District Download April 2025

Abby Kelley will be closed tomorrow, Friday, April 18 and all of next week April 21-25. School will reopen on Monday, April 28. Wishing you all a joyous Passover, Easter, or other tradition you celebrate this time of year.

Now that our snow days are behind us (WE HOPE!), we are able to predict more accurately when the last day(s) of school will be for this school year.

Grades K-7 have only had two snow days this year and, therefore, they will done on Thursday, June 12, 2025. There will be a half day that day for ALL students with High School/Middle School dismissed approximately 10:35 and Elementary School dismissed at 11:45 p.m.

Grades 8-11 have had four no-school days, both for snow and due to the flood in the High School in early January. Therefore, the students in grades 8-11 will have their last day of school on Monday, June 16, 2025. Please check your school's/principal's newsletter for more information especially about their final schedule and dismissal times.

Elementary and Middle School last day of school will be June 12 (1/2 day)

High School (grades 8-11) last day of school will be June 16 (1/2 day)

Reminder: These dates are subject to change especially in New England.

The Abby Kelley Foster Charter School Board of Trustees voted and approved recently the 2025-2026 Academic Calendar. Although all dates are subject to change, we encourage you to take a look to plan for next school year. Any questions please contact your student's school or info@akfcs.org.

Spanish Version 2025-2026 Family Calendar

Portuguese Version 2025-2026 Family Calendar

As we wrap up the last few weeks of the year, each school will be bustling with a variety of exciting activities and events designed to enhance student success both in and out of the classroom.

Congratulations to the 21 students from Abby Kelley Foster Charter High School who were inducted recently into the National Honor Society. We are so proud of all the students for this amazing accomplishment, which requires high standards of scholarship, service, leadership and character. Well done!!

The Multilingual Learning (MLL) Department hosted an event titled How Do You Take Your Rice and Fairytales from Around the World. Families engaged in literacy based activities through crafts, recipes and games. The Frances Perkins Library joined us and provided families with various resources. Our neighbors also issued library cards on the spot for interested families!

Mark your calendar for the Class of 2025 Commencement. The ceremony begins at 6:00 p.m. on the Abby Kelley Foster Charter School athletic fields. (Rain date and more information on the event is on our website.) Our AKFCS community is welcome to join us for this celebration to wish our graduates well as they conclude their journey at Abby Kelley.

Volunteers from Working4Worcester, a college student organization, spruced up a section for gardens outside the Elementary School playground. Despite the gloomy weather, these volunteers from Holy Cross transformed the space into a clean garden area with handmade planters. AKFCS also had students from Assumption University as part in their 1904 Day of Service come to volunteer in the Elementary School. Those students prepared classroom materials, assisted teachers, and worked with our elementary school students.A special thank you to the volunteers and the colleges, AKFCS Executive Director Paluk, Facilities Director Andrew Cruickshank, Elementary Principal Noonan, and our teachers and students for being so welcoming.

AKF proudly showcased the creativity and talent of our students during Youth Art Month at the Worcester Art Museum. This event featured an impressive collection of artwork from each of our schools, highlighting the unique perspectives and artistic expressions of our young artists (artwork by Yvette Quayson pictured to the right). The exhibition not only celebrated their hard work and dedication, Abby Kelly Foster Charter School continues to support the development of our bright and talented artists.

Abby Kelley Foster Educational Foundation is to enhance and support of any or all of the school’s educational and mission driven programs and activities. With great enthusiasm, the Foundation awarded several grants this year.

• Author Rajani LaRocca will come to Abby Kelley this spring through the Foundation's support. Sixth grade is currently reading Red, White and Whole by Rajani in ELA. In addition, her books Sona and the Golden Beast and Mirror to Mirror are on the summer reading list.

Consider supporting the AKFCS Foundation with a financial donation to help support grants like author visits that inspire our students. To make a school year end donation, click here.

During the 2024 elections, Massachusetts voters passed the elimination of MCAS as a state requirement for High School Graduation. The regulations turn the decision over to the local school districts to determine the role MCAS plays in a students graduation requirement/competency determination. Earning a competency determination used to be based on a student’s results on their High School ELA, Math and Biology MCAS scores. Through the passing of Question 2 the competency determination is now up to the school district(s) to set the determination based on the successful completion of coursework listed below.

Current Abby Kelley Graduation Requirements

• English four full year literature courses
• Mathematics four full year courses
• History four full year courses
• Science four full year courses
• Foreign Language two full years of French or Spanish
• Fine Arts 1.5 years (music/band/choir, art and one additional selection)
• Civics one full year course
• PE/Health four semesters-one per year
• Electives: Offered Junior and Senior year only
• Community Service: 50 hours over 4 years

We believe that parents/families choose Abby Kelley Foster Charter School because of our high academic expectations, as well as our commitment to a rigorous curriculum. For these reasons, the Abby Kelley Foster Board of Trustees has voted to keep the requirement for students to pass the 9th and 10th grade Biology, ELA and Math MCAS exams as a graduation requirement.

Graduation requirements for the class of 2025 and beyond:

• Completion of coursework listed above;
• Passing score on Biology, Math and ELA High School MCAS;
• Completion of 50 hours of community service (from 9th-12th grade)

What does this mean for your student at AKFCS?

There is no change to how things have been done at Abby Kelley. We will still expect full participation of all students during the annual MCAS testing in Math, ELA and Biology. Additionally, we will expect passing courses in all of the academic requirements and completion of community service. In the 27 year history of Abby Kelley, we are proud to say our students consistently pass these assessments; and we never had a student that did not graduate because of not passing MCAS.

We see the continuation of the MCAS assessment – along with the rigorous graduation standards– as a commitment to ensuring AKFCS students and teachers continue to strive for the academic excellence that is part of the Abby Kelley mission.