Communitas Academy receives NEASC accreditation

Feb. 18, 2016 | G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.com

SPRINGFIELD – The private college preparatory school that is located on the former campus of the McDuffie School off Maple Street has reached a milestone: it has been granted full member accreditation from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC).

Jay Johnson, vice president of Communications & Development for Communitas Academy, said to Reminder Publications, “It’s a pretty long process that shows we’re doing what were say we’re doing.”

The team representing NEASC was on the campus last fall, Johnson explained.

Founded in 2011 by John Foley M.Ed., Communitas Academy is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory boarding and day school committed to serving a diversity of students, but with the emphasis on inner city youth.    

The campus was hit hard by the June 1, 2011 tornado, and Foley and his staff not only had the task of starting the school but also repairing the buildings on campus.

While most of the current student body of 60 youth in grades 6 through 11 are from Springfield, living within walking distance, Foley added attracting more boarding students is the school’s new goal. The students pay on a sliding scale based on their family’s finances.

Johnson added already the school has attracted students from Boston, Cleveland, OH, and Chicago, IL.

Johnson explained what makes this school so different is its low student to teacher class ratio coupled with a longer school day that includes a two-hour mandatory study hall.

Foley added there is an emphasis on English and math with all students taking a 90-minute block of each subject every day.

Foley said that while class size in important what is more vital is “the vigor of the prep school environment – that’s what we’re going for.”

What is missing from the private school is teaching to prepare for the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), Foley said. He explained private schools, such as Communitas Academy, are exempt from the MCAS.

He said, “The MCAS is no secret basis for preparing for college. The rigor of the MCAS does not prepare students for the rigor of college.”

In creating the school, Foley said he and his staff consulted with state education officials on various educational models.

The school has become well known among area prep schools for its highly ranked basketball program. Dr. Marcus Ware, the head of school, said about one third of the current student body participates in the program.

Both Johnson and Foley spoke of the philosophy of opening the campus up to the neighborhoods it borders: Maple High Six Corners and the South End. The school has a strong theater program and those events are free to the public. The school has also started the Oasis Food Pantry for working families that is open from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Fridays in the school’s cafeteria with its entrance on Central Street.

Foley said nearby charter School Veritas Preparatory Charter School has no auditorium so it uses the academy’s theater.

The school has established good relations with the Springfield police and Foley said the Police Department’s C-3 community policing program in the South End is considering locating its offices on the campus.

The next two visiting days for prospective students will be March 25 and May 30 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information about the school, go to http://massachusettsacademy.org.

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