Springfield prepares to resume management of eight Empowerment Zone schools; Commerce and RISE flagged for extra attention

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield Public Schools officials and the school committee spent the bulk of a recent meeting laying out plans to transition eight schools run under the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership back to district control on July 1, 2026.

The transition, Superintendent Dr. Denault told the committee, will be led operationally by former executive principal Mike Calvin (referred to in the meeting as Michael Calvin), who the superintendent said is ‘‘leading the charge and guiding the process.” The administration said the move requires new memoranda of understanding with the teachers’ union and careful alignment of budgets, staffing and school-level autonomies the zone used.

Why it matters: several schools being returned under the SEZP model — notably the High School of Commerce and RISE — post performance metrics that place them at or below the state’s 10th percentile threshold used by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Committee members and district staff said Commerce and RISE will need targeted plans and close oversight to avoid service disruptions for students.

District and zone officials described the state of play and next steps. Calvin and district staff emphasized two elements that were central to the zone’s…