Community advisory group praises teachers, dual-language program and partnerships while flagging retention, meals and communication at Holyoke Public Schools

Facilitator: “We’re gonna start with an informal discussion,” the meeting leader said, opening a Community Advisory Team session convened to gather input for the Holyoke Public Schools amid an ongoing receivership and a superintendent search.

Participants said the district’s strengths include a committed teaching staff, a long-running dual-language program, broad community partnerships that provide early-college and work-based learning opportunities, and growing systems for English learners.

Those strengths, they said, coexist with pressing operational problems that parents, teachers and other community members urged the district to address promptly: steep teacher turnover, inconsistent school-to-home communication, poor-quality school meals, limited transportation to after-school programs and gaps in special-education continuity and resources.

Why it matters: multiple speakers tied retention and resource questions to students’ classroom experience. If teachers leave quickly and families do not receive consistent information, participants said, the district’s instructional goals and gains from existing programs — including dual-language pathways through middle school — will be harder to sustain.

Participants’ praise and priorities Community members repeatedly praised the…