Holyoke Community Charter School
2200 Northampton St., Holyoke, MA 01040
Telephone: (413) 533-0111 Fax: (413) 536-5444
www.hccs-sabis.net
________________________________________________________
January 20, 2016
Dear Parents/Guardians,
We are pleased to share the results of our school “report card” for the 2015-2016 academic year. It contains important
information about teacher qualifications, student achievement on the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for
College and Careers (PARCC) and the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) tests, accountability,
how our school is performing relative to other schools, and the progress our school is making toward narrowing the
Progress and Performance Index (PPI). The PPI combines information about narrowing proficiency gaps, growth, and
graduation and dropout rates over multiple years into a single number.
Attached, we have included “report card overview” highlighting Student Enrollment, Teacher Qualifications, and School
Accountability. You can view the entire twenty-four page Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)
“report card” posted on our school website (www.hccs-sabis.net) or at the Department of Education Website
(http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/, search for HCCS, and click on the “Accountability” Tab). These findings are an
important part of your right to know how well our school is helping all students to reach proficiency in English
Language Arts and mathematics.
The information in the attached overview is divided into three parts:
Part I: School and district accountability information:
This section of the report contains three important pieces of information:



Accountability and Assistance Level: Schools and districts are placed into one of five accountability and
assistance levels (1-5), with the highest performing in Level 1 and the lowest performing in Level 5. Our school
has been placed into Level 2. Overall, our students performed well. We are working to close the achievement
gap for a percentage of our students who qualify as “high needs” students.
School Percentiles: A school percentile between 1 and 99 is reported to most schools. This number shows the
overall performance of our school relative to other schools that serve the same or similar grades. Our school
percentile is 31. This means HCCS is performing higher that 31 percent of the schools in the state that contain
3-8.
Progress and Performance Index ( PPI): the PPI is a number that indicates HCCS’s progress toward narrowing
proficiency gaps, or in other words, helping all student reach proficiency and be prepared for success after high
school. Massachusetts has set a goal for reducing proficiency gaps by half between the years 2011 and 2017.
We at HCCS have also committed to narrowing this proficiency gap for our students. For a group of students to
be considered to be making sufficient progress toward narrowing proficiency gaps, is cumulative PPI must be 75
or higher. In 2015, HCCS continued a trend of narrowing the gap for most subgroups and met the target on
Student Growth Percentile overall.
Part II: Student assessment on PARCC and MCAS and other tests:
This section of the report card shows how our students at HCCS are performing on the Partnership for Assessment of
Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test as
compared to the district and the state.
Part III: Student Enrollment and Teacher Qualifications:
This section of the report card provides information about the students and the teachers at HCCS as compared to the
district and state. Because HCCS is a Title 1 funded school, parents/guardians of each student at Holyoke Community
Charter School may request information about the qualifications of their child’s teacher(s) by writing to the School
Director.
School Improvement Activities:
Our school is dedicated to providing all students with the educational foundation necessary to succeed in school and in
life by taking the following steps to improve student achievement at HCCS.
 HCCS teachers have analysed PARCC and MCAS results and have generated reports for each team of teachers
that identify their past and current students’ skills- and content-gaps.
 HCCS created a DATA Team to collaboratively analyze data from multiple data sources that include
Benchmarks, AMS, Periods, State Assessments, and other common formative assessments, identify strengths of
learning and obstacles to student learning and determine instructional strategies that will best address their
students and learning objectives.
 AQCs and teachers analyze the effectiveness of the instructional strategies selected and implemented at previous
DATA Team and grade level meetings by examining student performance data that was measured using
common assessments then continue to develop and monitor improvement.
 HCCS created a Professional Learning Community (PLC) for the Massachusetts Tiered System of Support
(MTSS) model that consists of administration and teachers. The PLC identifies interventions and/or strategies
for teachers to implement in classrooms to help ensure that student receive high-quality instruction throughout
the day.
We will continue to use all the resources available to us to help your student achieve and we want to continue serving
your child. If you are at all dissatisfied with the school performance, please know that you have the right to remove your
student from our school. If you want your child to remain at this school, no action on your part is necessary. If you
want your eligible child (or children) to be transferred to another school, please notify the school director in writing as
soon as possible, and a school staff member will contact you.
