97 Hawley Street Northampton, MA 01060 413.586.4900 | 413.586.0180 fax jschuman@collaborative.

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David L. Dupont, Superintendent Holyoke Public Schools 57 Suffolk Street Holyoke, MA 01040 Dear Superintendent Dupont:

March 13, 2013

In keeping with the condition of our three-year contract with the Holyoke Public Schools that the Collaborative is entitled to terminate the Agreement without cause and in our sole discretion effective June 30, 2013 by written notice to HPS at least ninety (90) days prior to that date (Paragraph VI.C), I am hereby serving this written notice of termination. I do so with a heavy heart and great concern for the staff and students at the William J. Dean Technical High School, whom we have had the good fortune to work with over the last nineteen months. During this time, we engaged in an intensive effort to dramatically improve the lowest performing career-technical (CTE) school in the Commonwealth through an unprecedented re-start model of school transformation. Several factors have led to our decision to end our relationship as the Education Management Organization for Dean Tech. First, a major reduction in the 2013-14 budget, on top of the systemic problem of Dean Tech not receiving its full and sufficient allocation of Chapter 74 funding for a number of years, makes any efforts at sustainable school transformation destined to fail. Second, state and district mandates, such as RETELL and the new educator evaluation system, require a significant amount of professional development time for staff, making it very difficult to find time for consistent professional development in other areas such as curriculum development, CTE-academic integration, leadership development, and strategies for effective instruction. Third, Holyoke is in its third year of school redesign and the Collaborative has been held accountable to meet the HPS threeyear Measureable Annual Goals (MAGs) and Conditions of School Effectiveness goals for Dean Tech in less than two years; nothing in the research supports the efficacy of such an expectation, as you know. Finally, an unwarranted lack of confidence from the district, coupled with thorny issues of authority and autonomy, make it not viable for the Collaborative to continue its work as an EMO with Dean Tech. As you know, we entered a school with a 24.6% graduation rate, 15% dropout rate, 79% attendance rate, dismally low MCAS scores, and a high school student population that had the highest percentage of youth who are ELL, special education, and low income in the entire state. We began our work just one month before school opened in 2012 and in the nineteen months since then have made substantial progress in improving the outcomes for youth at the school. MCAS scores improved, notably in ELA for all students and in both ELA and math for

students with special needs or who are ELL, hence beginning to close an unacceptable achievement gap. In fact, Dean Tech met 8 of the 12 third-year Measureable Annual Goals for MCAS in its second (CES first) year. The dropout rate was reduced from 15.2% to 10.1%, a statistically significant reduction that also met the third-year MAG goal in year two. Attendance is now at 88%, a 8% increase from the baseline MAG. Suspensions have been reduced 45%, largely from successful whole-school professional development and support in Guided Discipline. In surveys, students report increased connection to school and teachers, increased commitment to learning in both academics and shops, and a belief that the school had become more welcoming to themselves and their parents. But the Collaboratives impact at Dean Tech does not end at these demonstrable improvements in student outcomes. The Collaborative established policies and procedures ensure compliance with the laws, and improve the educational services for the large number of ELL students and students with special needs at Dean. We brought in new and innovative leadership to the school, and we changed staff where needed. We extended the school day and provided professional development and coaching to teachers and school leaders. We engaged many stakeholders in the community, changing the perception and reality of Dean Tech from a school isolated from families and the community into a key community partner in the social and economic development of the city. We engaged many leaders in the community through a Futures Advisory Committee and we expanded both Deans CTE advisory committees and our internship and co-operative education opportunities. We also brought substantial new resources to the school, either by writing grants ourselves or by collaborating on grants with the School Department, businesses, Holyoke Community College, or the Regional Employment Board and Career Center. In sum, we were instrumental in bringing over $7.57 million to Dean, including $6.8 million for the new science labs and $775,000 for programs ranging from afterschool and summer programs to a robotics lab and a Cisco Academy. We are proud of the accomplishments that the Collaborative and school staff have made over the last 19 months and we hope progress continues unabated. We regret this decision to leave Dean Tech, but see no other alternative for the agency. Rest assured that the Collaborative will support the necessary transitions at Dean Tech and will continue to work with the Holyoke Public Schools on new initiatives and grant programs, as we have in the past. Sincerely,

Joan E. Schuman, Ed.D. Executive Director Collaborative for Educational Services