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Date: 9/26/2023
HOLYOKE — As students and families are still easing back into the new school year, Reminder Publishing was able to speak with Holyoke Public Schools Superintendent Anthony Soto to talk some of the headlines so far coming out of the 2023-2024 school year.
Sept. 15 was the start of Hispanic Heritage Month and Holyoke schools are planning on including the celebrations through a variety of classroom activities and integrated learning in all 12 district schools.
“With 81% of our students and more than half our city’s residents identifying as Latino or Latina, Hispanic Heritage Month offers profound opportunities for our community to feel proud, represented and engaged with the native roots of so many of our residents,” said Soto.
This annual event is celebrated across the country and highlights the cultures, history and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and South America. The first national recognition was observed in 1968 as National Hispanic Week under President Lyndon B. Johnson, and later expanded into a month-long celebration by President Ronald Reagan in 1988.
Some examples of how schools will be incorporating the holiday into school include the Kelly School, which will have a car parade at morning arrival, the Holyoke High School Dean Campus. which will be incorporating Hispanic food as part of their Open House, Holyoke STEM Academy, which will be decorating the walls for their Open House, the Holyoke High School North Campus, which will be doing morning announcements about the month and the Sullivan School, which will be doing a school spirit week.
Classrooms will also celebrate in their own way, said Soto. At Morgan School, students kicked off Hispanic Heritage Month with fifth grade students doing a Read Aloud of Hispanic heritage books to younger grade levels.
Additionally, the K-5 Art Teacher at McMahon Elementary Emma Pascarella, is showcasing an artist of Hispanic heritage at the beginning of each lesson during the month. Students will focus on the self portraits of the artist and begin to develop a way to identify and include their own heritage, or styles inspired by the artists, in their own self portraits.
Along with the art, Pascarella will also incorporate literacy through key texts such as “Alma and How She Got her Name” by Juana Martinez Neal, and “If Dominican Were a Color” by Sili Recio.
“Any time a student or family member sees and feels their culture and heritage represented in school, it contributes to a sense of belonging and pride,” Soto said.
Over the weeks of celebrating the holiday, Soto added these celebrations and activities will be shared on the district’s social media platforms.
Another noteworthy piece of information out of the start of the new school year is that the middle and high school students in Holyoke will be using YONDR pouches to store their cell phones during school hours, as the district looks for the tool to better help implement its existing no phone policy.
The district policy states that students may bring cell phones to school, however, once they enter the building, cell phones should be turned off and put away until the end of the school day. A pilot program using the YONDR pouches at STEM Middle School and Holyoke Middle School last year led to the decision to bring the pouches across the board for school teens.
“Our pilot efforts last year confirmed that this combination eliminates the stress that too often accompanies prohibiting the use of cell phones in schools as spelled out in our student handbook,” Soto said. “We anticipate we will see good results this year as our middle schools and high schools fully implement the use of YONDR pouches.”
According to an anecdote from the district’s official policy, schools throughout the state and the nation that require students to use YONDR bags for their phones have reported significant decreases in anti-social behavior such as bullying and fighting, as well as significant increases in student engagement in the classroom with each other.
When students enter the school building, staff supervises students as they turn off their phones before locking them into the YONDR bag. Students still keep possession of their phones, just locked inside the pouch.
In exceptional circumstances, the school principal and their team will work with students and families that may require additional support with productively managing their cell phones. Families who have urgent or emergency situations can reach their students by contacting the school’s main office and requesting their student be given access to a phone to call them. School staff will make sure that happens as soon as possible.
Consequences are also in place if a student claims they did not bring their phone and are caught using it. Students are also responsible for their personal YONDR pouches and if lost or damaged, must turn in their phone to a staff member or teacher for the day.
“Of course, it’s an adjustment for students who are accustomed to checking their device often. So many of us are addicted to our phones. However, I think it helps that everyone is supposed to have their phone away, so hopefully that helps reduce students’ fear of missing out,” Soto said. “And most importantly, it’s contributing to students being more engaged in learning in class and more likely to interact with peers.”
Soto also provided a brief update on the new school building project to replace the William R. Peck Middle School. He added the Massachusetts School Building Authority has returned the fully executed funding agreement known as the Project Scope & Budget agreement. In total the project will cost $86.5 million and the maximum grant amount the MSBA will assist with is $46.8 million.
According to Soto, American Environmental Inc. — a Holyoke-based company — submitted the lowest of five bids to the city for abatement, demolition and filling and leveling work at Peck Middle School. The city executed the contract with the company and this work is scheduled to conclude by late December.
“The consultant team submitted the 60% construction documents and supporting documentation to the MSBA. As part of that submission, the project team undertook two parallel estimates for the building. These estimates came in lower than the previous estimates, which is a great sign for the overall project costs,” Soto said.
The estimates of construction costs were $65.6 and $66.4 million, as opposed to the previously estimated $70.6 million. Soto said as a reminder that the total project cost was still the $86.5 million as it includes architect and OPM fees, insurance, furniture, technology and other miscellaneous costs which are not physical parts of the building.
Soto added the next step comes in November when the district will begin advertising for construction bids in two stages, filed sub-bids, followed by general contractor bids. In December, complete demolition of the existing Peck School is expected while complete construction documents need to be submitted to the MSBA.
Soto said in early 2024 bids will open and the lowest qualified bidder will be selected for construction of the new school building.