News & Media

Black History Month Celebration Recap
Meghan Hoagland Meghan Hoagland

Black History Month Celebration Recap

Springfield Prep Charter School hosted its first annual Black History Month Celebration on February 28. From powerful performances to delicious food and inspiring student showcases, it was an afternoon filled with culture, community, and joy…

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Springfield Prep Ranked in Top Five for Exceptional Achievements and Growth in Literacy Among BES Schools
Meghan Hoagland Meghan Hoagland

Springfield Prep Ranked in Top Five for Exceptional Achievements and Growth in Literacy Among BES Schools

We’re thrilled to share this recent article that ranks Springfield Prep among the top five BES schools for exceptional achievements and growth in literacy!  At Springfield Prep, we're dedicated to empowering our educators with top-notch resources and innovative strategies to inspire a love of learning and reading in our classrooms.

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Chalkbeat Feature: “Science teachers, math teachers, history teachers—we’re all reading teachers now.”
Meghan Hoagland Meghan Hoagland

Chalkbeat Feature: “Science teachers, math teachers, history teachers—we’re all reading teachers now.”

“In pre-pandemic days, it was normal to have a few struggling readers per class. Post-COVID, it has often felt like there are few readers who are not struggling. It was clear that a new approach to literacy instruction was needed—one that leveraged every teacher in our building and gave us ways to catch our older students up on second-grade skills without infantilizing the content.”

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Co-Teaching: It’s Our Superpower!
Diana La Paz Diana La Paz

Co-Teaching: It’s Our Superpower!

“With a co-teacher, you’re able to reach more students based on their learning needs in the moment. It’s best for checking in on students in real time when there are misconceptions, or if they’re having a moment and need a one-on-one check-in with an adult. If something is going on at home, or in school with a peer that needs to be addressed, with a co-teacher, you’re able to reach them and not disrupt class.”

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Building a Middle School in a Post-Pandemic World
Diana La Paz Diana La Paz

Building a Middle School in a Post-Pandemic World

“We knew we had to build a culture and structure informed by the unique challenges facing adolescents today; One that would allow students to feel seen, supported, and - upon graduating - prepared for their futures.”

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Mr. Brown Testifies at the State House in Support of the Educator Diversity Act
Diana La Paz Diana La Paz

Mr. Brown Testifies at the State House in Support of the Educator Diversity Act

“This year, as we continue down the road to recovery, our instructional and professional development strategies have been built around the urgency we feel, not only to make up for lost learning opportunities, but to ultimately get all of our scholars achieving at grade level standards and beyond. In the interest of accelerating, not remediating learning, we’ve been focused on ‘Doing What Matters Most’. In other words, we’ve been prioritizing and re-focusing our efforts to get the best results possible.”

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Doing What Matters Most: Making Every Minute of Learning Count
Diana La Paz Diana La Paz

Doing What Matters Most: Making Every Minute of Learning Count

“This year, as we continue down the road to recovery, our instructional and professional development strategies have been built around the urgency we feel, not only to make up for lost learning opportunities, but to ultimately get all of our scholars achieving at grade level standards and beyond. In the interest of accelerating, not remediating learning, we’ve been focused on ‘Doing What Matters Most’. In other words, we’ve been prioritizing and re-focusing our efforts to get the best results possible.”

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Afternoon Program Spotlight: Girls on the Run

Afternoon Program Spotlight: Girls on the Run

“Providing students with enriching experiences, both in and out of the classroom, is an integral part of our mission here at Springfield Prep. This fall, our 3rd through 5th graders had the opportunity to participate in the Girls on the Run afternoon program, hosted in partnership with the national organization. Through a research-based, 10 week curriculum, students met in small groups, engaged in interactive lessons to grow their physical, social, and emotional skills, and trained to run in a friendly, non-competitive, 5k at the end of the season. Some of the lesson topics included discussing the importance of self-care, selecting and maintaining healthy relationships, and celebrating one’s strengths (just to name a few). By pairing physical activity with conversations around social, emotional wellness, the students worked to build confidence within themselves in a variety of ways. “

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      The Associate Teacher Program:  A Day in the Life
Wendy Soref Wendy Soref

The Associate Teacher Program: A Day in the Life

“The Associate Teachers (ATs) at Springfield Prep keep our school running like a well-oiled machine-- providing differentiated support to students, coverage when teachers are out, and leading lunch and recess duties all the while growing as educators through coaching, professional development, and lots of collaboration with classroom teachers. That all sounds great in theory, but how does it actually unfold in practice?”

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Celebrating Diverse Identities is Everyone’s Work
Wendy Soref Wendy Soref

Celebrating Diverse Identities is Everyone’s Work

“This is everyone’s job-- there isn’t room to opt-out. This work of celebrating our students’ identities is integral to what we do every day and it’s an extension of culturally responsive teaching. When you take the time to learn and honor different cultures it strengthens the community and children’s outlooks on themselves. But it’s not enough to just say this is everybody’s work. We have structures to facilitate this.”

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The Power of a Team

The Power of a Team

“We know teachers will bring different experience levels and strengths to their work and so we leverage the power of teams to achieve this. Our team leaders play a critical role when it comes to ensuring great ideas are shared and implemented and that teachers and staff feel a sense of belonging with their closest colleagues. In this post, we’ll interview Ashley Shaw, a founding teacher at Springfield Prep and our 2nd Grade Grade Level Chair. We’ll learn about Ashley’s development as a leader and how she sees her role as a driver of equity for kids. We’ll also learn what she does to make sure her team time is an uplifting source of connection - every Friday, when her Grade Team meets, you can hear the laughter from down the hall!”

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"We are all Math People"- Collaboration and Preparation in our Middle School Math Classrooms
Collaboration, Teachers, Middle School Wendy Soref Collaboration, Teachers, Middle School Wendy Soref

"We are all Math People"- Collaboration and Preparation in our Middle School Math Classrooms

“In education, we often take for granted that getting all students to love reading is a worthy goal. Somehow, this same principle doesn’t always transfer to math. Not true at Springfield Prep. Helping students embrace their identity as math people is at the heart of Ms. Graul and Ms. Sela’s practice alongside deep knowledge of mathematical standards, thorough intellectual preparation for every lesson, and consistent effort to connect content to real life examples and transferable mathematical practices.”

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