State lets Fall River keep Evolve Academy's virtual and hybrid FLEX Pathway for two more school years

FALL RIVER Fall River Public Schools can keep running the FLEX Pathway at Evolve Academy, a virtual and hybrid high school program for up to 30 students, this school year and next, after the state's education commissioner waived the rule that school be mostly in person.

Commissioner Pedro Martinez granted the waiver for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years, he told the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in an Oct. 15 memo posted with the documents for the board's meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 27. The memo was listed for the board's information, not for a vote. The board gave the commissioner the power to grant these waivers for good cause in April 2013. The program serves students in grades 9 to 12 "who face significant barriers to traditional full-time, in-person schooling," the memo says. It ran last school year under a waiver granted for 2025-26, and the district asked for two years to continue it.

What the FLEX Pathway is

The memo describes a model that mixes competency-based and project-based learning with virtual lessons students work through on their own schedule, hybrid instruction, daily check-ins and individual supports. The waiver covers the in-person part of the state's learning time rules and lets Evolve run the program "as described in its 2026 application materials."

Under those rules, school committees must schedule at least 185 days, hold at least 180, and give high school students at least 990 hours of structured learning a year. Independent study and technology-assisted learning can count toward that time, but they cannot be the main way a school teaches. The waivers exist so districts can try programs meant to improve learning, the memo says.

Where Fall River fits statewide

Martinez granted six waivers for this school year. Fall River is the only South Coast district on the list. Framingham, for up to 150 students, and Springfield, for about 90 to 130 students, also got two years. Palmer, Quabbin Regional and Westfield received one-year waivers, and Holyoke and Lawrence are in the second year of waivers granted in 2025.

Each district must finish an evaluation plan, and the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education checks program data twice a year while a waiver is in effect, the memo says.

Evolve, now its own school

Evolve Academy became its own school in September and is no longer a program inside B.M.C. Durfee High School, according to its website. It moved into what it calls its own dedicated building at 290 Rock St.

Attendance rose from 50% in 2019 to 85% in 2026, and the graduation rate went from 60% in 2020 to 84% in 2025, the school reports. The Class of 2026, with 49 graduates, was its largest.

Evolve describes itself as a pathway of choice that students apply to. Classes are capped at about 15 students, and students can earn up to 25 credits a semester to get back on track toward graduation. They can also take Durfee electives when schedules allow, and the school can connect them to internships, early college and dual enrollment, employment support and independent studies, the school's FAQ says.

How students apply

Evolve's online application asks whether the student would like to learn more about a hybrid model that offers both in-person and virtual learning. After the school's team reviews an application, it emails the guardian a link to schedule an interview for the student and the guardian.

What families should know

• Evolve Academy, 290 Rock St., Fall River, can be reached at 508-675-8230.
• The application is at evolve.fallriverschools.org/apply.
• There is no school for Evolve students on Tuesday, Nov. 3, a professional development day on the school's calendar.
• Evolve parent and teacher conferences are Nov. 17, from 5 to 7 p.m.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.