Students deliver brief remarks; district recognizes four schools for regaining pre-pandemic MCAS levels

A series of student speakers opened the meeting, telling the committee about classroom enrichments, extracurriculars and college-preparation help available in Springfield Public Schools.

Gabriela Torres, a sixth grader at Duggan Academy, described the school’s enrichment program and Foodsmart cooking class: "The pancakes are the best," she said, and thanked staff for a welcoming climate. Senior Kobe Ni said Duggan’s college-counseling supports helped him apply to 20 colleges and that he had received substantial scholarship offers, including an athletic-related full scholarship to Western New England University’s engineering program.

Honesty Smith of Van Sickle Prep and other middle-school speakers praised town-hall meetings, PBIS activities and extracurricular options and one student asked the committee to consider adding a middle-school baseball team to expand athletic opportunities. Alexandra Rivera, the Central High School student representative, summarized spirit-week activities, a swim-meet fundraiser and a new mock-trial team being formed through the Massachusetts Bar Association.

Separately, the committee recognized four Springfield schools — Bowen, Glickman, Kennedy and Van Sickle — for reaching pre-pandemic MCAS achievement levels. Superintendent and committee members thanked principals and classroom staff for leadership and credited instructional strategies and targeted interventions for the gains.

Next steps: student requests (for example, expanded sports offerings) were noted for follow-up with school leaders; principals will continue efforts to sustain academic progress.