New Bedford’s Parker School also exiting receivership; Three other public schools exiting underperforming status

Everett - The Healey-Driscoll Administration today announced the provisional decision to remove Holyoke Public Schools from receivership effective July 1, 2025. Elementary and Secondary Education Acting Commissioner Russell D. Johnston will finalize the decision in June, depending on the Holyoke School Committee’s progress in implementing its capacity building plan.

“This is an important step for Holyoke Public Schools. The return to local control will have positive impacts on students, educators and families,” said Governor Maura Healey. “I’m grateful for the hard work and partnership of Mayor Garcia, the School Committee and the school district to make progress on ensuring all students are receiving a high-quality education, and we look forward to continuing to work together to ensure they can successfully exit receivership next year.”

“Holyoke Mayor Joshua A. Garcia and the Holyoke School Committee have shown they are serious about building their capacity to lead an effective school system,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “We look forward to seeing their continued progress in the coming months.”

“I appreciate the progress that Holyoke Public Schools has made to provide students with a high-quality education, including in graduation rates and the use of high-quality instructional materials and evidence-based early literacy practices. Today marks an important milestone, and I look forward to seeing this community continue to expand these gains and further reduce gaps in student achievement and success,” said Education Secretary Dr. Patrick Tutwiler.

The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education named Holyoke Public Schools a chronically underperforming district in 2015, and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) worked with the community to build a turnaround plan. Since then, the district has been led by a state-appointed superintendent/receiver focused on implementing the plan, which was most recently renewed in 2022. The district’s current superintendent/receiver, Anthony Soto, is a Holyoke graduate himself.

During the spring and summer of this year, the Holyoke School Committee’s Local Control Subcommittee worked with DESE to create a capacity building plan, and the full School Committee approved it in August. The plan focuses on implementing governance activities with targeted training supports in four key areas of school district governance: hiring a superintendent, evaluating a superintendent, budgeting and finance, and developing policy.

As a result of the combined leadership of school and district leaders, educators, parents, and students, the district’s accomplishments since 2015 include:?

- An increase in the district’s four-year cohort graduation rate from 60.2 percent in 2014 to 74.6 in 2023, which includes a 23-point gain for English learners and an 18-point gain for students with disabilities over the same time period;?
- A reduction of the out-of-school suspension rate from 20.0 percent in 2013-14 to 9.0 percent in 2022-23;?
- An increase in the percentage of students in grades 11 and 12 completing advanced coursework from 39.5 percent in 2018 to 57.0 in 2024;
- A gap-narrowing increase in the percentage of Hispanic/Latino students in grades 11 and 12 completing advanced coursework, from 32.2 percent in 2018 to 54.6 in 2024;
- Expansion of the district’s dual language program to serve more than 20 percent of the pre-K-8 student population;?
- Expansion of pre-K programming to offer more than 500 seats to families in 2023-24 through either district-operated or partner-operated classrooms;?
- Redesign of Holyoke High School to offer a Freshman Academy for a more personalized entry to high school, as well as theme-based academies and career vocational technical education pathways designed to ignite student interest and connect learning to the real world;?
- Full enrollment in the career vocational technical education pathways at the Holyoke High School Dean Campus since the 2021-22 school year, after nearly a decade of under-enrollment; and?
- The rezoning of the district into separate elementary and middle schools, supported by the construction of a new middle school that is scheduled to open in fall 2025.?

“I believe that the district has developed a coherent set of strategies for improving teaching and learning outcomes in every classroom through its inclusive strategic planning process that regularly solicits feedback from all stakeholders,” Acting Commissioner Russell Johnston wrote in a letter to Mayor Garcia announcing the provisional decision. “I am hopeful that the HSC’s plan for professional development throughout school year 2024-25 will prepare the School Committee to effectively govern the district moving forward with an unwavering focus on student outcomes.”

“This is a wonderful outcome after years of effort on the part of the Holyoke School Department, the Holyoke School Committee, and the Mayor’s Office. I’m grateful for the tireless work of our students, families, staff, and educators, led by our current receiver/superintendent Anthony Soto. Anthony and his leadership team maintained a strong focus on implementing the district’s turnaround plan while the community gained momentum in our efforts to regain local control of our schools,” said Holyoke Mayor Joshua A. Garcia. “I deeply appreciate the goodwill and conscientious involvement of Acting Commissioner Russell Johnston. He, Secretary Tutwiler and Governor Healey’s Office have all been accessible and supportive of our work to bring Holyoke’s schools back into local control. This is a proud moment for Holyoke.”

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will continue to support the School Committee in implementing its transition plan throughout the current school year. 

Also today, Acting Commissioner Johnston announced that New Bedford’s John Avery Parker Elementary School will exit chronically underperforming status (receivership) pending approval of exit assurances. In addition, Oliver Middle School in Lawrence and two schools that are part of the Springfield Empowerment Zone - Van Sickle Academy, a middle school, and High School of Commerce - will exit underperforming status in the coming weeks.

John Avery Parker Elementary School

New Bedford’s John Avery Parker School was designated as chronically underperforming in October 2013. The school serves approximately 260 students in prekindergarten through fifth grade and has been led by state-appointed receivers since 2013. The most recent of these has been the School & Main Institute, which has led the school since 2018. The Parker has demonstrated sustained academic improvement and, since 2018, has consistently achieved percentile rankings at or above the 15th percentile in the state accountability system.

Oliver Middle School, High School of Commerce, and Van Sickle Academy

In addition to the other announcements today, Acting Commissioner Johnston said that three schools will exit underperforming status. Underperforming schools are designated based on multi-year trends in achievement and growth. The three exiting schools are Oliver Middle School, which serves approximately 350 students in grades 6-8 in Lawrence; High School of Commerce, which services approximately 1,060 students in grades 9-12 in Springfield; and Van Sickle Academy, which serves approximately 250 students in grades 6-8 in Springfield. All have seen improvements in student outcomes.

Oliver Middle is part of the Lawrence Public Schools, a district that remains in state receivership. 

High School of Commerce and Van Sickle Academy are part of the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership, a partnership between the district, state, and teachers’ union. An independent board of directors governs the partnership. Both schools will remain part of the SEZP through the end of SEZP’s current memorandum of understanding, which is up for renewal in June. After that, the superintendent, School Committee and SEZP will discuss the schools and reach a consensus.