I am very honored to begin my third year as Superintendent at the Springfield School District.  We have many great traditions in our school district, which have been developed over time by our outstanding teachers, staff and administrators.  One of the key ingredients that make Springfield such a great place is the wonderful families and tremendous students who are the centerpiece of our District.

All of our schools have attained National Blue Ribbon status.  Each of our schools and our District have qualified for AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress), which is the state benchmark for the No Child Left Behind Federal law. 

Here are some facts about our District you might be interested in:

• Over 90% of our high school graduates go on to postsecondary education

• Our average class size at the elementary schools is 21, middle school 19, and high school 20

• 99% of our students graduate high school (National average is 70%)

• 99.3% of our students from elementary school (Grade 4) are reading on grade level

• 90.7% of our students from 5th grade are reading on grade level

• 97.7% of our students from 6th grade are reading on grade level

We are very proud of our recent accomplishments in the area of literacy.  We have an incredible staff and caring parents that have helped our children to become real readers.  When students are strong and skilled readers, they are better able to take advantage of the opportunities that life will present.

I also want to let you know that as a parent of three children, I believe in the importance of quality schools and the important connection of “school to home.”  We must meet the needs of each child and customize our educational program to meet these individual needs.  I will be meeting with our administrative team and challenge them to make certain that ALL of the children in the Springfield School District experience success.  As a parent, a former teacher and as a former building and central office administrator and now as your superintendent, please know that children experiencing success is my PASSION.  I will continue to build upon the traditions we have and work hard to develop initiatives that will foster student success.  I look forward to working closely with all of you.

Let me leave you with this quotation which highlights the feeling about working with your children…

“Life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege than the raising of the next generation.”—C. Everett Koop

Sincerely,

Dr. James P. Capolupo
Superintendent of Schools