Springfield schools chief will tap past education initiative to boost goals

SPRINGFIELD – One year ago, Springfield Superintendent Sonia Dinnall spoke of how she would guide the district to improve achievement for all students — from preschooler to post graduate. This year, Dinnall says she'll back that up with a project from the recent past.

In her second state of the schools address , Dinnall said she will work with administrators, teachers, parents and students to incorporate the "Portrait of a Graduate" initiatives, which school stakeholders spent six years developing, into efforts to meet her goals.

In the past year, Dinnall has focused on four district priorities she announced in January 2025: Boosting early literacy; revamping middle schools to add rigor, joy and more relevant and hands-on learning; focusing early and often on career and college readiness; and ensuring graduates have the skills and support to achieve their future goals.

"We would never disregard the work, the dedication, the wisdom and expertise that went into crafting the Portrait of the Graduate," she said. "We are going to strive to distill those two things together; the four new district priorities as well as the Portrait of a Graduate to come up with our new strategic improvement plan."

Portrait of a Graduate was developed by educators, business owners, community leaders, students, family members and others. It is designed to identify what skills teens must learn to be successful.

Like last year, Dinnall's state of the school's speech was part an outline for the future, part work session for educators and part a celebration of past achievements. It was held Friday at the Cedars Banquet Facility and drew an audience ranging from college presidents and state legislators to city leaders and teachers.

Dinnall did not hesitate to praise teachers, students and parents and urge everyone listening to continue to boast about the successes of the 23,500-student district. She encouraged everyone else to do the same.

"We know we have the best and the brightest and we also know we have students who are not doing as well as they can," she said. "We have to find innovative ways to teach so our students are getting the results."

She acknowledged schools still have a long way to go, with only 1,717 elementary, 1,018 middle school and 528 high school students are meeting or exceeding expectations on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment Systems exam.

"We need to do better, we know we need to do better, we just have to get that message out to our communities that the MCAS still matters and we continue to find innovative ways to teach so that our students can meet and exceed our expectations," Dinnall said.

During the event, Dinnall asked participants to look at a year's worth of data on test scores, literacy rates and ups and downs on achievement rates for multilingual learners.

One educator examining data on attendance said he continues to be concerned about chronic absenteeism. He drew a laugh when he rattled off his email address and asked to hear from anyone who has had success getting students to attend class more often.

As part of the event, students showed off different skills focused on the four priorities. Two elementary school students read a short story to the audience. Middle school students talked about a program that helps them develop an academic plan based on their future goals. And a high school student spoke about career readiness, complete with a demonstration that the robotics engineering program developed.

Brandin Stewart, a 2017 graduate of the High School of Science and Technology who served as the keynote speaker, talked about post graduate success. Now a first lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps, he is a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and recently qualified to be a military pilot.

Stewart reflected on different teachers he had and how their lessons were invaluable. His counselor, with whom he developed a close relationship, offered him all types of advice, including having a backup plan if he wasn't accepted to his first choice of school, the U.S. Naval Academy.

Stewart said his physics teacher inspired him with his command of the subject. His music teacher taught him overall leadership skills that helped create a culture of a family. His tennis coach taught him tenacity, purpose and to find ways to overcome a deficit.

"What is the most valuable thing Springfield public schools has?" he asked the roomful of educators. "It's you."

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