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Steps Outlined For Holyoke Schools Turnaround

WAMC

The Massachusetts Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Thursday unveiled a turnaround plan for the public schools in Holyoke, which were put under state receivership earlier this year. 

  Commissioner Mitchell Chester said the plan to improve the public schools in one of the poorest cities in the state includes more time in school for K-8th grade students, a redesign of the secondary schools, and a downsizing of the central administrative office.

" I start with the presumption that business as usual is not going to move things in Holyoke," said Chester.

Many details of the plan need to be fleshed out before it is fully implemented by the start of the 2016-17 academic year.  It is yet to be decided if students will spend more time in class through longer school days, a longer school year, or both. 

Programs will be developed with outside partners, such as community colleges, for individual education plans in the high schools that will put students on paths to either a career or a college after graduation.

Chester said the turnaround plan is for three years. But, he said the Holyoke schools will likely remain under state control for at least six years.  The Lawrence Public Schools are now in a fourth year under state receivership.

The turnaround plan in Holyoke is similar to the one implemented in Lawrence, but is “not a carbon copy,” according to Chester.

" There are very positive results happening as a result of receivership in Lawrence, and I expect you will see the same here in Holyoke," he said.

The state board of education voted last April to put the Holyoke schools in receivership. The schools have had rock bottom student test scores, high dropout, and low graduation rates for more than a decade.

Chester urged discouraged parents in Holyoke to put their faith in the turnaround plan.

" This plan will help your children," he declared.

The plan will be implemented by Stephen Zrike, who as receiver of the Holyoke Public Schools has the combined authority of a school superintendent and school committee.

" The turnaround plan, in my opinion, is aggressive and attainable," said Zrike.

The turnaround plan did not come with a price tag attached. Zrike, who became receiver July 1st, said he would look to restructure how the school department spends its money before asking for an increase in the school budget.

" When you look at our school district relative to others of like size we do have a sizable central office, we have a lot of staff not directly impacting children, and that is a concern to me," he said. " How we use our funds is the first place to start."

Chester said the Holyoke school budget, which this year is $65 million, is on a par with other urban school systems in the state on a per-pupil basis.

   Massachusetts Teachers Association President Barbara Madeloni is critical of the turnaround plan. She said it will not give Holyoke students the same educational opportunities available in wealthier school districts.

"It is an outrage to me that we are saying we will support Holyoke, and then not give them the resources they need," said Madeloni.

Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse endorsed the turnaround plan.  He said it includes several recommendations from a group of local advisors including an emphasis on additional help for non-English speaking students and children with special needs.

" We can really turn upside down what receivership means. Rather than something damaging to Holyoke it is something that can now be exciting for Holyoke, " said Morse.

Morse said the plan does not require teachers to reapply for their jobs.  The plan gives school principals greater authority in hiring and retaining school staff.

The record-setting tenure of Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno. The 2011 tornado and its recovery that remade the largest city in Western Massachusetts. The fallout from the deadly COVID outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers Home. Those are just a few of the thousands and thousands of stories WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill has covered for WAMC in his nearly 17 years with the station.
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