New Springfield Schools Superintendent Sonia Dinnall transitions into role, prepares for school year

Students, families and educators are gearing up for the start of the school year — and so is Sonia Dinnall, who was recently sworn in as Springfield schools superintendent.

At a New North Citizens Council (NNCC) back-to-school party at Roberto Clemente Field in the city’s Brightwood neighborhood on Friday — her 15th day on the job — Dinnall said the transition to her new role has been one successful.

“Everyone went out of their way to make sure I had all the knowledge and information I needed to hit the ground running and make the decisions I needed to make,” she said.

Dinnall said he is listening to principals and families, working with staff and analyzing data to determine what the priorities will be, but hopes to see participation rates improve as the year begins.

“We have to make sure our families understand that school is a priority,” she said. “Presence matters. Attendance is critical. Attendance is important.”

State data from the Department of Education and Secondary Education show Springfield’s participation rate last year was 90.5 percent, just below the state average of 92.5 percent. More than one-third of the district’s students (35.6%) were labeled as chronically absent, which is significantly higher than the state average (22.2%).

“Thank you in advance to our families for ensuring that our chronic absenteeism rate drops significantly and our average daily attendance rate increases significantly,” Dinnall said. “The only way we can do that is if our families and our students partner with us and come to school every day – 180 days is not a lot of days. We need you there every day.”

The NNCC event featured local organizations and vendors such as Summer Eats, New England Dairy, ParentChild+ and more.

Kids got to pick out a free backpack and school supplies, paint artwork, ride Springfield Police horses and get their hair done at a pop-up barbershop and salon.

“For us, it’s very important because we want to make sure they go back to school prepared,” said Jason Carrasquillo, NNCC’s after-school program operations manager.

Carrasquillo said the after-school program, NNCC Youth, will start again toward the end of September. The program runs five days a week with activities such as sports, art therapy and music production, he said.

“We’re just providing free opportunities so that young people can participate and feel like they’re part of something much bigger than themselves,” he said.

Springfield Schools grades 1-12 will return on August 26. Kindergarten and Kindergarten start the following week.