We want to thank you as parents for keeping the Powerful Triangle Philosophy standing very firm. Your efforts as
parents and ours as your school will keep OUR child on the top of that Triangle displaying their success!
We encourage you to become involved in helping us improve our school. Some of the ways you can become involved
are:
 Encouraging your child’s learning at home
 Attending parent-teacher meetings and other special meetings
 Becoming part of the school’s Parent Connection by attending the monthly meeting (every second Tuesday @
5:45 pm)
 Signing up for WebSchool to monitor your child’s academic progress and stay in contact with teachers
We encourage you to talk with the Academic Quality Controller (AQC) or the Massachusetts Tiered System of Support
Chair (MTSS) If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at (413) 533-0111. We welcome
your input as we help our students succeed now and in the future, and we thank you for your continued support.
Dr. Sonia C. Pope
School Principal and Superintendent
2015 Massachusetts School Report Card Overview
HOLYOKE COMMUNITY CHARTER SCHOOL(04530005)
Holyoke Community Charter (District) (04530000)
Dr. Sonia Correa Pope, Principal
Grades Served: K,01,02,03,04,05,06,07,08
2200 Northampton St , Holyoke, MA 01040
Phone: 413.533.0111
Website: http://www.hccs-sabis.net
*Venga y discuta este reporte si asi lo desea.*
Report cards help parents/guardians and the general public see where schools and districts are succeeding and where there is still work to do. This report
card overview answers important questions about our school's performance. For the full report card containing additional data contact the school's
principal or visit the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s website at http://profiles.doe.mass.edu.
For more information about report card data, visit our Profiles Help page.
How is our school doing overall?
School percentile
Accountability and assistance levels
Our
school/
district
School percentiles (1-99) indicate how a school is performing overall
compared to other schools that serve the same or similar grades. Our
school's percentile is below.
Not meeting gap
narrowing goals
Lowest performing
Most schools are assigned a level from 1-5, with those meeting
their proficiency gap-narrowing goals in Level 1 and the lowest
performing in Levels 4 and 5. A district is typically assigned a
level based on the level of its lowest performing school. Placing
schools and districts into levels helps districts know which
schools need more support, and helps the state know which
districts need the most assistance. More information is available
here:http:// www.mass.gov/ese/accountability.
Highest performing
Overall progress in narrowing gaps
Massachusetts aims to reduce proficiency gaps by
half between 2011 and 2017.
Did Not Meet Target
All students
Did Not Meet Target
High needs students
Economically disadvantaged
Did Not Meet Target
Students with disabilities
Did Not Meet Target
English language learners &
former ELLs
District determination of need for special education technical assistance or intervention
Districts, including single school districts, are assigned a determination of need for special education technical assistance or intervention. These
determinations, which are typically based on the district's accountability and assistance level, range from Meets Requirements (Level 1 districts) to
Needs Substantial Intervention (Level 5 districts). The determination level, which incorporates compliance measures also, helps to identify whether
the Department will require districts to take additional actions to support improved outcomes for all children, especially students with disabilities.
How does our school's achievement over time compare to the district and the state?
Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC)
Students scoring Met Expectations or above on PARCC in grades 3-8, 2015
English
language arts
2015
Mathematics
2015
Our
school/district
%
32
27
In 2015, approximately half of Massachusetts' students in
grades 3-8 took PARCC ELA and mathematics tests.
All Holyoke Community Charter School students in grades 38 took PARCC ELA and mathematics tests.
The remaining students, including students in grade 10,
participated in ELA and mathematics MCAS tests.
ElementaryMiddle Schools
in MA
%
49
43
All students in grades 5, 8, and 10 took science MCAS tests.
*Venga y discuta este reporte si asi lo desea.*
Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS)
Students scoring proficient or above on Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), 2012-2015
English language arts
Science
Mathematics
2012 2013 2014 2015
2012 2013 2014 2015
2012
2013
2014
2015
Our
school/district
%
43
45
51
-
38
42
42
-
19
36
31
25
51
49
54
35
34
36
35
ElementaryMiddle
Schools in MA
%
57
57
56
60
47
2015 ELA and mathematics MCAS data for our school, our district, and the state are available at http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/state_report/mcas.aspx.
