DON’T MISS THIS

OPPORTUNITY!

A “PREP” SCHOOL IS

COMING TO THE SPRINGFIELD PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM

Springfield Preparatory High School (“Springfield Prep”) is a reality! Yes, there are some rumblings from the host college regarding its effort to secure building funds from the legislature. And yes, some members of the Springfield School Committee have additional questions, as well they should. But this opportunity for educating our children moves forward.

The mission of this new school is to provide a rigorous academic curriculum, thereby giving students the highest likelihood of success for attending a quality four-year college or university. This is, indeed, a school for students with a high capacity for advanced learning. It is a school with very high expectations for student achievement and academic success. The Springfield Public School System is committed to diversity, and the demographics of the student population will mirror that of its schools and the city. It is very important that the youth of the African American community be well represented in the application process and student selection. As this article is being written in early February, the overall applicant pool is somewhat disappointing, though additional public information nights have not yet been held.

Springfield Prep will be housed on a community college campus in the center of our city with 100 entering ninth graders clustered in a campus building with highly qualified faculty and access to science labs, performing arts resources, a fitness center, language and technology labs, and an opportunity to succeed. As these students matriculate, they will have great opportunities to be part of college life through their dual enrollment and college course credit. It is the high expectation of such a preparatory school design that students will leave this experience with a semester or two of college credit under their belts, either by having taken college classes or by being successful in Advanced Placement exams, thereby allowing them to skip some traditional college freshman courses when they continue their college studies after graduating from Springfield Prep.

There is an application process for admission which includes a written examination similar to that taken by students applying to private schools. Evidence must also be provided of the commitment of the child’s family or of a significant adult to support the student through these challenging years of high school.

A number of current high school students participated in a focus group last fall to share their thoughts about establishing such a preparatory high school. Starting later in the day was high on the list. The school is expected to run from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm, allowing for more opportunities to use college resources. Students suggested offering Latin, Russian and Chinese. The design is to begin with Chinese, as well as both heritage and new-speaker Spanish. There is opportunity to expand within the preparatory school or through the college.

Students also felt strongly that career and college guidance was extremely important and should be provided early on. Since this school clearly has its eye on the prize for college entrance, this type of support will be evident from day one. As the school is starting with a small number of students, the fine and performing arts offerings, as well as physical fitness programming, will be designed around the interests of the students while staying aligned with state benchmarks.

This is an exciting opportunity for our students, one of which many more should seek to take advantage. Success begins with believing you can. Reach out to our young people and help them believe that they can. n