Springfield Legacy Academy

Demographics

Percentage of students*

Why Springfield Legacy Academy was nominated

One of just two dual language middle schools in the state, Legacy Academy centers on bilingualism, biculturalism, and biliteracy in Spanish and English. Staffed by over 60% bilingual educators — several of whom are from Argentina, Columbia, Jamaica, Mexico, and Spain — the school implements the only public school sports education model in Massachusetts, built on the framework of the Fugees Family network of schools, designed explicitly to support emerging bilinguals through a focus on the universal language of sport. Legacy’s small, grade-level Community Learning Teams ensure deep personalization and individual support to students.

Student experience design

We look to create a student experience in our school learning environment that aims to affirm students' culture, provides space for celebration of bilingualism as part of our dual language program, and looks to foster an equitable and positive school culture with a focus on strengthening relationships and connections between individuals, both youth and adults, in our school community.

Core Practices

Core Practices	Length of Use
Bilingual Assessments	1-2 years
Dual Language Programming	1-2 years
No Tracked Classes	3-4 years
High Quality Instructional Materials	3-4 years
Restorative Practices	1-2 years

All Practices

Adaptive Learning Software

Anti-racist Practices

Assessments For Social-emotional Skills

Extended Learning Time

Hiring For Equity And Inclusion Values

Mental Health Services

key reasons for innovating