Subcommittee votes to recommend Sustainable Building Engineering course to full Springfield school committee

The Springfield Public Schools Curriculum and Program Subcommittee voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend that the full school committee approve a new science elective called Sustainable Building Engineering.

The recommendation came after presentations from district leaders and Renaissance School staff explaining that the quarter-long, 0.5-credit course is part of a multi-year environmental science career pathway funded in part through a Department of Education grant and aligned with DESE standards.

“Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak to this very promising course that the Renaissance School is presenting,” Superintendent Dr. Nunnall said, introducing the item and noting the district sees the course as part of an “innovative career pathway for environmental science.” Principal Wright, speaking for the absent teacher, said the course will emphasize college and career skills and practical building evaluation work in Springfield. “This past year with year 1, we started out, and now our pathway group's gonna be in eleventh grade,” Principal Wright said, adding that students will “start to evaluate buildings in Springfield and eventually make recommendations for companies in Springfield” as part of the curriculum.

Committee members asked how the course fits into student schedules. Attorney Murphy asked whether the offering is a full-year or a shorter unit; Principal Wright said it is a quarter course worth 0.5 credit and described plans for a year-by-year rollout. Wright said the district submitted a multi-year plan to DESE when applying for the grant and expects to return next year to seek approval for the 12th-grade follow-on course.

Attorney Murphy moved the motion “to vote to recommend to the full school committee the approval of the new science course Sustainable Building Engineering,” and Vice Chair Natoni Monroe Naylor seconded. The clerk called a roll call vote; Naylor, Attorney Murphy and Chair Denise Hurst voted yes, and the motion to recommend passed.

The vote was a recommendation only; the full Springfield school committee will consider final approval at a later meeting. The subcommittee also noted the course includes a partnership with Westfield State to align college-level rigor and that the teacher for the course, Mr. Decker, was not present at the subcommittee meeting.

Less-critical procedural items followed, including a motion to adjourn that passed on a roll call vote.