The Milwaukee Post

6 • Milwaukee Post • September 20, 2013 Rocketship: Charter school expects to grow to 650 students by 2015 continued from Page 1 outdoor playground and gymnasium. It officially opened its doors to students Aug. 19. Agassi was joined by Rocketship Education leaders, Milwaukee Common Council President Willie Hines and Alderman Bob Donovan, whose district includes the new school in Milwaukee's Layton Park neighborhood at 3003 W. Cleveland Ave. Canyon-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund, which is a joint venture between the Los Angeles-based Canyon Capital Realty Advisors LLC and Agassi's business partnership, helped provide the financing needed to turn the former commercial building into a school. Rocketship is part of a nonprofit network of Palo Alto, Calif.-based charter schools. Milwaukee is the group's first expansion site and will also serve as a test for how successful the schools can be with low-income and minority students in other cities. The resounding message at the grand opening was that charter schools are important to children's success. The school provides students with the best, said Bobby Turner, CACSFF comanaging partner and chairman and CEO of Canyon Capital Realty Advisors. "Look at this – how many public schools in Milwaukee look like this?" Turner said. "You have basketball courts with nets on the baskets. You have classrooms with state-of-the-art technology." Founded in 2006, Rocketship Education relies on a blend of traditional instruction, adaptive technology and targeted tutoring to meet the needs of students, who are known as rocketeers. Rocketship serves more than 5,000 students, and plans to open eight K5 schools in Milwaukee by 2017. "Rocketship has a track record that's DO YOU NEED A WILL? Attorney James J. Winiarski An experienced professional in estate planning. A standard simple will is $175.00, and that charge includes a private conference with Attorney Winiarski. Husband and wife for $325.00. •Probate services are also available at reasonable rates. •Emergency consultations are available. •Please Call for a Free Simple Estate Planning Consultation Attorney James J. Winiarski 3625 W. Oklahoma Ave., Milwaukee (414)383-3902 232520155 Blair to be local face of Catholic Relief Services Speedskater tries to raise group's profile By ARTHUR THOMAS Conley News Service outstanding both from an educational perspective and a fiscal perspective," Agassi said. This isn't Canyon-Agassi's first time in the Milwaukee market, either. It entered the education scene by providing financing to convert a steel fabrication plant into a school building for Northpoint Lighthouse Charter School, 4200 W. Douglas Ave., which opened in 2012. "The Rocketship team is thrilled to open our ninth school, and our first national expansion site, here in Milwaukee – a city with a strong tradition of supporting excellent charter schools," said Preston Smith, Rocketship's CEO and co-founder. "We're grateful for our partnership with CACSFF for helping us build this incredible building within the Layton Park neighborhood and create another community center where our rocketeers, families and entire Southside Prep team will thrive." Partnerships with the private sector, Agassi said, will result in successful schools. "If you can bridge the gap with private sector, you can figure out a scalable, sustainable way to do it." Agassi said. Milwaukee Post readers plan on spending over $15 million in the next year on new doors, roofing, windows and siding. Interested in getting your share of the pie? Classified Service Directory 3397 South Howell Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53207 414-744-6370 READ THE CLASSIFIEDS MILWAUKEE – Southeastern Wisconsin residents will be seeing more of Bonnie Blair in the coming months, but not because the Winter Olympics are taking place in 2014. Blair, a five-time Olympic gold medalist in speedskating, will be serving as the face of Catholic Relief Services in southeastern Wisconsin. She has already appeared in radio spots, public service announcements and billboard adverBlair tisements. Catholic Relief Services is the official international relief organization of the Roman Catholic community . It was founded initially to provide war relief in Europe after World War II. Today, about 30 percent of the organization's efforts are dedicated to disaster relief and the other 70 percent goes toward finding sustainable solutions for Third World problems, according to Joe Cottrell, a supporter of the organization. Cottrell and two other families are leading an effort, with the permission of the organization, to raise the profile of Catholic Relief Services in southeastern Wisconsin. He said that CRS is highly ranked by several charity rating organizations "and yet, nobody has heard of us." In southeastern Wisconsin, even Catholics who regularly attend church often do not know about the organization, Cottrell said. "Right now, we're just trying to spearhead the awareness," Blair said, adding that people should look for more public service announcements and billboards. Cottrell said the group's work is about being a good Samaritan and "it's not really anything to do with trying to convert people to Catholicism." Blair said the charities she has worked with in the past have been ones she's had a more personal direct connection to. In the case of CRS, the connection was through a friend of a friend. She said that having traveled the world, she realized "how we have it so good here in the United States." For Blair, the fact that CRS focuses on sustainable approaches to problems instead of "just a quick fix" was important. Cottrell said giving people things without teaching them anything doesn't solve the problem. "One of the things we pride ourselves on is asking people what they need," he said, adding that the organization realizes one size does not fit all situations. Blair also attended an event at the Wisconsin Club recently to help educate people about the group. Actress Catherine Hicks from "7th Heaven" and Archbishop Jerome Listecki were also on hand. She said the event wasn't a typical charity fundraiser. It was about raising awareness, not money . "You hope you tug at other people's heartstrings," Blair said, adding that others might volunteer or get involved in some way . Brady Corp. reports fourth quarter loss MILWAUKEE – Brady Corp. recently reported a loss of $177.3 million in its fiscal fourth quarter compared to net income of $11.7 million in the same quarter last year. The loss was the result of reorganization and acquisition costs, according to a statement released by the Milwaukeebased manufacturer. The recent quarter included over $220 million of charges for restructuring, acquisition and impairment charges for changes in the value of "long-lived assets" in its Asian facilities. Sales from continuing operations fell 2.3 percent, but the acquisition of Precision Dynamics added 17 percent to sales, according to the statement. In total, sales rose 14.9 percent to $309.1 million compared to $269.1 million in the year-ago period. For all of fiscal 2013, Brady reported a loss of $154.5 million, or $2.76 a share, compared to a prior year loss of $17.9 million. Looking ahead to the current fiscal year, the company said it expects pershare earnings of $1.80 to $2, excluding restructuring charges.

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