When the Up Education Network took over the administration of the Holland School on Geneva Avenue in 2013, the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education rated the school at Level 5, a ranking that triggered a state intervention.
In the meantime, as other schools and districts across the state have exited receivership, the Up Education Network is hoping the Holland remains under state control.
“I can’t speak for receivership anywhere else, but for us, this status has allowed for the school to make substantial progress,” said Hillary Casson, CEO of the nonprofit. “It’s been a huge transformation.”
Casson isn’t the only one singing the school’s praises.
“My kids have had a great experience, and so have I,” said Amanda Nelson, who has one son in the 6th grade and the other, who graduated from the Holland, in the 9th grade at Boston Latin School. “They go above and beyond with students, whether they’ve fallen behind or because their above class level in their work.”
Casson said that if the school exits receivership, the supports the Up Academy Network are currently providing could be taken away.
Such a move seems likely. As of last year, DESE reported that the school is “meeting or exceeding targets” and “not requiring assistance or intervention.”
As part of the Education Reform Act of 1993, DESE began monitoring schools and districts for performance, based mainly on students’ scores on the MCAS exam. In 2010, DESE created its five-level ranking system that allows for state takeovers of schools and districts at level 5. The commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education has the power to appoint a receiver for level 5 schools and make substantial changes, including firing teachers and making changes to teachers unions’ collective bargaining agreements.
The state’s record of receivership has been checkered with failures, however. No districts placed in receivership have moved out of the lowest rankings of schools in the state by DESE’s own standards. The Massachusetts Teachers Association is backing legislation that would end the practice of receivership in the state.
“The ed reform privatization of school districts is out of vogue now,” said Travis Marshall, the parent of two BPS students and a member of the group Quality Education for Every Student. “DESE doesn’t have the personnel to run districts or schools. They’ve used contractors, but once you go with that kind of privatization, things rarely go well.”
The Holland appears to be a rare case of improvement, although the road was rocky when it entered receivership in 2014. In 2016, the school came under fire for suspending kindergarteners at a rate three times higher than any other Massachusetts school. The school has since ended the practice of suspending kindergarteners and has overall suspension rates commensurate with those of other BPS schools.
Under state receivership, Up Academy Holland checks in regularly with DESE officials who twice yearly review school quality, conducting interviews with families and staff and classroom visits.
“It’s super helpful to us,” Casson said. “It’s been an integral part of the school’s success.”
State Sen. Nick Collins agrees and has called on DESE to keep the Holland under state receivership.
“As state leaders, we must ensure that this progress continues,” he said in a statement sent to The Reporter. “Sustained support for UP Education Network is essential if we are to preserve and build on the gains our students have made. Dorchester families deserve stability, excellence, and a school system that continues moving forward, not backward.”
If the Holland remains in receivership, it will likely be the last school in the state with such a designation. The John Avery Parker Elementary School in New Beford and the Morgan Full Service Community School in Holyoke both exited receivership in recent years. Boston Public Schools this year plans to close the Dever School on Columbia Point, which was under receivership for more than a decade with little improvement in students’ scores on standardized tests.
Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Pedro Martinez “hasn’t announced any decisions yet about chronically underperforming and underperforming schools but plans to announce who’s exiting and who’s remaining before the end of the month,” DESE Communications Director Jacqueline Reis said in a statement sent to The Reporter.
A spokesperson for Boston Public Schools did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
