The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in Science. The lowest is 33% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Chestnut Hill Community School
Chestnut Hill Community School is a regular public school in Belchertown, Massachusetts, serving grades four through six. The school sits on State Street, a short walk from the town’s long colonial common, which functions as the civic and social heart of this rural-residential community. Belchertown itself is spread across about fifty-five square miles on the eastern edge of Hampshire County, just west of the Quabbin Reservoir watershed. Most residents live near the town center or in dispersed rural-residential pockets around the villages of Dwight and North Station. The town has limited commercial activity and no dominant private employer identified in publicly available sources; it functions primarily as a bedroom community within the Springfield metropolitan area. Home values in the area are above the national median, though below the statewide average, and the most notable development story is the ongoing redevelopment of the former Belchertown State School site on the south side of town.
Chestnut Hill is one of several schools in the Belchertown district and serves the middle elementary grades—a transition period before students move to a separate middle school. Enrollment is large for a three-grade school, and the student body is predominantly white, with a modest share of Hispanic students and small numbers of Asian, Black, and multiracial students. Information on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch was not available in the data provided, so a parent wanting to understand the economic diversity of the school may want to ask the district directly.
Academic performance on the state’s NextGen MCAS assessments places Chestnut Hill below the midpoint among districts in Hampshire County when measured by an overall proficiency index across tested subjects. In the most recent testing year, English language arts proficiency stood at a level that has been fairly consistent over the past several years, hovering in the low to mid-forties. Mathematics proficiency was lower, in the low thirties, and has followed a similar pattern of year-to-year stability rather than clear upward or downward movement. Science proficiency, assessed at grade five, was higher than either math or ELA, reaching the midpoint on that single test. The school participated in testing at a high rate, which is a positive indicator that nearly all enrolled students took part.
Because Chestnut Hill serves only grades four through six, there is no graduation rate to report, and the school does not generate data on outcomes such as chronic absenteeism or college readiness that typically apply to high schools. The available data also does not include information on special education identification rates, English learner populations, discipline incidents, or course access beyond the tested subjects. Parents looking into these areas would need to seek that information from the school or district.
The school’s academic profile suggests it may be a good fit for families who value a stable, middle-years program in a rural town setting. The proficiency results, particularly in math, are an area where a family may want to look into further with the school to understand what supports are in place. The school’s setting on State Street places it near the town’s civic anchors—the Clapp Memorial Library, the Stone House Museum, Lake Wallace with its paved Sensory Trail—and the town common, which hosts the annual Belchertown Fair. Walkability is concentrated in the center, with most of the town requiring a car. For a family considering a move to Belchertown, the housing market is moderate compared to the rest of the state, and the town’s ongoing redevelopment of the former state school site may signal gradual growth. Chestnut Hill itself offers a straightforward program for the upper elementary grades, with no special magnet or charter designation and no Title I status indicated in the data.
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