Innovation subcommittee to seek provisional renewal of Renaissance School's innovation status

The Innovation School Subcommittee of the Springfield School Committee discussed steps to restore the Springfield Renaissance School's innovation status after district staff discovered the designation had lapsed at the end of the last school year.

Superintendent Dr. Lina told the subcommittee she was surprised to learn the district already had an innovation school. "I was surprised to find out that we already had an innovation school in our district," Dr. Lina said, and she invited Principal Wright and Chief Collins to outline how the lapse occurred and how the district plans to proceed.

Principal Wright said the school learned the designation had lapsed in October and described a schedule to update the school's work election agreement and the five-year innovation plan. "We found out back in October that ours had lapsed at the end of last school year," Principal Wright said. She told the committee the last innovation plan the school had on file dated from 2016 and that the school is aligning its update with EL Education recredentialing. Staff review and input are slated for May (governing-board meeting May 18 and a staff vote during professional development on May 19), with district filings and follow-up planned in June so the full five-year renewal can be considered at the June 18 full committee meeting.

Executive Director Calvin told the committee the state reviewed the paperwork and, according to the state contact Brendan Stewart, recommended the committee take a provisional, retroactive vote to reinstate the school's status immediately and then return with a formal five-year plan for full approval. The district has notified the union and plans to involve union representatives during the May review and the staff vote.

Committee members discussed how Renaissance differs from the district's other innovation or empowerment-zone schools (Renaissance previously operated with innovation-autonomy and is an outlier among eight other such schools) and emphasized there would be no changes to current teachers or staff as a result of the renewal process. Presenters described routine practices the school will continue under renewed status, including an earlier professional development day for staff and standards-based grading deadlines.

The subcommittee agreed to present a provisional extension for the full school committee to consider on May 21 and to pursue a full five-year approval at the June 18 full-committee meeting if the required staff and subcommittee work is completed. Subcommittee members asked staff to schedule a follow-up subcommittee meeting to finalize materials and ensure legal/attorney review where appropriate.

A procedural motion to adjourn was made and seconded and the meeting was closed. Miss Hurst was recorded absent; Miss Gresham and Miss Valentine were recorded present.

The subcommittee's next steps are to schedule the follow-up subcommittee meeting, place the provisional extension on the May 21 full committee agenda, complete staff and union review in May, and, if ready, present the full five-year renewal on June 18.