Rockwood Preparatory Academy, K–5 tuition-free public charter in Portland

Rockwood Preparatory Academy

a tuition-free public charter in Portland

K–5 · Public · Charter · Direct Instruction · Reynolds School District

740 SE 182nd Ave, Portland · John Nelsen. Principals: Maria McCollum (K–2) & Danielle Barnard (3–5), Executive Director

Rockwood Preparatory Academy (RPA) is a tuition-free public charter serving K–5, chartered through Reynolds School District and operated by KNOVA Learning. Teaching is built entirely on Direct Instruction, a highly structured method in which lessons follow a set sequence and children learn in small groups matched to what they have already mastered rather than to their grade. Reading Mastery, Connecting Math Concepts, and Language for Learning carry the core subjects, and because each lesson builds on the one before it, the school asks families to protect attendance closely.

Days here are predictable by design: uniforms, clear school-issued backpacks, and a behavior system that praises publicly and corrects privately. Just over half of RPA's students are current or former English learners and 17 languages are spoken across the school, supported by an ELD Coordinator and an ELD teacher. Special education, speech therapy, and school psychologist services come from Reynolds School District rather than from staff on campus, so families with an IEP will want to walk through those supports before enrolling. In short: a small, tightly structured K–5 for families who want reading and math taught explicitly, with clear routines and deep roots in Rockwood.

K–5 grades

373 students

19:1 student-teacher

22 average class

Tuition-free charter

Tuition: Tuition-Free Public

Address: 740 SE 182nd Ave, Portland OR 97233. Phone: 503-907-1023. Website: rockwoodprep.org.

PPS rightsizing · a proposal, not a decision

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The basics

A day here

The schedule

Before & after school

The campus

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worth asking about on the tour

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Who goes here

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Academic performance

Where they go next

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Oregon average, same source.

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The support

Getting in

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Your odds in the lottery

Seats here aren’t first-come; they’re drawn by lottery. Each circle below is a tenth of the families who applied over the last two springs and stayed in the running (didn’t take a higher-ranked school). Filled circles got a yes.

but it depends who you are

{{ oddsSrcCaret }} where these numbers come from

Official PPS lottery results, 2025-26 & 2026-27 combined: offers made ÷ families still in the running (offered + waitlisted); applications cancelled for a higher-ranked school excluded. pps.net › prior transfer data. Slots reset every year.

Tuition

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