Press Release: 2025-03-12 00:00:00
Springfield School Creates Winning Attendance Video
Emergence Academy has top submission for Power of Presence initiative
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
3/11/2025
MEDIA CONTACT
Jacqueline Reis
Phone
Call Jacqueline Reis at 781-338-3115
Online
Email Jacqueline Reis at jreis@doe.mass.edu
SPRINGFIELD — Students at Emergence Academy, a middle/high school that is part of the Springfield Empowerment Zone and Springfield Public Schools, has won the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s Power of Presence initiative, which invited people to use their creativity to express why they attend school.
The winning submission is a video that shows the impact on a student’s classmates when the student is not in school, from an empty seat during class discussions to an empty soccer goal at recess. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) will release the video as a public service announcement on television later this month.
“We know how critical it is for students to be in school in order to learn, build relationships and receive supports such as school meals,” said Governor Maura Healey. “Who better than students to illustrate that message? Congratulations to Emergence Academy!”
“Our Administration has been working with districts to emphasize the importance of consistently attending school, and this public service announcement is a great reminder of that message,” said Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll. “I’m impressed with the creativity and work of the students and teachers who put this together!”
“When students miss school, it not only hurts their own learning, it also impacts their classmates and larger school community, which Emergence Academy captured succinctly,” said Education Secretary Patrick A. Tutwiler. “I’m grateful to everyone who submitted an entry for this initiative, sharing the many reasons they attend school.”
“We received over 150 submissions for this initiative, including poems, essays, paintings, drawings, sculptures and videos,” said Russell D. Johnston, acting commissioner of elementary and secondary education. “Each submission provided a window into the experiences that make students and teachers want to attend school every day."
The Power of Presence initiative launched at the start of the current school year, and DESE has been sharing some of the submissions via social media and will continue to do so. Today’s announcement is another effort within the administration’s work to raise awareness of attendance and reduce chronic absenteeism. Last year, the administration worked with the Celtics to celebrate schools with the largest drops in chronic absenteeism.
Although attendance has begun to rebound, it is still lower statewide than it was before the pandemic, making it harder for students to recover academically. At the end of the 2018-19 school year, chronic absenteeism was at 12.9 percent statewide; at the end of the 2023-24 school year, it was 19.7 percent. Students are chronically absent if they miss 10 percent or more of the school year.
About Emergence Academy:
Emergence Academy opened in 2021 and is designed to serve students with interrupted formal education who are new to the U.S.
About the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership:
The Springfield Empowerment Zone is a group of 16 schools run through a partnership between the Springfield Public Schools, the Springfield teachers’ union, and DESE. It was created in 2014.