Half of Veritas Prep seniors to graduate with diploma, college degrees

Massachusetts Secretary of Education Stephen Zrike and Veritas Prep Charter Public School Principal Stephen Mahoney hear from students about their early college course experiences.
Reminder Publishing photos by Sarah Heinonen

SPRINGFIELD — Next month, the inaugural class of seniors will graduate from Veritas Prep Charter Public School.

The school has partnered with Springfield Technical Community College and Worcester State University to offer college-level courses while the students are still in high school.

As such, nearly half of Veritas Prep’s 77 graduating seniors will have earned their associate’s degree as well as a diploma.

On May 15, Massachusetts Secretary of Education Stephen Zrike and Department of Elementary Secondary Education Commissioner Pedro Martinez toured the school and spoke with students and faculty about their experiences with the school’s early college format.

In the college-level Spanish class they dropped in on, students were working on essays about an individual in their lives. Overseen by Westfield State University professor Marilyn Sanchez, four students shared their work with Zrike and Martinez, both fluent Spanish speakers. Martinez, who did not become fluent in Spanish until he was an adult, praised the students and said learning a language as a teen or adult is significantly more difficult than learning as a child.

In a college-level marketing class taught by Niasha Ortiz, a student presented a marketing plan for an original product — a hoodie with cooling pads and air vents, targeted to athletes. The professor said the student had hit “the four p’s” of marketing — product, price, placement and promotion. Martinez asked the student whether price or quality would set his product apart from others on the market.

After thinking about it, he decided to offer superior quality.

Not all students participate in the early college courses, Veritas Prep Principal Stephen Mahoney said, but as a wall-to-wall program, every student is eligible to take college courses, beginning in their second semester of ninth grade, provided their grades meet a certain standard. They are also required to sustain their grades to continue taking college courses. School-wide, 89 students take full-time college courses.

After the tour, Zrike and Martinez sat down with 10 students from various grades. They listened to students express what they have gotten out of the early college courses. One student said it was helpful to “get my gen eds out of the way” before high school graduation. Many of the courses involved in an associate’s degree are general education classes that all students must take.

“I always told myself I would take every opportunity, and I have,” said one student, who cares for his younger sisters.

Students in ninth and 10th grade take college-level courses at the high school, but juniors and seniors can take classes on campus at Springfield Technical Community College or Worcester State University.

This year, senior Nicholas Grier’s classes have all taken place on the STCC campus. He said the experience has expanded his interests. He has also gained confidence and learned time management skills. “It’s a maturity thing,” he said about waiting until junior year to attend classes on a college campus.

Mia Erazo said the ability to learn on campus is important. “It’s a different environment,” she said. “It sets a tone.”

Both Erazo and Laysha Gonzalez were enrolled in the fifth grade at Veritas Prep Middle School through a lottery. Now, the two seniors who have gotten a head start on their future careers. Both have earned their certified nursing assistant certifications. Gonzalez said having the chance to take college courses while in high school “feels important. The opportunities have been so nice.” That said, she noted, “It’s what you put into it.”

Erazo agreed. “We could have done the easy route, but we had to take night classes after a full day of high school,” she said. Both students will major in nursing, Gonzalez at Elms College and Erazo at Worcester State University.

Zrike said the state is grappling with how to deal with artificial intelligence. He asked the students for their opinion. One student said, “Don’t have AI write your English I essay for you.” Instead, she said she uses it to make her work “sound stronger.” Luis Olmeda described some of the AI tools that are available to search texts for relevant information and create study guides for exams, but he also had strong feelings about the amount of energy and resources data centers use.

Some of the students have been preparing for college since attending Veritas Middle School. Coriel Williams said she took a seminar block that prepares students for high school and college. “They make you think a lot about where you want to go,” she said.

Martinez said that, while there are 10,000 high school students engaged in early college programs, the state has a goal of 100,000 student participants. He explained that 40% of children live in poverty, and DESE’s goal is to provide them with access to early college.

“We want to send the message that if you do the work, there’s an early college seat for you,” Martinez said. “Early college is for everyone.”
Speaking with Veritas Prep founder and CEO Rachel Romano and other Veritas educators, Martinez said, “I’m a huge early college champion.” Statewide, he said the implementation of early college programs is “all over the board…Veritas is the strongest I’ve seen.”

Romano said it took several years to grow the program to this point. Many of the obstacles were related to the differences between union contracts for teachers and college professors. She added, “It took a lot to get the [memorandum of understanding] to where it is. If you have the right relationship and the right attitude, you work it out.”

Romano said the school has worked hard to strike a balance between accountability and the flexibility needed to spur innovation. Tim Nicolette, executive director of Massachusetts Charter Public Schools Association, said Veritas Prep began with one model before pivoting to an early college model.