Holyoke Public Schools will be the first district in Massachusetts to see their state receivership end on July 1, regaining local control a decade after being designated “chronically underperforming.”
“Based upon the evidence of progress that (Holyoke School Committee)’s Local Control Subcommittee has presented to Acting Commissioner Johnston and now myself, I am confident that the HSC is well prepared to resume local governance of the district, with transitional supports provided by the exit assurances,” Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler wrote the district’s leadership Monday.
The state education department took over Holyoke Public Schools, which serves about 4,800 students, in April 2015 after designating the district “chronically underperforming.” In the last 10 years, the district and local school committee have been overseen by a state-appointed “receiver.”
Two other school districts, Lawrence and Southbridge, remain under state receivership.
The Holyoke receiver Anthony Soto will remain on as the district’s interim superintendent in the 2025-26 school year, a decision the School Committee voted on in May.
State officials cited several indicators of the district’s improvement in the decision to end the receivership. In the last decade, DESE said, the Holyoke four-year graduation rate has increased from about 60% in 2014 to 77% in 2024, including a “32-point gain for English learners and a 31-point gain for students with disabilities over the same time period.”
The out-of-school suspension rate has dropped from about 20% to 10% over the 10-year period, DESE cited. From 2018 to 2024, upperclassmen completing advanced coursework went up from about 40% to 57% and the gap narrowed for Hispanic/Latino students.
The department highlighted expansions of the dual language program, pre-K programming, and career technical education pathways. A newly constructed separate middle school is also scheduled to open in the fall.
Despite the end of the receivership, the district will be required to meet “exit assurances” over a two-year transition period. These include evaluations of educators and staff by state standards, maintain compensation laid out by the receiver’s established system, implementing an early literacy plan and more.
The Massachusetts Teachers Association, a vocal opponent of receiverships, pushed back on these requirements in a statement.
“Until members of the Holyoke Teachers Association have their full bargaining rights restored, Holyoke’s public schools remain in a form of state control and severed from the community,” MTA leadership said.
The union argued educators “are being unjustly cut out of the decision-making process” as the receivership ends.
“The city’s educators – the people with the most direct experience and perspective on the classroom environment – deserve the right to authentically negotiate for working conditions that support their goals for their students,” the MTA stated.
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Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia called the decision a “a proud day for Holyoke.”
“Our dedicated educators, resilient students, supportive families, and engaged community have united to drive this success, reflecting our shared commitment to the bright future of our schools,” Garcia said.
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