Inside the Tuition-Free Public School Where College Starts in 9th Grade. Veritas Prep Charter School.

SPRINGFIELD, MA — Rachel Romano never set out to found a school. She set out to teach.

For six years, Romano taught in Springfield, working with middle school students during one of the most formative stretches of their lives. She loved the classroom, the relationships, the daily breakthroughs. But alongside the joy came a persistent frustration: the sense that too many decisions affecting students were constrained by systems that could not move fast enough or flex far enough.

“I kept seeing opportunities to make things better for kids,” she recalls. “But there were always limits on what we could change.”

That tension eventually led her beyond her own classroom and into leadership roles, where she found herself asking a larger question:

What could a school become if educators truly had the autonomy to design around students’ needs?

The answer took shape in 2012 with the founding of Veritas Prep Charter School.

No Gimmicks. Just the Work.

In an educational landscape often filled with branding language and themed academies, Veritas Prep stands apart in a quieter way. There is no flashy tagline defining its identity. No trendy hook.

Instead, the school’s reputation has been built on something less marketable but deeply consequential: consistency.

Walk through the halls and the tone is immediately clear. Classrooms are structured. Expectations are visible. Transitions are orderly. Students understand that learning is not incidental here. It is the central purpose of the building.

Romano describes the philosophy simply:

“We don’t believe in lowering the bar for students. We believe in helping them reach it.”

Where Honesty Replaces Assumptions

One of the defining differences families encounter at Veritas Prep is the school’s directness about academic progress.

Romano has seen the pattern many times. A parent arrives concerned after a first report card, confused by grades that look different from prior years.

Sometimes the conversation reveals something more fundamental:

A student who earned A’s elsewhere but is not yet reading on grade level.

“These can be hard conversations,” Romano says. “But they’re often the turning point.”

At Veritas Prep, identifying gaps is not viewed as a setback. It is viewed as critical information. From there, targeted supports, interventions, and specialists step in.

The premise is straightforward:

Students cannot close gaps they do not know exist.
Families cannot advocate without clarity.
Progress begins with truth.

College Readiness as an Option, Not an Obligation

Romano is keenly aware of the national conversation questioning the value of college. Rising tuition costs. Student debt burdens. Alternative career paths.

But she draws an important distinction.

“We’re not saying every student must go to college,” she explains. “We’re saying every student deserves to be prepared to choose it.”

At Veritas Prep High School, that preparation moves beyond theory. Through its Early College model, students can begin earning real college credits as early as ninth grade. Many graduate with a year or more completed. Nearly half of recent seniors have earned an Associate’s Degree from Springfield Technical Community College alongside their high school diploma.

For families, the implications are significant:

Reduced tuition costs
Shorter time to bachelor’s degrees
Greater postsecondary flexibility

For students, the effect is often psychological as much as academic.

“They don’t just hope they can succeed in college,” Romano says. “They’ve already done college-level work.”

A Culture of Ownership

Another hallmark of the Veritas Prep experience is student responsibility.

Instead of traditional parent teacher conferences, students lead discussions about their own progress. They present strengths, challenges, goals, and reflections directly to their families.

The practice reinforces a central belief:

Success is not something delivered to students.
It is something developed within them.

Small by Design

With roughly 100 students per grade, Veritas Prep operates at a scale that allows for close visibility.

Teachers know their students.
Struggles surface early.
Strengths are noticed.
Relationships deepen over time.

In a city where families often worry about students getting lost in large systems, that intimacy matters.

Beyond Academics

While the school’s academic focus is unmistakable, Veritas Prep’s culture extends beyond coursework.

Students participate in athletics, including a boys varsity basketball program that recently advanced deep into postseason play. Others find identity through orchestra, drumline, theater productions, chess club, honor societies, and nationally competitive e-gaming teams.

Because preparation for life, Romano argues, is multidimensional.

“Kids need structure and rigor,” she says. “But they also need joy, connection, and belonging.”

The Entry Point That Matters Most

Each year, Veritas Prep enrolls approximately 100 fifth graders, the school’s primary entry grade and the point offering families the strongest likelihood of securing a seat.

Openings in later grades are limited and typically tied to attrition.

For high school families, ninth grade provides another opportunity for entry, with a smaller number of available seats.

Dates That Carry Weight

Application Deadline: February 20, 2026
Final Lottery: February 27, 2026

Opportunities rarely announce themselves twice.

Missing the deadline doesn’t just delay paperwork.
It can delay possibility.

For families who secure a seat, this is often where confidence grows, expectations rise, and college pathways begin to feel real.

Submit your application today at VeritasPrepMA.org

A School Defined by Intent

More than a decade after opening, Veritas Prep’s identity remains rooted in the same principle that sparked its founding:

That students rise when expectations are clear.
That support must match ambition.
That preparation should expand options, not narrow them.

And that a school’s real story is not found in slogans…

…but in the futures taking shape inside its classrooms.

Putting Enrollment Front and Center Across Springfield

As enrollment season intensifies, Veritas Prep Charter School is expanding its outreach beyond traditional channels. This year, the school has partnered with Stand Out Truck® to deliver its message directly into Springfield neighborhoods through mobile digital billboards, placing enrollment awareness where families live, work, and commute.

The campaign is further strengthened through a coordinated radio and digital audio strategy powered by Audacy, ensuring parents encounter the same message across the environments they move through each day, on the road, at home, and on their devices. For school leaders, the strategy reflects a clear priority: meeting families where they are so that opportunity is discovered by design.

To learn how Stand Out Truck® and Audacy can help your business or organization, visit www.StandOutTruck.com/contact or call 413-356-0820.