It's a story with all the elements of a classic Hollywood movie. College officials approach the pastor at a local parish to nominate candidates for a scholarship. He searches, but cannot not find a single qualified student in the area. And so he vows to do something about it.

Sadly, this is not a movie. This really happened. In 1999, officials from Santa Clara University asked Father Mateo Sheedy, Pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, to recommend children for the Juan Diego Scholarship program. Fr. Mateo found that of the hundreds of children in his parish, none had received the education necessary to attend Santa Clara. And he decided to do something about it.

Fr. Mateo convinced the founders of Downtown College Preparatory, including John Danner, CEO of Rocketship Education, to locate their charter high school in the area around the parish. He convinced the Jesuits to open a middle school, Sacred Heart Nativity School. And he dreamed that that some day, the children of the parish would also have an elementary school. With funds from RDF for its first campus, Rocketship Education was founded in 2006, bringing Fr. Mateo’s dream to fruition.

By the time Rocketship’s first class of Kindergarteners goes to college, Santa Clara University will be overwhelmed by the number of qualified applicants for the Juan Diego scholarship. Which makes for a happy ending, after all.