Summary
Van Sickle Academy is a Springfield Public Schools middle school at 1170 Carew Street in Springfield, MA, serving 262 students in grades 6–8, and it ranked 430th of 478 Massachusetts schools in 2025–2026 — the 10th percentile, with 1 star — within a Springfield district that ranks 322nd of 351 districts statewide.
On the 2025–2026 MCAS, 17.5% of Van Sickle students were proficient in English language arts, 8.75% in math, 12.94% in science, and 17.86% in civics. All four remain far below state rates (40.03%, 41.11%, 40.98%, and 39.77%). The school trails the district in ELA, math, and science, but tops it in civics (13.49%). There are real bright spots: 8th-grade ELA (25%), 8th-grade science (12.94% vs. the district's 11.37%), and civics exceed district averages, and 7th-grade math (10.61%) does too — though 6th-grade math is very weak at 5.56%. Compared with nearby middle schools, Van Sickle outperforms Forest Park Middle, Impact Prep at Chestnut, Springfield Legacy Academy, and Van Sickle Prep in most subjects, but trails South End Middle School in ELA and math, and trails Chestnut Accelerated Middle School (Talented and Gifted) and Dupont Middle in all four subjects.
Subgroup results are mixed. Effectiveness for African American students reached the 41st percentile (2 stars) — well above the school's overall rank — while Hispanic (17th percentile), low-SES (16th), special education (5th), and English learner (3rd percentile, 2023–2024) results remain low. The 2024–2025 to 2025–2026 trend is concerning: rank fell from the 20th to the 10th percentile and all four subject scores declined. Its student–teacher ratio is 11.4, and 2020–2021 per-student spending was $18,846 — comparable to or above several neighbors, though Dupont Middle in Chicopee achieves much higher proficiency while spending less ($15,694). Free/reduced-lunch data were unavailable.
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