.
- Foster a rigorous and college preparatory culture of excellence in every classroom that ensures high levels of student achievement
- Work with teachers to build content expertise in humanities or STEM that is captured in units of study and daily plans
- Engage in cycles of data driven instruction and assessments to inform planning and personalize instruction to student needs
- Ensure significant progress for all Rocketeers annually through management, planning and coaching of grade level teams
- Support effective collaboration of Special Education Team, Enrichment Center Coordinators, and Operations staff so that all school staff are aligned towards common goals

-

- Parent Partnership
- Our families are very involved with their students’ education and, as a result, both parents and teachers own each child’s successes and challenges
- Build trusting relationships with all students and families embracing the knowledge parents have as their child’s first teacher
- Create a school community that frequently and proactively communicates with families and fully involves parents in student achievement through multiple outlets including home visits, regular community meetings, and parent/family meetings

-

- Rocketship Professional Culture
- Rocketship Principals are deeply committed to doing and being their best, and to growing their skills as professionals and as individuals, so our daily and annual expectations reflect that commitment.
- Exhibit a high level of honest and humble self-reflection owning good and bad outcomes.
- Effectively respond to and implement constructive feedbackCreate a healthy, high-achieving environment where staff and students feel challenged, and also fully supported and valued
- Promote and participate in collaborative opportunities across schools to share practice, problem solve, and gather feedback, including actively participating in the Rocketship principal cohort within their region
- Lead human capital activities for their school, including hiring, promotion, staffing, and termination decisions

Required Qualifications

- 3+ years of experience teaching in an urban school classroom delivering significant achievement gains
- 3+ years of experience as a Principal (or equivalent) or a similar administrative position at an urban elementary school serving a diverse student population with a track record of realizing significant achievement gains
- Experience managing, coaching and developing teachers
- Strong leadership skills with the ability to inspire and motivate staff and families
- Personal drive for high expectations
- Results-oriented, using data to make decisions
- Adaptable and able to thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced environment
- Experience with instruction of multilingual learners
- Experience in building and maintaining outstanding school culture
- Excellent time management and organizational skills
- Commitment to parent partnership
- Strong verbal and written communication skills

Education Requirements

- BA from an accredited university
- Valid teaching credential in CA or ability to transfer credentialing to CA (Note that the Teaching credential must have English as a Second Language endorsement)

Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions. While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to talk, hear, and communicate with both adults and children. The employee frequently is required to use hands or fingers, handle or feel objects, tools, or controls. The employee is frequently required to stand; walk; sit; and reach with hands and arms. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds and occasionally climb ladders. Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus. The noise level in the work environment is moderate to high.

Compensation: Commensurate with qualifications and experience, plus excellent health and wellness benefits, 403b retirement plan, flexible spending account (FSA), and generous paid time off.

Rocketship Public Schools provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty, or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws. Rocketship Public Schools complies with applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training. Rocketship Public Schools expressly prohibits any form of unlawful employee harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status. Improper interference with the ability of Rocketship Public Schools’ employees to perform their expected job duties is absolutely not tolerated. Click here for our Sexual Harassment Policy.  For questions, concerns, or complaints, please contact Human Resources.

## About Rocketship Public Schools

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Rocketship Public Schools is a national nonprofit network of high-performing public charter elementary schools serving underserved communities, focused on closing the achievement gap through personalized learning, talent development, and community partnerships.
- **Entity Type**: Private (nonprofit charter school network; not publicly traded)
- **Headquarters**: Redwood City, California, USA
- **Founded**: 2006
- **Founders**: John Danner and Preston Smith

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: K-12 public education (charter schools)
- **Target customers**: Students and families in low-income communities (pre-K through 5th grade), B2C (publicly funded, tuition-free)
- **Mission or purpose**: "To catalyze transformative change in underserved communities through a scalable and sustainable public school model that propels student achievement, develops exceptional educators, and partners with parents who enable high-quality public schools to thrive in their community."

