Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Bellville discusses changes to graduation requirements and competency determination for Chicopee Public Schools.
Photo credit: ChicopeeTV
CHICOPEE — The School Committee approved new graduation requirements on Nov. 19 after Assistant Superintendent of Instruction and Accountability Jennifer Bellville met with the committee to discuss changes to the competency determination.
The School Committee and Policy Subcommittee approved the second reading of two new policies during that meeting months after a ballot question removed MCAS as a graduation requirement for graduating high school seniors across the state.
This forced each school district to update their policy on competency determination and their current graduation requirements.
Bellville said the district made some changes for graduation around mathematics and the number of credits for its current freshman.
She explained that during the process last year, the state focused on core classes, such as English I, English II, Algebra I, Geometry, as well as one of the sciences.
In July, the district received new guidance from the state that two policies were needed, a graduation policy and a competency policy. Chicopee’s policy only had one at the time.
The new policies need to be submitted to the state by Dec. 31. Bellville said the district used a template from the School Committee Association to write the current policy.
In September, Gov. Maura Healey’s office released a “The Vision of a Massachusetts Graduate,” an aspirational outline of how a Massachusetts High School diploma can prepare students regardless of their zip code, their identity or their background for success after graduation.
“The governor made it clear that this was just the first step to create a new statewide graduation standard to ensure that all students leave high school equipped with the skills to succeed whether they’re in college, career or civic life,” Bellville said.
She further explained that the state is looking to come up with a consistent statewide graduation requirement in addition to the vision for a graduate.
Massachusetts is one of the few states that does not have a consistent statewide graduation requirement, as of press time.
“We have a lot of local control around what are graduation requirements are,” Bellville stated.
Bellville expects to see a proposal from the governor’s office and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education around the beginning of next year, along with a proposal for a road map.
Bellville said she talked with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Pedro Martinez about world language, stating, “The commissioner made it very clear that one of his goals is to make world language part of graduation requirements.”
Although that will have an impact on Chicopee’s middle and high schools, Bellville said she and her team have begun discussing the planning of that potential implementation.
In Chicopee, current seniors, juniors and sophomores are required to accrue 110 credits, while freshman and beyond will be asked to achieve 120 credits.
Freshmen will need to do four years of mathematics, taking physical education every year with one health course. For electives, freshmen and beyond will need an additional elective.
Starting with the class of 2027, all students must take English Language Arts, mathematics and a science MCAS. Students, however, do not need to pass the MCAS to meet this requirement.
Bellville explained, “As we know, accountability is still very real for school systems, and we do need 95% participation from an accountability standpoint of students sitting and taking it. MCAS is still also very important for students who are looking for John and Abigail Adams scholarships and for other purposes.”
Bellville also talked about the potential for students that graduated between 2003 to 2024 who didn’t pass MCAS and received a Certificate of Attainment instead of a diploma to come back to determine if they meet the updated requirements based on their records.
She said students can continue to request a diploma if they meet the updated policy through her office, where they will be reviewed to see if they are eligible.
