UP Academy: Holland Elementary School exits receivership after 12 years
On July 1, the UP Academy Holland reverted in name and function to the John P. Holland Elementary School, officially exiting state receivership status after 12 years under the management of the non-profit UP Education Network.
In December, the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) voted to allow the K-6 school on Olney Street, with an enrollment of 628 last year, to exit the UP network’s oversight, which began in 2014 when it became Level 5 and was labeled a “chronically underperforming school” that required a takeover.
“I commend the students, families, educators, staff and leaders of Holland, both past and present, for their relentless striving toward excellence that has improved student learning outcomes, including meeting 90 percent of the school’s annual improvement targets in the 2025 state accountability results,” wrote DESE Commissioner Pedro Martinez in December.
“I am grateful,” he added, “for the commitment of UP Education Network to sustaining the school’s transformative culture throughout its period of state receivership, by continuously refining professional learning systems and investing in innovative learning experiences for all students.”
The Holland is one of the few schools put into receivership in the early 2000s that emerged better and didn’t close, said Hillary Casson, CEO of UP Education Network and before that a long-time administrator at the Holland. The Paul Dever School on Columbia Point was also put into receivership around the same time, but didn’t improve greatly and closed this June.
Read the full story via The Dorchester Reporter >>> https://www.dotnews.com/2026/07/21/holland-elementary-school-exits-receivership-after-12-years/