News & Media
Latinx & Hispanic Heritage Month Celebrations
Learn more about how we celebrated Latinx and Hispanic Heritage Month and follow the link to watch the news coverage of our block party on Western Mass News!
Springfield Prep Ranked in Top Five for Exceptional Achievements and Growth in Literacy Among BES Schools
We’re thrilled to share this recent article that ranks Springfield Prep among the top five BES schools for exceptional achievements and growth in literacy! At Springfield Prep, we're dedicated to empowering our educators with top-notch resources and innovative strategies to inspire a love of learning and reading in our classrooms.
Springfield Prep Math Teacher Awarded Transformative Leader Fellowship
Congratulations to Math Teacher and Senior Instructional Coach Teron Brown for being named a Transformative Leaders of Massachusetts Fellow for next year, a program managed by the Barr Foundation and Springpoint. Read More...
Smith College brings NASA Funded MaRS Program to Springfield Prep
Smith College students brought NASA's MaRS program to Springfield Prep this summer!
Springfield Prep Named Spotlight School and Praised for Raising Expectations and Results
Springfield Prep is 1 of only 6 schools among the 237 in the state’s highest poverty quartile whose students achieved above-average proficiency in math and ELA, according to a 2023 report from Education Reform Now. Read the full article here…
Chalkbeat Feature: “Science teachers, math teachers, history teachers—we’re all reading teachers now.”
“In pre-pandemic days, it was normal to have a few struggling readers per class. Post-COVID, it has often felt like there are few readers who are not struggling. It was clear that a new approach to literacy instruction was needed—one that leveraged every teacher in our building and gave us ways to catch our older students up on second-grade skills without infantilizing the content.”
Co-Teaching: It’s Our Superpower!
“With a co-teacher, you’re able to reach more students based on their learning needs in the moment. It’s best for checking in on students in real time when there are misconceptions, or if they’re having a moment and need a one-on-one check-in with an adult. If something is going on at home, or in school with a peer that needs to be addressed, with a co-teacher, you’re able to reach them and not disrupt class.”
An Inclusive Special-Education Model: Collaboration at the Center
“I’ve never worked at a school where the special-education students are everyone’s responsibility - and accountability is shared around reaching and meeting all students. Our collaborative model is one of the biggest drivers for student growth.”
Building a Middle School in a Post-Pandemic World
“We knew we had to build a culture and structure informed by the unique challenges facing adolescents today; One that would allow students to feel seen, supported, and - upon graduating - prepared for their futures.”
Mr. Brown Testifies at the State House in Support of the Educator Diversity Act
“This year, as we continue down the road to recovery, our instructional and professional development strategies have been built around the urgency we feel, not only to make up for lost learning opportunities, but to ultimately get all of our scholars achieving at grade level standards and beyond. In the interest of accelerating, not remediating learning, we’ve been focused on ‘Doing What Matters Most’. In other words, we’ve been prioritizing and re-focusing our efforts to get the best results possible.”
Doing What Matters Most: Making Every Minute of Learning Count
“This year, as we continue down the road to recovery, our instructional and professional development strategies have been built around the urgency we feel, not only to make up for lost learning opportunities, but to ultimately get all of our scholars achieving at grade level standards and beyond. In the interest of accelerating, not remediating learning, we’ve been focused on ‘Doing What Matters Most’. In other words, we’ve been prioritizing and re-focusing our efforts to get the best results possible.”
Afternoon Program Spotlight: Girls on the Run
“Providing students with enriching experiences, both in and out of the classroom, is an integral part of our mission here at Springfield Prep. This fall, our 3rd through 5th graders had the opportunity to participate in the Girls on the Run afternoon program, hosted in partnership with the national organization. Through a research-based, 10 week curriculum, students met in small groups, engaged in interactive lessons to grow their physical, social, and emotional skills, and trained to run in a friendly, non-competitive, 5k at the end of the season. Some of the lesson topics included discussing the importance of self-care, selecting and maintaining healthy relationships, and celebrating one’s strengths (just to name a few). By pairing physical activity with conversations around social, emotional wellness, the students worked to build confidence within themselves in a variety of ways. “
The Associate Teacher Program: A Day in the Life
“The Associate Teachers (ATs) at Springfield Prep keep our school running like a well-oiled machine-- providing differentiated support to students, coverage when teachers are out, and leading lunch and recess duties all the while growing as educators through coaching, professional development, and lots of collaboration with classroom teachers. That all sounds great in theory, but how does it actually unfold in practice?”
Celebrating Diverse Identities is Everyone’s Work
“This is everyone’s job-- there isn’t room to opt-out. This work of celebrating our students’ identities is integral to what we do every day and it’s an extension of culturally responsive teaching. When you take the time to learn and honor different cultures it strengthens the community and children’s outlooks on themselves. But it’s not enough to just say this is everybody’s work. We have structures to facilitate this.”
The Power of a Team
“We know teachers will bring different experience levels and strengths to their work and so we leverage the power of teams to achieve this. Our team leaders play a critical role when it comes to ensuring great ideas are shared and implemented and that teachers and staff feel a sense of belonging with their closest colleagues. In this post, we’ll interview Ashley Shaw, a founding teacher at Springfield Prep and our 2nd Grade Grade Level Chair. We’ll learn about Ashley’s development as a leader and how she sees her role as a driver of equity for kids. We’ll also learn what she does to make sure her team time is an uplifting source of connection - every Friday, when her Grade Team meets, you can hear the laughter from down the hall!”
"We are all Math People"- Collaboration and Preparation in our Middle School Math Classrooms
“In education, we often take for granted that getting all students to love reading is a worthy goal. Somehow, this same principle doesn’t always transfer to math. Not true at Springfield Prep. Helping students embrace their identity as math people is at the heart of Ms. Graul and Ms. Sela’s practice alongside deep knowledge of mathematical standards, thorough intellectual preparation for every lesson, and consistent effort to connect content to real life examples and transferable mathematical practices.”
Culturally Responsive Teaching -- One Unit at a Time
Thanks to their initiative, our Curriculum Audit Team was born. Together they devised a plan for a thorough audit of the curriculum that would give teachers an entry point for making meaningful changes-- helping to remove the stumbling block so many feel in the face of a large challenge-- figuring out where to start.
“A Clear Path For Growth”: A View Into The Associate Teacher Program
“Arianna Romero joined Springfield Prep for the 2019-2020 school year as an Associate Teacher (AT). The AT program allows those who are new to teaching to get extra support and coaching, practice their teaching moves, and test out a few teaching roles before becoming a lead teacher the following year. As she puts it, ‘The AT role is a great foundational position that takes the stress away from the first year.’”
Scholar Spotlight: Jarien, Fourth Grade Phenom
“We recently sat down with Jarien, a football-loving fourth grader who always has a smile on his face. Jarien’s teacher, Ms. McGregor describes him as a polite and motivated scholar who is a great friend to his classmates. He is also one of Springfield Prep’s Student Ambassadors. The school’s Student Ambassadors develop new leadership, communication, and presentation skills, in part by leading school tours to visitors.”
Brittanie McGregor is Springfield Prep’s 2019 Pioneer Valley Excellence in Teaching Award Winner
“The Excellence in Teaching Awards program, made possible by the Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation in partnership with MassMutual and the Irene E. & George A. Davis Foundation, is an honor given out annually to recognize outstanding Western Massachusetts educators.”