SABIS Charter Lessons from Springfield

Thanks to Pioneer Institute’s education transparency website www.massreportcards.com, it is now easier than ever to compare the performances of charter and district schools.

The SABIS International Charter School in Springfield demonstrates that schools in low-income areas can provide students with a high quality education despite the many obstacles they face.

The graduation rate in the Springfield public school system is 53 percent, barely half of SABIS’s 91 percent.* Springfield sends 55 percent of its students to a college program, which is abysmal when compared to the 96 percent of SABIS students who go on to higher education.

SABIS is not only outperforming Springfield’s public schools, but is providing an education that is equal to or better than schools in Weston, Shrewsbury, and Longmeadow, which are considered to be among the the best schools systems in Mass.

SABIS’s graduation rate is higher than any of the high schools in those districts, making it one of the highest in the state. The percent of SABIS students who attend college is also higher than both Shrewsbury and Longmeadow.

Anyone can visit www.massreportcards.com and view performance information that can shed light on charter public schools and how they compare to traditional public schools.

*Based on 2010 data. MassReportCards will be updated with 2011 information soon.