The problems facing urban schools are not unique to Springfield, and this innovative approach is drawing favorable attention not just statewide but nationally.
Charlie Baker, the Governor of Massachusetts, has championed the Springfield partnership as a model for other communities. The unease over any state participation in local schools has been supplanted by recognition of positive results, made possible partly because teachers and faculty have been given more voice - not less - in how their schools are being run.
Dan Warwick, the superintendent of Springfield Public Schools, has stated that “the increased flexibilities and autonomies that are given to schools under this model has allowed us to make progress in some very challenging schools because school leaders are supported in a way that allows them to make bold, sometimes unprecedented, changes to effectively address the specific challenges facing their schools.”
Charlie Baker, the Governor of Massachusetts, has championed the Springfield partnership as a model for other communities. The unease over any state participation in local schools has been supplanted by recognition of positive results, made possible partly because teachers and faculty have been given more voice - not less - in how their schools are being run.
Dan Warwick, the superintendent of Springfield Public Schools, has stated that “the increased flexibilities and autonomies that are given to schools under this model has allowed us to make progress in some very challenging schools because school leaders are supported in a way that allows them to make bold, sometimes unprecedented, changes to effectively address the specific challenges facing their schools.”
Notable Accomplishments
Over the last 4 years, Duggan Academy has moved from the 1st percentile to the 15th, with 30% of students scoring proficient in ELA and 32% in Math in the state’s accountability rankings.
Over the last 4 years, Chestnut TAG moved from the 9th to the 65th percentile.
In two years, Springfield Honors Academy (new school by SEZP) ranked overall 17th in the state in ELA and 58th in Math.
In three years, Rise Academy (a redesigned neighborhood school) has quadrupled the number of students proficient in math and doubled the number of students proficient in ELA
Only two schools serving grade 6-12 in the entire state of Massachusetts have exited underperforming status. They are both SEZP schools.
The single highest improving school in the state, over the last four years, is an SEZP school.
Over the last 4 years, Chestnut TAG moved from the 9th to the 65th percentile.
In two years, Springfield Honors Academy (new school by SEZP) ranked overall 17th in the state in ELA and 58th in Math.
In three years, Rise Academy (a redesigned neighborhood school) has quadrupled the number of students proficient in math and doubled the number of students proficient in ELA
Only two schools serving grade 6-12 in the entire state of Massachusetts have exited underperforming status. They are both SEZP schools.
The single highest improving school in the state, over the last four years, is an SEZP school.