Please note that this post contains affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward MageeNews.com a small commission – at no extra cost to you.
Deep in the heart of Southwest Mississippi, in the sleepy community of Silver Creek, lies an innovative thriving new school founded by a veteran teacher who was looking for freedom in her own classroom.
In the early spring of this year, Vicki Cox found herself frustrated as she sat in her public school classroom. She felt defeated and tired. The burden of red tape sat heavy on her shoulders.
“It was constant policies and implementing programs in my classrooms,” she said, “and I just wanted to teach my students.”
That constant burden led Vicki to a place she never thought she would find herself: She began succumbing to the pressure to make sure her students were performing well on their state tests which, in turn, caused her to pass those pressures along to her students.
“I caught myself saying things to my students like, ‘Why didn’t you try?’” Vicki said. “I had become more worried about the [state test] score instead of the child, and I didn’t want to value a test score more than the child.
“As a public educator there is a lot of stress that comes with the job. and it leaks into your personal life. You take it with you when you leave, and you are constantly pressured to make sure your students perform. There is always something new coming down the pipeline, whether it’s a diagnostic test or a new program. We were pumping kids full of tests, and I just wanted school to be like it used to be. I wanted to be able to reach the whole child and to make learning fun.”
One afternoon, frustrated and exhausted, Vicki blurted out loud to her mother-in-law, “What if I just started my own school?”
“Absolutely, yes! We can do it in my shed. Let’s go,” her mother-in-law emphatically responded.
“It was the first time that I thought to myself, ‘You mean I can really do this?’” Vicki said.
She began putting feelers out on social media and in her community to see if there was any interest in an option like what she wanted to provide.
“It was a God thing,” Vicki said. “I had the thought one second, and then it was happening. The connections began to fall into place. I had so many people express interest in the idea. I remember praying, ‘Lord, if I can get 10 students, I can cover my expenses.’ Well, I had 10 students show interest and then found out that a local church was giving away 10 nice desks. It was just one sign after another.”
Vicki was connected with Embark, a school incubator project of Empower Mississippi.
“Embark gave me the confidence I needed to get started, and they provided connections for me with other education entrepreneurs as well as resources to help me. It was wonderful to know that there was someone who could help me get started.”
Vicki went from idea to doors open in about six months. Her micro-school, Rocket Learning, is home to 16 students, primarily in 5th-7th grade. She also has a first-grade student and two ninth-grade students. They are currently meeting in Vicki’s mother-in-law’s shed with plans to move into a restored farmhouse owned by one of the student’s parents.
“The idea is to have that one-room schoolhouse feel,” Vicki said. “We are hoping to be in the farmhouse by fall break.”
Rocket Learning has attracted families throughout the area because of its unique setup.
“The parents of our students wanted to see their kids happy. Some of our students struggled with dyslexia and ADHD, and their parents were tired of seeing them struggle, and it’s been beneficial to the students as well. They have learned that they are good enough, and they have found their self-worth. Our students are able to work at their own pace, which has been eye-opening for them.”
The students have found determination, motivation, and freedom in knowing that they are in charge of the pace at which they work in the classroom.
This new approach for her students has also been rewarding for Vicki.
“We’ve all rediscovered the excitement in the classroom.”
Economic Impact
Just a few minutes to the north in New Hebron, Mayor Cindy Bryan is inspired by what’s happening at Rocket Learning.
“Vicki is on the cutting edge of the future of education,” the Mayor noted. “It’s important for us to get back to the small, community schools because it not only benefits the students, but it benefits our communities because people will want to live here again when they know there is a choice in where they send their children to school.”
Bryan said that education options are critical to helping small communities thrive. She noted that because the federal government stepped into their local public school system many years ago and restructured it, they lost their community school and, in turn, lost their thriving community.
“It ruined our community,” she said. “School choice is the way we are going to see our communities grow. Giving parents options like Rocket Learning is key. I also want to see a public charter school in New Hebron.”
The Bell Family
Rocket Learning parent Bethany Bell echoed the Mayor.
“We live in a rural area of the state, and we don’t have the option of going to a grade A school,” said Bethany – a New Hebron resident.
She and her husband’s oldest child, Henley, attends Rocket Learning. Bethany, a former public educator herself, said she did not feel comfortable leaving her son in their local assigned public school beyond the fourth grade.
“I knew the teachers that were educating him those early years,” she said, “and I knew that, while still a public school, he would be getting an education with the Biblical truth in his lessons. But the kids begin to get a little more worldly beyond the fourth grade, and I wasn’t comfortable with that. We were seeing a mass exodus from our school in New Hebron, and while there is a private school option up the road, it wasn’t what I wanted for my children.”
When Vicki expressed her desire to start a school to Bethany, who was a friend and colleague, Bethany was enthusiastically on board.
“I wanted my kids to have a well-rounded education experience and be good individuals. I knew that Vicki would be able to provide that. I wanted that small schoolhouse experience for Henley.”
And Henley is thriving in that setting. Bethany noted that he was in the gifted program at school and got to participate in activities only on designated days for the program.
“But in school with Vicki, it’s like every day is a day in the gifted program,” Bethany said. “She’s challenging him, and he loves it. He’s not missing anything, and he comes home every day talking about school. That’s all a parent really wants.”
Currently, Bethany’s other children are thriving in other settings. Wally, 8, and Caroline, 5, are both doing well in the local public school. The couple’s youngest, Adley, is 3 and has not yet started school.
“Wally has hearing problems and is currently getting what he needs at his school, and I am going to leave him there for now. I wanted the structural experience for Caroline since she is just starting out, but I plan on moving them all to Vicki at some point. It’s just so very important for parents to have options. We are paying our tax dollars and should have the option to use them where we want to.”
Vicki agreed.
“I want more kids and parents to be able to have options available,” she said. “I hope that we are able to add more teachers and reach more students. I want parents to realize that there are more education options out there for your child than you may realize. Our community is so excited about what we are doing, and I hope that it only continues to grow.”
