Holyoke Public Schools

57 Suffolk Street- Holyoke, Massachusetts 01040

Tel. (413) 534-2005
Fax. (413) 534-2297
spaez@hps.holyoke.ma.us

Dr. Sergio Paez, Superintendent of Schools

February 4, 2015

Mitchell D. Chester, Commissioner of Education

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
75 Pleasant Street
Malden, MA 02148-4906
Dear Commissioner Chester:
We, the Holyoke School Committee, are writing in relation to both the district review carried out in Holyoke last week and
some comments made in the press in relation to this review.
We want you to know that we are aware that it is your prerogative to review districts about which you have concerns, and
your responsibility to intervene when you believe that a school district is failing to take appropriate steps to improve student
achievement and outcomes. We are also aware that you have expressed concerns about Holyoke for quite some time.
However, we firmly believe that the many changes initiated by Dr. Paez and his team in just eighteen months wiii make a
difference for students, and that our district deserves the opportunity to see these changes through. As you know, we hired
Dr. Paez with a full understanding that he would be a change agent, and we believe that you know that he has acted with
great urgency since becoming our Superintendent. However, we are not sure that you know how many changes he and his
team have effected, with our full support. Some of the most critical ones, which have been made at the same time we have
absorbed a multi-miiiion dollar budget deficit this year, include:

Adopting and implementing an aggressive and coherent Accelerated Improvement Plan aligning district around
focus on teacher practice;
Fundamentally restructuring the central office to create positions for key instructional leadership needs, and turningover leadership positions to bring in a much stronger team of leaders;
Developing a system of aligned PD for leaders and teachers focused on improved instructional quality and
dramatically increasing the amount of time dedicated to professional development among core content teachers;
Developing rigorous and standards-based literacy curricula;
Developing and implementing new formative assessments in ELA, Math and Science;
Adopting PBIS in all K-8 schools and a comprehensive Restorative Justice Project at Holyoke High;
Creating Student Support Rooms in all district schools;
Reorganizing and aggressively developing a comprehensive City-wide Early Literacy Initiative (HELl);
Bringing new, aligned PreK classrooms to three downtown elementary schools at no financial cost to the district;
Creating an Alternative Pathways to Graduation Program allowing students who have dropped out of high school to
return and work toward their diplomas; and,
Launching a holistic review of the allocation of district resources in order to support continued and accelerating
transformation.

Commissioner Mitchell D. Chester- February 4, 2015

Page 2

As a result, the pace of change and improvement in our district continues to accelerate. And while we cannot claim that
MCAS results improved significantly last year, we think it is important for you to know that there are several important
indicators that things are moving in the right direction:

This year district leader focus walks have shown "slow but steady" improvement in classroom practice over the first
few months of the school year;
This year suspensions have decreased by 45% through December 2014 compared to the same point last year;
This year the dropout rate has decreased by 38% through December 2014 compared to the same point last year;
This year attendance is up by about half a percent (or about 2,000 student days) through December 2014 compared
to the same point last year; and,
Last, but certainly not least, recently released data shows that last year (Dr. Paez's first in Holyoke) our graduation
rates rose and our dropout rates declined so significantly that the Holyoke Public Schools' 2013-14 graduation
rate was the highest-and the 2013-14 dropout rate was the lowest-in at least the past seven years. In fact,
Holyoke's graduation rate increase of6.4% was the second highest among our state's gateway cities, and the
reduction of2.7% in our dropout rate was the most significant drop among all gateway cities.

Commissioner Chester, contrary to your recent assertions in the press, the Holyoke School Committee does recognize that the
Holyoke Public Schools have a long way to go on our journey toward better outcomes for our students, and that change
continues to be urgently needed. It is our commitment to support our district leadets, our teachers, and all school staff, in
making these changes. We respectfully request that you give us the time we need to see them through.
We would like to invite you to attend an upcoming meeting so that we can discuss the status of our schools, our shared
commitment to improvement, and any questions and/or misconceptions that you may have about our School Committee.
Please contact us at your convenience to make these arrangements.

hai'

Devin M. Sheehan, Vice Chair

John G. Whelihan

.
Mildred Lefebvre

Erin Brunelle

C: Governor Charlie Baker

Education Secretary James A. Peyser
Representative Aaron Vega
Senator Donald Humason
Members of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education

"A community working together to prepare our students for their future."