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Date: 9/26/2023
HOLYOKE — During its Sept. 18 special meeting, the Holyoke School Committee voted unanimously to petition the state Education Commissioner to exit state receivership.
The unanimous vote saw all committee members with positive outlooks on the district’s positioning as they request to exit state receivership almost a decade into designation.
“We’re, from the bottom of my heart, certainly ready,” said Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia during the meeting after reading off different metrics showcasing the growth for student achievement in the city. Garcia chairs the School Committee.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education voted to designate the district chronically underperforming in April 2015, after many schools had consistently rated in the bottom 10th percentile of student achievement statewide. Since then, the district has operated under receivership and current Superintendent/Receiver Anthony Soto, who is also HPS graduate.
Holyoke is joined by Lawrence and Southbridge as the only three school districts under state receivership and all three districts have remained under receivership for more than five years.
Arguably the most notable metric showing an area of growth in the district shared through the petition is the graduation rate increased by nearly 15 points in recent years, reaching 74.9% in the 2021-2022 academic year. Growth was most notable among English learners, who saw a 30-point increase in graduation rates, and students with disabilities, which saw a 27-point improvement.
Another metric and turnaround accomplishments under state receivership listed in the petition is a 15-point increase in hiring teachers of color, reaching 28% in 2022-2023. There has also been a significant increase in the number of students enrolled in the Dual Language program, with almost 700 students in pre-K-8 now enrolled in the program, representing almost 20% of all students. Also listed, HPS has made $20-plus million investments in the physical infrastructure of the schools.
The petition also showcases the districts top accomplishments under receivership in early literacy, learning experiences, inclusion, and educator development through concerted efforts.
Garcia also noted during the reading of the petition that 53% of juniors and seniors were enrolled in advanced placement and dual enrollment courses during the 2022-2023 academic year, and out-of-school suspensions decreased by 59% between 2013 and 2022.
During the public comment period, many parents and members of the public had plenty to add in regard to the state receivership and interest in getting out of it. A common theme from those who spoke was continuing receivership would have a detrimental impact on students’ and teachers’ wellbeing.
Anna Rigali, a parent of two HPS students and the College and Career Counselor at Holyoke High School, spoke about a few personal anecdotes she has heard throughout the district and experienced herself and among other parents, that the educators of the district have been coping with burnout and overwork from the demands on the district under receivership, making retaining educators an issue.
“Our teachers are overworked, burned out and are leaving for more manageable jobs where work-life balance is more attainable,” Regale said. “Outsiders came in, took over, took away all local control, took away union rights, overworked the staff and achieved no improvement in outcomes for our children.”
Another resident echoed similar sentiments and pointed out “the chaos is getting to them” and that educators leave when they have better opportunities outside of Holyoke.
“As important as it is for us to get ourselves out of receivership and into local control, we also need to encourage the state to come up with a plan for how to get us out of receivership and into local control,” said Tessa Murphy-Romboletti, who serves on the City Council.
Another resident said the testimonies of so many made him proud to be from Holyoke because it showed the care the city has for its children.
During discussion, a posthumous letter dated from 2021 from former Holyoke High School Physics teacher Ralph Benoit was read where Benoit expressed many concerns about how the changes under receivership were not in the best interests of students. In the letter he expressed many concerns about receivership’s impact on the district including “the largest failure” coming in the decline of numeracy skills and that courses were being softened to bump graduation rates.
“What we are doing is finding a way to increase graduation without increasing knowledge. So, the students are graduated but not prepared to excel in college, career or community,” Benoit wrote in the letter.
Garcia said as a HPS graduate himself he also was proud of the community working together to resolve the issue.
“A lot of good, very passionate and great points that were read off today, and what makes me feel even more proudly is the fact of understanding of where we come from as a city. I like to remind people all the time that the city of Holyoke is a very compassionate city,” Garcia said. “Because we have such dedicated Holyokers here in the city that understand its our responsibility to take care of our neighbors, they do exactly that. It’s time for Holyoke.”
He credited the School Committee for its role in working out of receivership to this point and added while there is a lot more work to be done, the city of Holyoke is ready to regain control.
DESE will conduct a full review of Holyoke’s performance data before it makes a recommendation to the commissioner as to whether the state should release the school district from receivership. Interest has been growing in getting Holyoke out of state receivership over the past few years, including unanimous support voiced from the City Council earlier this year. Gov. Maura Healey also has spoken about getting Holyoke back in control of its district to multiple Holyoke leaders and publicly.