Rocketship Public Schools, a national public charter school network that operates in Milwaukee, has acquired
Carmen Schools of Science & Technology’s only elementary school campus.
Carmen Schools sold the Stellar Elementary building, located at 2431 S. 10th St. on the south side of Milwaukee, to Rocketship for nearly $1.2 million, according to state records. The elementary school campus will reopen as Rocketship Stellar Elementary this fall.
Carmen Schools, a network of public charter schools in Milwaukee, operated Stellar Elementary under a charter agreement with the
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Carmen also maintains charter agreements with
Milwaukee Public Schools.
Carmen Schools took over operations of Stellar Collegiate Charter School in 2019 and renamed it ‘Stellar Elementary.’
Melissa McGonegle, who founded Stellar Collegiate Charter School, had previously founded a Rocketship school in San Jose, California. McGonegle remained with the campus, joining Carmen as chief elementary schools officer, according to
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporting. McGonegle left Carmen in 2022.
Aaron Lippman, CEO of Carmen Schools, said in a statement that Rocketship is “uniquely positioned to provide the specialized support, resources and experience that an elementary school like Stellar requires to flourish.”
“This transition will allow Carmen to focus on its traditional core competencies in educating middle school and high school students,” Lippman said. “While Stellar will no longer operate under the Carmen umbrella, we are thrilled that this shift will enable it to remain a feeder school for Carmen’s schools, allowing our collaboration to continue in new and meaningful ways.”
Construction for
Carmen’s future $55 million south side high school campus is currently underway. It will be the network’s first permanent home.
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