The top reported proficiency rate is 6% in Math. The lowest is 5% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Maurice a Donahue Elementary
Maurice A Donahue Elementary is a regular public school in Holyoke, Massachusetts, serving students from prekindergarten through fifth grade. It sits within the Holyoke Public Schools district, a system that has been under state receivership for a number of years and is classified as “requiring assistance or intervention,” a designation that applies to nearly every school in the district. The district’s revenue is overwhelmingly funded by the state, with a notably small portion coming from local property taxes, a structural reality that families considering the district should understand.
Holyoke itself is a small industrial city with a deep history in paper manufacturing, once producing a large portion of the writing paper used in the country. It retains specialty manufacturing and is home to an intercollegiate research computing center. The city has experienced population decline from a historic peak, and its demographic makeup has shifted substantially. The school is located in a residential area of the city, within a grid-planned downtown that includes historic mill buildings, a canal system, and civic amenities like Heritage State Park.
Donahue Elementary enrolls a student body that is overwhelmingly Hispanic or Latino, with a smaller share of white students, and very small populations of Black, Asian, and multiracial students. The school serves a large number of students in its prekindergarten program, which is a substantial part of its enrollment. The share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch was not available in the data provided.
State testing results for Donahue are very low. In the most recent year, proficiency rates in math, English language arts, and science all fell in the single digits. The school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades placed it in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Hampden County. The multi-year trend data shows that proficiency rates have been in the low single digits to low teens for the past several years, with no sustained upward trajectory. A very small number of students reached the proficient level on each tested subject. Participation rates in the state assessments were high, so the results reflect the performance of nearly all enrolled students in the tested grades.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Data on chronic absenteeism, student discipline, course access, and staffing was not available in the provided information. Similarly, information on the school’s Title I status and the share of students with disabilities or who are English learners was not provided.
For a parent or resident evaluating Donahue Elementary, the core takeaway is that academic achievement, as measured by state tests, is very low and has been persistently so over time. The school sits within a district that operates under state receivership and a funding model that is heavily dependent on state aid, factors that shape the resources and programming available. The school’s prekindergarten program is a notable feature for families with young children. A parent might want to look into what specific supports and interventions the school offers for students who are not yet meeting grade-level benchmarks, as well as how the district’s receivership status affects day-to-day operations and instructional priorities.
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