How does our school's growth compare to the district and the state?
Student Growth Percentiles (SGPs) measure gains in student achievement from year to year. SGPs between 40 and 60 represent moderate growth. Our
school's median SGPs for 2015 are below. (Note: Growth values are truncated.)*
English language arts
Mathematics
Lower growth
Higher growth
Lower growth
Higher growth
1
50
99
1
50
99
Our school/district
Massachusetts
*Transitional SGPs are displayed for schools that participated in PARCC in 2015. Transitional SGPs are generated using current PARCC and prior
MCAS scores.
Total enrollment
Economically disadvantaged students
Students with disabilities
English language learners
Our school/district
Our state
704
955,844
Our school/district
#
%
458
65.1
98
13.9
61
8.7
Elementary-Middle Schools in MA
#
%
25,379
38.9
10,867
16.7
12,320
18.9
How do our school's teachers and classrooms compare to the district and the state?
General information Our School/District
Our school/district
Teachers (#)
Core academic classes taught by highly qualified teachers (%)
Average class size (#)
Student : teacher ratio
50.9
96.1
13.8 to 1
Elementary-Middle Schools in MA
4,879.2
89.4
13.4 to 1
How is our school doing on other important measures?
Attendance
2015 Attendance rate (%)
2015 Average days absent per student (#)
2015 Chronic absenteeism rate (%)
Our school/district
Elementary-Middle Schools in MA
95.5
95.0
7.7
8.6
9.8
12.7
10.6
9.2
10.6
9.2
Discipline
2015 In-school suspension rate (%)
2015 Out-of-school suspension rate (%)
To view our school's full report card, visit http://profiles.doe.mass.edu. For more information about report card data, visit our Profiles Help page
Published by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
What else should you know about our school?
In the graphs below, the performance of students at Holyoke Community Charter School on the Massachusetts Assessment is compared to student
performance across the state and at the Holyoke Public Schools in grades 3-8 over a five-year period. The Composite Performance Index (CPI)* was
compared for all three groups. For 2015 HCCS and the statewide data reflect performance on the PARCC exam while Holyoke Public Schools data
is based on MCAS performance. Using a transitional-CPI, HCCS and statewide PARCC data is compared to Holyoke Public School’s MCAS data.
Holyoke Community Charter School
English Language Arts - MA State Assessment CPI comparison
2011-2015
90
85
86.1
CPI Score
80
75
85.2
85.1
85.1
Statewide
82.2
76.6
74.3
70
75.8
77.8
HCCS
74.9
65
60
63.9
63.2
62.2
55
60.1
Holyoke
Public
Schools
61
50
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Assessment Year
Holyoke Community Charter School
Mathematics - MA State Assessment CPI comparison
2011-2015
100
95
90
CPI Score
85
80
78.4
75
70
78.3
72.7
71.2
55.6
55.2
2011
2012
65
60
55
79.3
78.8
79.9
74.6
73.4
73.8
55.4
54.3
2014
2015
58.3
HCCS
50
2013
Statewide
Holyoke
Public Schools
Assessment Year
*The CPI is a 100-point index that assigns 100, 75, 50, 25, or 0 points to each student participating in MCAS and MCAS-Alternate Assessment tests based on their
achievement. The CPI is a measure of the extent to which all students are progressing toward proficiency. In 2015, ESE has reported transitional CPIs for those schools
that administered ELA and mathematics PARCC tests in the spring of 2015. As with traditional CPIs calculated using MCAS data, transitional CPIs for PARCC assign 0,
25, 50, 75, or 100 CPI points to each student based on their achievement on PARCC ELA and mathematics tests, and are used in the calculation of state, district, school,
and subgroup achievement for accountability purposes. PARCC transitional CPIs were calculated using a procedure known as equipercentile linking, essentially placing
PARCC results on the MCAS scale. As a result, CPI scores used for 2015 accountability reporting have an equivalent meaning regardless of whether they are based on
MCAS or PARCC results. (Information from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s School Leader’s Guide to the 2015
Accountability Determinations)
For more information on CPI and reporting terms please visit http://profiles.doe.mass.edu.