Acting DESE Commissioner Russell Johnston visited Springfield’s Chestnut Talented and Gifted Middle School to celebrate the school’s honor of being selected as a National ESEA Distinguished School.
Reminder Publishing photo by Ryan Feyre
SPRINGFIELD — Acting Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Russell Johnston visited Springfield on Dec. 6 to celebrate a monumental milestone at one of the city’s schools.
Chestnut Talented and Gifted Middle School was one of two schools in the state selected as a National ESEA Distinguished School, which is a program that publicly recognizes qualifying federally-funded schools for positive educational advances and outstanding academic achievements of students.
The other school in the state recognized for its achievements was Bradley Elementary School in Boston.
“What a tremendous honor for hard work, day in and day out,” Johnston said, addressing the parents, students, educators and administrators that were present at the celebration ceremony in the school. “When you have amazing students and their families coming together with tremendously talented teachers, community partners, and amazing administration, great things can happen.”
The school, which serves around 260 sixth through eighth-grade students, is part of the Springfield Empowerment Zone, a private nonprofit collaboration formed in 2015 between Springfield Public Schools, DESE and the Springfield Education Association.
The goal of this partnership is to turn struggling schools into high-achieving schools by meeting the needs of specific students and creating an environment that advances equity in education.
According to the SEZP website, Chestnut TAG is one of only three schools in the state to exit underperforming status since 2017, and it is the highest improving school in the state over the last seven years, as of 2023.
“Chestnut TAG embodies what we strive for in the Empowerment Zone,” said Matt Brunell and Colleen Curran, co-executive directors of SEZP. “The school has made tremendous gains by prioritizing academic achievement alongside socio-emotional support for students. These improvements reflect the power of teacher voice — a core principle of SEZP schools — in shaping the school’s direction. We are incredibly proud of Principal Andrea Metzger and her exceptional team of educators.”
Chestnut TAG Principal Andrea Metzger, a longtime native of Springfield, said the school’s national recognition was a “dream came true” for her.
“This is the beginning of where I told my staff in August I was going to take you all,” said Metzger. “I said we’re going to go national. People are going to know who we are. “
Chestnut and Bradley were both recognized in Category 3 of the National ESEA Distinguished Schools Program, which celebrates schools that show excellence in serving special populations of students such as homeless, migrant, English learners and more.
Schools selected for the honor must meet or exceed state-determined accountability criteria, demonstrate high academic achievement or growth and must be federally funded by one or more ESEA programs.
In her remarks during Chestnut’s celebration, Superintendent Sonia Dinnall said the school has some of the “best and brightest” students in the district.
“I love the fact that you earned this award,” Dinnall said. “You’ve earned the right to brag about how great you are because of all of your hard work, your dedication, and your commitment to investing in yourself, investing in your future investing in your greatness. This is just amazing.”
Chestnut TAG will join the other selected schools across the country in celebration of the honor at the National ESEA Conference in Austin, Texas in February. The school will also receive a banner in celebration of the distinguished honor to be hung at the school.
