Holyoke Public Schools in Receivership

The city of Holyoke is once again in charge of its school system, with Tuesday, July 1, marking the first day of the district returning to local control following ten years under state receivership.

Massachusetts has officially determined Holyoke Public Schools can exit receivership, after a decade under state control. Local leaders say there’s plenty of work ahead, but there’s much to celebrate in the meantime.

The city of Holyoke is on track to regain control of its schools for the first time in a decade, exiting receivership in two months. Before that happens, though, city and state leaders have agreed on several “exit assurances,” leading to protests by the local teachers' union.

The Massachusetts secretary of education gave updates this week on the agency’s commissioner search, as well as Holyoke’s exit from receivership and how the state is handling pressure from the Trump administration.

As Holyoke’s school district gets closer to exiting state receivership, its school committee has appointed an interim superintendent ahead of a return to local control.

This year, the Pioneer Valley saw a new police chief picked in its largest city, a new superintendent helming its largest school district, and a protest at the state’s flagship university getting national attention - among other big stories.

Massachusetts education leaders convened this week at Holyoke High School — whose district is months away from a potential exit from state control.

With a provisional decision in hand, local leaders gathered in Holyoke Wednesday to celebrate the local school district coming closer than ever to exiting receivership.

A decade after chronic under-performance led to state control, Holyoke Public Schools has been granted a provisional release. It’s effective next year, but depends on how prepared the school committee is for the return of local control.

The City of Holyoke, Massachusetts is inching closer to regaining control of its school district – nearly a decade after it was placed under state receivership.