Impact
What People Say
From the students and families in our schools, to the teachers and administrators in our Zone, to the partners and leaders in our community, people have a lot of great things to say about SEZP.
“I am so excited about SEZP’s strong commitment to students and their families, and I'm forever thankful to the SEZP Special Education Leadership Team for going above and beyond to meet the needs of my child.”
Mirella SantiagoParent
“Participating in a recent parent panel made me feel heard and extremely supported! I am looking forward to the great things that lie ahead.”
LaChanda VazquezParent
“I like Rise Prep Academy because the staff goes above and beyond their job description to make the students feel safe, so they can succeed now and in the future.”
LusliannParent
“For too long, communities had to conform to the schools, and we thought it was time for schools to conform to the community. And the Family Empowerment Council is a space where we can come together and work in partnership with one another.”
DeOtis WilliamsSpringfield Educator
“Positive family engagement is vital to how well the school runs. Families need to feel valued, heard, and respected within our schools. It is important that we realize our families are the experts and the first teachers of their students. When schools and families create that positive partnership, everyone wins.”
Tyeshia WeirSpringfield Educator
“Teachers within the Empowerment Zone get to make decisions on so many key aspects of a school's internal plan: everything from start and end times of the day, the school calendar, extended learning plans, professional development needs, and working conditions, to setting a school's priorities based on the existing data from the year before.”
Emma SanchezSpringfield Educator
“It’s the innovation that educators are crying out for. We are highlighting the art of teaching and it empowers teachers to fall in love with teaching again. I truly know that I’m affecting real change, not only in my classroom but in the whole school. That kind of autonomy and investment creates an environment where everybody is engaged.”
On’DrayaSpringfield Educator
“The biggest change that I've made from the beginning [of the program] to now is focusing less on what it is that I'm teaching and more on how and why I'm teaching it: focusing more on student voice‚ student engagement…and on making learning useful and meaningful‚ not just covering content․”
Educator participating in SEZP’s licensure and development program in partnership with Elms College
“We're so excited for the support from the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership and Springfield Public Schools to be able to build a welcoming and loving community for students from all over the world.”
Amanda GauthierExecutive Principal, High School of Commerce and Emergence Academy
“I love that Empowerment Zone school leaders are granted flexibility to adapt to the increasingly complex systems that are urban public schools. We’re not locked into traditional schooling models. Instead, we’re encouraged and supported in designing, implementing and evaluating our own programming based on the needs of our students.”
Frederick A. Hurst, Jr.Principal, Impact Prep
“The Empowerment Zone Principal model allows me to own my leadership talents by way of autonomous decision making. From our day-to-day bell schedule to enrichment programming and more, I am able to simultaneously lift the importance of school culture, student achievement, and teacher voice.”
Julia St. MartinPrincipal, Kiley Prep
“For SEZP, it’s all about getting down to the school level and empowering the people in that school to succeed.”
Colleen CurranCo-Executive Director, SEZP
“The empowerment zone model pushes the decisions on what's best for the kids to those closest to the kids. They are making the real decisions about how best to accelerate improvement.”
Matthew BrunellCo-Executive Director, SEZP
“The key to the Springfield Empowerment Zone is the balance between the unprecedented levels of autonomy that district schools are being granted here and the necessity to have a good performance framework to track outcomes.”
Chris GabrieliChair, SEZP Board of Directors
“Teacher voice is crucial in driving meaningful and lasting change within SEZP schools. Teachers have a "say" in strategic and operational decisions that improves academics outcomes and teacher satisfaction.”
James MortonSEZP Board of Directors; President & CEO, YMCA of Greater Boston
“The Zone partnership works in a way where there's collaboration. There's respect. We can have open-ended conversations, agree to disagree and still come out shaking hands.”
Tracy SasaneckiFormer President, Springfield Education Association (Teacher’s Union)
“There are very few high schools in Massachusetts where students have an extended day, take college courses and earn free college credits. The fact we have this in Springfield, an area where many students are first-generation college students and for whom English is not their first language, is amazing.”
Mary Jo MarionAVP Urban Affairs, Worcester State University
“One of the programs that I think has turned out to be quite successful is the Empowerment Zone that they set up in Springfield…that’s a model that the teachers like, the administrators like, and has shown real progress in helping those kids improve their scores.”
Charlie BakerFormer Governor of Massachusetts
