WWLP News – “The John F. Kennedy Middle School is scheduled to make its debut as western Massachusetts’ first UP Education Network school in the 2016-17 school year.
The decision to transform the soon-to-be UP Academy Kennedy Middle School was made by members of the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership Board of Directors in a unanimous vote.
The middle school has struggled with performance and has been ranked a level 4 school by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education since 2010. This classification means it is one of the state’s most struggling schools.
The UP Education Network is a Massachusetts-based nonprofit school management organization. According to the network’s official website, its mission is to rapidly transform chronically under performing schools into extraordinary schools that sustain high achievement over time. The UP Education Network takes on management of the school they are assigned.
Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Daniel Warwick is a board member of the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership which voted unanimously to transform the school.”