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Springfield schools celebrate rising graduation rates and honor student teams
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Denal highlighted gains in four-year cohort graduation rates across multiple Springfield high schools and the district recognized athletic teams and the Discovery High robotics team for recent achievements.
Springfield — Springfield Public Schools publicly recognized rising graduation rates across multiple high schools while honoring student teams and programs during the March 23 school-committee meeting.
Superintendent Dr. Denal said several large high schools posted notable increases from cohort 2024 to cohort 2025, including Central High School (+6.4 percentage points), the district’s Virtual Academy (+18.1), International Academy at Scitec (+14.3) and Aspire Academy (+23.3). At least two schools reported overall graduation rates at or above the DESE target of about 95 percent, the superintendent said.
“These numbers are not an easy task to achieve,” Dr. Denal told the committee, praising principals, staff and families for their work in supporting students to graduation.
The committee also honored athletic teams: Central High School’s girls basketball team (Western Mass runner-up) and the High School of Science & Technology boys basketball team (Western Mass champions) received public recognition alongside coaches and athletic staff. Coach Willie Cuffy and AD Dwayne Early thanked the committee and parents for support.
Discovery High School’s Polybots robotics team received a standing ovation after the superintendent announced the team’s consecutive New England Robotics Competition titles and noted the program was the first Springfield winner since 1992. Assistant principal James Taylor and team lead Lauren Jefferson described a multidisciplinary program—students listed majors, team roles and practical details about the competition robot (roughly 27x27 inches, about 22 inches tall and reported at about 97 pounds).
Why it matters: The recognitions underscore the district’s focus on both academic outcomes and expanded real-world opportunities—robotics, CTE and athletics—that leaders say help students launch into college and careers.
Next steps: The district will continue to spotlight progress at individual schools and connect award-winning programs to postsecondary pathways and recruiting for STEM, CTE and athletic programs.
