Superintendent Dr. Durnall presents 100‑day report, cites modest MCAS gains and new literacy, attendance and diversity initiatives
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Summary
Superintendent Dr. Durnall used a public evaluation to present a 100‑day report for Springfield Public Schools, reporting modest MCAS gains, a pilot high‑dosage tutoring program (Ignite Reading), increased staff diversity, an attendance campaign with community partners, and plans to scale successful pilots.
Superintendent Dr. Durnall delivered a first‑year, public 100‑day report to the Springfield School Committee on the Monday before Thanksgiving, outlining student‑learning goals, district improvement priorities and early results from pilot programs.
Dr. Durnall said the district aimed to "increase the district's average composite scale score on the MCAS 2025 for grades 3 through 8 in ELA, math and science as compared to our MCAS 2024 results," and told the committee that the district's metrics "most definitely have achieved the goal," while acknowledging the gains were modest and that there is "room for growth." She also noted the packet's assessment data excludes schools in the Springfield empowerment zone.
On English‑language proficiency, Dr. Durnall reported what she described as a 2.4 percentage‑point increase for younger grades, a 7.6% increase for grades 9–12 and "an overall 4.2 percentage point increase for grades 1 through 12" as measured by ACCESS. Committee members requested additional grade‑10 MCAS and graduation/dropout data; Dr. Durnall said those figures were not included in the goal‑specific packet but would be provided after the meeting.
The superintendent highlighted several district priorities and initiatives. To address attendance she described the "Attend today, achieve tomorrow" campaign, which partnered with local organizations including MGM, Domino's Pizza and the MassMutual Center to offer incentives and publicity; she said the district staged contests and a culminating red‑carpet event for student video submissions.
On literacy, the district piloted Ignite Reading — a high‑dosage tutoring program endorsed by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) — in four schools with DESE funding and "promising" initial results that the superintendent said the district intends to scale. Dr. Durnall also pointed to early‑literacy goals that include universal pre‑K enrollment and high attendance as key components of a theory of change to raise reading levels by second grade.
Workforce and program changes were emphasized: the superintendent said staff diversity rose 3.7 percentage points over 2024 and administrator diversity rose 7.6 percentage points, attributing most of the change to new hires and pledging a follow‑up on retention and exit data. The district has expanded pipeline programs, tuition assistance and mentorships for paraprofessionals and teachers and reported redirecting additional funds to schools during the FY25 budget process.
On operations and safety, Dr. Durnall said the district developed a five‑year plan to install air conditioning across schools, hired a compliance director for exceptional learners, updated the Multilingual Learners Program manual, improved IEP/504 software (including Spanish translation and plans for additional languages), and ran safety trainings with the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI and the Hampden County Sheriff's Department on grooming and trafficking.
The superintendent also described partnerships to strengthen STEM and instructional materials, including a collaboration with the Museum of Science in Boston and foundation funds to expand hands‑on middle‑school science. She closed the presentation with a video of second graders reading and a personal reflection: "This work is a moral imperative. I do it from a sincere place. These children are my life," she said.
Next steps noted by Dr. Durnall included school‑level strategic growth plans, community engagement on the four district priorities, and plans to scale successful pilots and tutoring supports.
