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Superintendent of Schools Daniel J. Warwick, seen speaking last month at the Stay in School initiative, unveiled his annual report on the state of the public school system on Thursday, saying the statistics show significant improvements in academic achievement, attendance and behavior.
(Photo by Don Treeger / The Republican [file])
SPRINGFIELD — Superintendent of Schools Daniel J. Warwick unveiled his annual report on the state of the public school system on Thursday, saying the statistics show significant improvements in academic achievement, attendance and behavior.
"We feel the data proves we are moving in the right direction in every area," Warwick said. "I think it speaks to the forward momentum of the school system. We are working very hard to execute our strategic plan and we will continue to move the school system forward."
Warwick presented the formal report to the School Committee Thursday evening, showing statistics for the 2012-13 school year, as compared to the three previous years.
He said a lot of credit goes to the principals, the teachers, the students and the parents.
Among the measures, Warwick praised overall increased scores in the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment Systems tests.
In all MCAS subject areas, the Springfield public schools made larger "composite performance index" gains between 2012 and 2013 than the state and the average for the 25 largest urban districts, Warwick said.
In addition, the major subgroups such as English Language Learners, students with disabilities, Hispanic and black students, had greater increases in academic performance when compared to students in those categories statewide in the MCAS results, Warwick said.
He also praised improvements in school attendance, and said there have been a significant drop in suspensions, arrests and reports of bullying. Truancy has dropped by nearly a third, from 5.4 percent in 2009-10 to 3.8 percent in 2012-13, Warwick said.
Timothy Collins, president of the Springfield Education Association, representing teachers, said all the data is moving in the right direction.
"Despite MCAS being a crooked yardstick that does not measure the actual growth of individual students, this year's results are a testimony to the extremely hard work, passion and dedication our educators bring to the schoolhouse every day," Collins said.
School Committee member Antonette Pepe said there are so many positives to talk about, and students are getting a "first class education." Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, chairman of the School Committee, said there has been steady progress.
"We are not done," Sarno said. "It will not be solved overnight."
Committee member Christopher Collins said there is an 'atmospheric change" in the schools, and the staff is "really putting the pedal to the metal. Committee member Norman Roldan said he is proud of the results, and gave credit to parents for being more involved.
Warwick said that seven schools have shown gains in their "accountability levels," including three schools (Zanetti, Gerena and Homer), being removed from the Level 4 (chronically underperforming) category. Zanetti rose from Level 4 to Level 1, the highest level.
Three schools had declining levels including Milton Bradley and the High School of Science and Technology moving from Level 3 to Level 4. Those schools, however, have opportunities to make gains with turnaround plans and major grant assistance, he said.
Some statistics reflected declines in achievement or were flat, Warwick said.
The student growth percentile, that evaluates each student's growth over time, compared with students with similar histories, showed little change over prior years, he said.
Springfield has the second largest school system in New England, with 54 schools including nine alternative schools and 26,049 students this year, Warwick reported.
Of the total school population, 19.2 percent are special education and 16.9 percent are "limited English proficient, Warwick said. He added that 87.5 percent of the students are on free or reduced lunch.
The Springfield school system has an annual budget of $429 million when considering all sources of funds, Warwick said.
Springfield School Superintendent Daniel Warwick's Presentation to School Committee by masslive