## Products & Services
- **Public Charter Elementary Schools**: A network of high-performing, tuition-free public elementary schools (pre-K to grade 5) operating in California, Wisconsin, Tennessee, and Washington D.C. The model includes personalized learning, content-specialized teachers (STEM/Humanities), Learning Lab (adaptive technology), enrichment classes, and family engagement. [rocketshipschools.org](https://www.rocketshipschools.org/en/about/our-mission-and-model/)
- **Teacher Residency & PD Launchpad**: Professional development programs offering real-time coaching, instructional frameworks, and dedicated weekly PD for teachers. [rocketshipschools.org](https://www.rocketshipschools.org/en/join-our-team/)
- **Career Pathways**: Clear advancement opportunities from teacher to school leader, with roles in integrated special education, school support, leadership, and network support (HR, IT, finance, strategy, etc.). [rocketshipschools.org](https://www.rocketshipschools.org/en/join-our-team/)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not applicable (nonprofit organization)
- **Key Metric**: 33,567 total lifetime students served (as of 2023-2024); network of 23+ schools across four regions
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Not publicly listed as a funded startup; funding comes from public per-pupil revenue, grants, and philanthropic donations. The network is recognized as a "gap busting" charter network by the Stanford CREDO study (2023).
- **Growth Signals**: The 2023 Stanford CREDO study found Rocketship students gained the equivalent of 5–7 months of additional learning in a single school year; expansion beyond California into Wisconsin, Tennessee, and Washington D.C.; ongoing hiring for 2026-2027 school year with signing bonuses (e.g., $5,000 for 5th Grade Math Teacher). [rocketshipschools.org](https://www.rocketshipschools.org/en/) and [jobs.lever.co](https://jobs.lever.co/rocketship)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Proven academic impact**: Data from Stanford CREDO shows outsized learning gains for low-income students, positioning Rocketship as one of the charter sector's most effective networks.
- **Specialized teacher model**: Teachers focus on either STEM or Humanities, enabling deeper expertise and collaboration, unlike traditional elementary generalist model.
- **Strong family engagement**: Home visits before each school year, parent input on school naming and enrichment, and a culture of partnership that increases accountability and support.
- **Personalized learning at scale**: Combination of whole-group instruction, small-group tutoring, and adaptive online learning, driven by real-time data on student mastery.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scaling model**: Expanding to serve more students across current regions and potentially new markets, while maintaining high fidelity to the Rocketship model.
- **Talent development**: Investing heavily in teacher coaching, residency programs, and clear career ladders to retain and grow educators.
- **Community power**: Deepening parent and community organizing to advocate for high-quality public school options and policy change.
- **Whole-child education**: Integrating social-emotional learning, character values (persistence, empathy, responsibility, respect), and enrichment classes alongside core academics.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-driven culture**: Join a team committed to educational equity in low-income communities, with a strong sense of purpose and partnership among teachers, parents, and leaders.
- **Career growth**: Clear pathways from teacher to school leader, with internal promotion and support for leadership roles; network support roles offer diverse functions (HR, IT, finance, strategy).
- **Professional development**: Weekly coaching, real-time feedback, instructional frameworks, and dedicated PD time through programs like Teacher Residency and PD Launchpad.
- **Exceptional benefits**: Competitive health, dental, and vision coverage; retirement plans; signing bonuses for certain roles (e.g., $5,000 for 5th Grade Math Teacher in Tennessee).
- **Work environment**: Hybrid/onsite roles depending on position (e.g., school-based roles are onsite; some network support roles may be hybrid). Emphasis on collaboration, data-driven instruction, and a supportive school community.
- **Locations**: Schools in California (Bay Area, Sacramento), Wisconsin (Milwaukee), Tennessee (Nashville area), and Washington D.C.

## Sources
1. [rocketshipschools.org - Join Our Team](https://www.rocketshipschools.org/en/join-our-team/)
2. [rocketshipschools.org - Homepage](https://www.rocketshipschools.org/en/)
3. [rocketshipschools.org - Mission & Model](https://www.rocketshipschools.org/en/about/our-mission-and-model/)
4. [jobs.lever.co - Rocketship Careers](https://jobs.lever.co/rocketship)

## Other roles at Rocketship Public Schools

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