The Republican
By JEANETTE DeFORGE jdeforge@repub.com HOLYOKE - The State Board of Education Monday evening questioned if an investment of $4.5 million and hiring a private firm has really helped the city's underperforming schools improve. Superintendent Eduardo B. Carballo met with the state board and representatives from a America's Choice Inc., the company, to discuss efforts made to improve schools since Holyoke became the first city district to be named underperforming in the state in 2004.
The review is part of a larger discussion the state board and the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is having about assessing districts, holding them accountable and offering assistance as the number of failing schools across the state is growing, said Education Commissioner Mitchell D. Chester.
"We thought it would be useful to look at Holyoke in particular," since the state has been working with the district for four years and invested $4.5 million in the effort, Chester said.
Holyoke was one of two school systems to be declared underperforming in November 2004 because of its low Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment Systems scores. Following the decision, officials for city schools and the state Department of Education developed a plan to improve performance.
A main part of the plan was to hire America's Choice on the state's recommendation. The company mainly introduced a specialized reading and writing program to the district, had a representative work full-time in the city for at least a year, trained teachers and purchased materials, Carballo said.
Smaller amounts of the money also went to provide specialized training for administrators one year and created a program for transient students, which was cut back this year because of budget cuts.
But during the presentation from the company, a Board of Education member pointed to a chart showing the English scores and questioned if hiring a private company worked.
"The ELA (English) chart is flat for '02 to '08," said Jeff Howard, a board member and president of The Efficacy Institute, of Waltham. "What should we expect to see on this chart for '09 and 2010 given the investment and the lives of the students?"
Representatives from America's Choice acknowledged that scores have remained flat and said they would have changed some things, such as concentrating more on students learning English sooner.
In his presentation, Carballo talked about constant budget cuts, which this year forced the city to close three schools and lay off dozens of teachers.
He also said the number of students who do not speak English continues to increase and transient students range from 35 percent to 45 percent in most schools. But he said many changes, including bringing in America's Choice, has been positive.
Redistricting so most students attend a school in their neighborhood and converting schools to kindergarten to grade eight has also helped. "Some things that happened in the district (were) a little bit disjointed and crazy," he said.
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