Massachusetts Charter Public Schools: Best Practices Using Data to Improve Student Achievement in Holyoke. White Paper No. 143

Holyoke Community Charter School (HCCS) provides high quality educational opportunities to students and families in a city where such opportunities are not widely available. A long waitlist, high lottery subscription, and low attrition rate are all evidence of community demand for the school. Student outcomes that surpass the district of Holyoke attract parents and help to put students on the path to college success. Despite its success, HCCS has been the target of charter critics because of its association with the for-profit educational management organization SABIS. Most critics are focused on the organization's worldwide presence and for-profit status. They are unable to describe the SABIS approach or the extent to which it enables students to succeed. They also have limited or inaccurate information about why schools would choose SABIS. This white paper shines a light on Holyoke Community Charter School and the SABIS-designed systems that the school uses; systems that relate to curriculum, assessments, and the gathering of school level data pertaining to both. Drawing upon school- and state-generated data and interviews with HCCS students and faculty, this cases study describes how SABIS's integrated approach to curriculum, assessment, and data-driven instruction engages students in a way that encourages them to take ownership of their own learning--something rarely seen in schools, especially at the K-8 level.