Original Research by School Decision on Phoenix Academy Public Charter High School Springfield (dist
Phoenix Academy Public Charter High School Springfield operates as a single-school district serving grades nine through twelve in Hampden County. The enrollment is small, and the grade distribution is notably uneven: the vast majority of students are in ninth grade, with far fewer in tenth and twelfth grades, and a moderate number in eleventh grade. This pattern is unusual for a four-year high school and may reflect a program structure that draws students primarily at entry or experiences significant movement across grade levels. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with Black students as the next largest group, and smaller shares of students who are two or more races, American Indian or Alaska Native, and White. Information on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals, receive special education services, or are English learners is not reported in the available data, so a parent would need to ask the school directly about those supports.
The district’s academic performance data is entirely absent from the records: no state assessment results and no graduation rate are available. Because the grade band includes tested grades and a graduation cohort, the absence is notable. The chronic absenteeism rate is reported at the highest possible level, placing it in the bottom quartile among Hampden County’s districts. This means that, according to the data available, every student is counted as chronically absent by the standard definition. A parent considering this school would want to ask the school administration how attendance is tracked, what the actual daily attendance patterns look like, and what supports are in place to improve student presence.
Spending per pupil is in the upper range among the county’s districts. That higher level of expenditure does not have corresponding context in the available data about course offerings, staffing ratios, or facilities, so it is not possible to say where those resources are directed.
No information is available about the surrounding community, housing market, or school locale. The district brief turned up no recent property-tax changes, curriculum referendums, or other parent-relevant developments. This is a district that exists on paper mainly as the administrative umbrella for a single charter high school, and the data gaps are substantial enough that a family would need to gather much more firsthand information to understand the academic pathway, peer environment, and level of support the school actually provides. There are no test scores, no graduation rate, and an absenteeism rate that raises immediate questions about day-to-day engagement. The school itself, if contacted directly, may be able to fill in those blanks.
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