Together, We Expand Access To Schools
Where Students Thrive.

Building Rochester’s Teacher Workforce: READY Partners with TeachStart

Great schools need great educators. Strengthening Rochester’s educator workforce is essential to expanding access to high-quality schools and ensuring students have the support they need to thrive.

Meeting the growing demand for talented educators requires intentional investment in career pathways that attract, develop, and retain exceptional teachers committed to our students.

Across Rochester’s student population:

We have a strong need to fill in educator gaps in our community. Area schools can invest upwards of $50,000 each year to fill a single position with substitute coverage, without any guarantee that those dollars will result in a trained educator who is prepared to step into a permanent role.

READY sees an opportunity to turn those necessary staffing investments into something more: a pipeline of well-prepared teachers who can grow with our schools and serve Rochester students for years to come.

That’s why READY is excited to partner with TeachStart , a teacher workforce development program that helps talented professionals, including career changers, enter the teaching profession.

TeachStart uses an earn-and-learn model in which Fellows work in schools as substitute teachers while receiving professional development, coaching, and support toward becoming certified teachers. Fellows gain meaningful classroom experience and become familiar members of the school community, while schools can develop potential future teachers from within. If you or someone you know is ready to answer the call to serve Rochester students and build a career in education, click the button below to take the next step with TeachStart!

READY ACTION FUND: WHERE EDUCATION MEETS ACTION

Every movement for lasting change reaches a moment when building awareness and creating solutions must be matched with the power to change the systems that shape our communities. For READY and Rochester, that moment is now.

We’re proud to enter a powerful new chapter with the upcoming launch of the READY Action Fund, created to build civic and political power around a simple belief: every Rochester child deserves access to a high-quality public school.

Stay Tuned. Join the Movement.

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Introducing BRICK Academy to Rochester

This September, thousands of children across Rochester began a new school year. For some, it was their first day of school. For others, it brought joyful first-day photos, new classrooms, and a fresh start.

This back-to-school season is especially meaningful for the READY team. That is because on September 8, 2026, BRICK Networks' Rochester Academy (BRICK Rochester) opened its doors to Rochester children and families for the very first time.

READY began collaborating with BRICK founder and CEO Dominique Lee in December 2022 to bring the network's renowned holistic education and community development strategy to Rochester. In this journey, we recognized that simply bringing another school to Rochester was not the goal. Instead, we needed to create an educational environment, a partnership aimed at delivering exactly what Rochester families have been asking for: a genuinely distinctive option that enriches the city's public school system.

Before we committed, we listened to Rochester families and community partners to understand what they wanted to see in education.

READY developed a community-based school design process in partnership with families from Action for a Better Community, Inc.’s Head Start program. Over several months, we worked closely with a group of Rochester families to introduce the BRICK model and gather their input on how to shape it to fit their community. We listened to what they wanted for their children, what they felt was missing from Rochester's education landscape, and what it would take for a new school built on this model to earn their trust. From there came years of design, planning, charter authorization, partnership building, finding a home, assembling a founding team, and preparing to welcome children.

We extend a special thank you to Yarritza Delgado, the Founding Principal of BRICK Academy; Jamesha Wilson, the Director of Operations; the rest of the BRICK team; the Founding Board; our community partners; and Educators. READY helped bring BRICK Academy to Rochester, and the school's founding staff will help sustain it for years to come.

Leveraging National Dollars for Local Good

READY is Rochester’s education investment and innovation partner, expanding access to high-performing public schools and helping them thrive. We invest in school growth, educator and leader development, family empowerment, and supportive policy.

By connecting best practices and expertise with local and national philanthropy, we bring new resources to Rochester in effort to achieve our goal of growing enrollment in quality schools from roughly 3,000 students today to 10,000 by 2034.

Each investment is informed by performance data, site visits, and input from families and educators, giving funders confidence that their support will make a meaningful difference.

As the school year begins, we’re proud to support the following schools and initiatives with resources for improvement and expansion:

• Discovery Charter School
• Renaissance Academy Charter School of the Arts (Camp ReAdy)
• Uncommon Schools Rochester Prep
• University Preparatory Charter for Young Men

Calling Rochester Changemakers: Apply for READY's Design Studio Fellowship

Are you an educator or aspiring education entrepreneur with a connection to Rochester? Have you identified a problem in your school or community but aren't sure what to do next?

The READY Design Studio Fellowship is a transformative 8-week leadership program that will run from mid-October 2026 to mid-January 2027 for individuals with a middle and/or high school concept to meet student needs in Rochester. You'll bring your idea to life with support from national school innovation experts.

As a fellow, you’ll get:

• Executive coaching and personalized leadership development
• Access to in-person workshops and virtual sessions, including a trip to see innovative, community-based school models
• Support to pilot your concept and co-create solutions with youth and families

We're seeking leaders, especially those from historically marginalized communities, who are ready to make a lasting impact in education. If you’re passionate about equity and innovation in education, this is your chance to dream big and launch your vision.

Note: Exceptional candidates with a well-formed middle and/or high school concept that addresses an identified programmatic need in Rochester may be eligible to skip Design Studio and go straight to the Launch program, a full-time opportunity during which you will prepare to launch your school.

To indicate your interest in the Fall Design Studio cohort or Launch, please fill out the interest form here.

Know someone who could be a great fit for the fellowship? Nominate them here.

Questions? Email READYIncubator@ready4schools.org.

What Has Really Changed In 40 Years?

Listen to Shanai reflect on what has changed in Rochester's education landscape.

What We’re Reading This Month

Each month, READY shares resources, reports, and articles that help our community better understand education policy, school quality, family access, and the systems shaping student opportunity.