WPS in Brief: March 2024
Alternative education, future ready pathways, school food
Bill here real quick. WPS In Brief is a new Worcester Sucks column and it’s a great addition!
Please consider a paid subscription so I can keep paying for Aislinn’s work on here :-)
Also, if you want Aislinn’s short and sweet school committee previews in your inbox, head to the settings page and toggle this grey button to green.
Welcome to another issue of WPS in Brief. This month covers key topics from two school committee meetings and two standing committee meetings.
Before we start, just a reminder that even though I'm not touching on it below, the budget for next school year still sucks, and we’ve got to keep talking about it! If you don’t know what I'm referring to, the district is looking at a $22 million budget gap. For the details, read last month’s brief. The budget is also the topic of the Citywide Parent Planning Advisory Council (CPPAC) tomorrow, March 27 at 6pm at Chandler Magnet. It’s a great place to learn more and ask questions.
Ok let’s dive in:
Alternative Programs
At the March 7 school committee meeting the Academic Support Office gave an update on the alternative programs and also reviewed the results of a report on those programs by the Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy. Alternative Education is defined in Massachusetts as an initiative in a public school district “to serve at-risk students whose needs are not being met in the traditional school setting.”
The focus of the presentation was on the alternative programs at the Gerald Creamer Center and Challenge and Reach. Here are the strengths and challenges of the programs according to the report:
Recommendations and priorities moving forward include: Developing a vision and mission, ensuring equitable accessibility, creating a clear program and goals with consistent benchmarks for entrance and exits and providing high-quality programming. The presentation did not include the Alternative School (previously known as the Alternative School at St. Casmir’s) or the Academic Center for Transition. Because both those schools focus on students with IEPs, they will be discussed during the Special Education Report scheduled for the April 4 school committee meeting.
There were quite a few specific questions by member Maureen Binienda (at-large) after the presentation, and that leads us to…
Meeting Moment to Watch
I recommend reading what Bill Shaner writes about this exchange, including a potential conflict of interest. And if you’re interested in a detailed play-by-play of the presentation and questions afterwards, Tracy O’Connell Novick offers that in her blog too.
Future-Ready Pathways
At the March 21 school committee meeting the report of the Superintendent was on “future-ready pathways.” It focused on updates on the implementation of the Vision of a Learner and how the district is developing a pre-K-12 future-ready pathway for students. In the WPS five-year strategic plan there is an aim to “Grow and create equitable future-ready learning environments and opportunities to ensure our scholars are prepared for the evolving world.” One of the goals under that aim is that by the end of the 2027-2028 school year all schools will implement the WPS Vision of a Learner. As part of that vision, there are skills and dispositions that the district wants students to develop and hone by the time they graduate (see graphic above).
The implementation for the Vision of a Learner has been referred to as the “spark plan.” For the current school year Wawecus Road elementary school has been the beta “spark” school and is helping the district to think through how to take the model district-wide. In addition to Wawecus, there are “spark” teachers at schools across the district implementing these ideas in their classrooms.
The presentation also touched on how the district is building a holistic pre-k-12 future ready pathway that they are infusing with the Vision of Learner. The pathways already exist in some ways, but they are working to make it stronger and more equitable. There are nine key priorities as they develop this pathway, including curriculum and instruction, college prep programs, career guidance and exploration, assessment and data analysis, resource allocation and support services, family and community engagement, technology integration, success tracking, and policy review.
For high school students there are 30 technical vocational programs, 7 “innovation career pathways” programs, as well as free early college and AP classes offered. The presentation reinforced a theme we have seen emphasized by the Superintendent and her administrative team, and that is, as she puts it, moving from “a district that houses 46 schools to being a school district that offers opportunity and access to all our scholars.”
School Calendars Approved
The committee approved the school calendar for the next three years. It now includes Indigenous People’s Day alongside Columbus Day, as well as election days off for students in November and March. They aren’t posted on the WPS website that I could find, but I’m sure the district will share them when they are.
Potential Burncoat Middle Renovation
WPS submitted to the City Council a statement of interest to include Burncoat Middle School in the MSBA rebuild process of Burncoat High School. The rationale is that the two schools share some mechanical infrastructure and instructional programs. Administration wrote in the back up that “The determination by the city whether to combine the high school and middle school into a shared facility (but remain as two separate schools) would be determined during the feasibility study of the project. That project timeline is expected to take place between 2025-2028.” The item was held at the March 19 City Council meeting by District 3 Councilor George Russell and there is an item from Russell on the March 26 City Council agenda asking for more clarification on how adding Burncoat Middle will affect the debt and a timeline for when Worcester East Middle could get a similar replacement.
School Food
At the March 21 school committee meeting there was an item from Member Alex Guardiola (district D) asking for a report on school meals and nutrition. A group of students from Forest Grove Middle School spoke during public comment on a survey they conducted on the food offered at school. The Telegram covered this part of the meeting well. As referenced by the students in their public comments, here’s a menu for WPS elementary schools (⅔ of them have pizza twice a week), versus a menu for an elementary school in Springfield Public Schools. In December the Finance and Operations standing committee discussed a similar item on aligning school nutrition with student cultural and dietary needs. The nutrition department has a plan to roll out some changes, but a huge challenge is staffing. And just in case you missed this fun fact from the agenda preview: the Assistant Director of Food Services, Ashley Hayes, was a long time executive chef who beat Bobby Flay. In her new role she is working on culinary innovation.
Recommended Reads
Alleged child sex abuser admitted to Worcester elementary school
Hear about a lawyer’s experience shadowing a principal at Lincoln St. School
Worcester’s varsity rugby team is starting it’s first versity season.
Electric School Buses are coming to Worcester
Worcester Research Bureau Report on Investing in WPS School Facilities
It has been a hard year for WPS in many ways, so I appreciated this story on the WPS crisis intervention team.
Upcoming Dates
Citywide Parent Planning Advisory Council (CPPAC) meets March 27 at 6pm at Chandler Magnet. Guest speaker Brian Allen will be presenting the budget.
School Committee Meetings are April 4 and April 25, 5:30pm
Teaching, Learning and Student Supports is April 22, 5:30pm
Finance, Operations and Governance is April 1 and April 29, 4:45pm
Also
Here’s the most recent organizational chart for WPS, posted by Member Molly McCullough (distric A) on Twitter. Really helpful to have an understanding on how the district is currently organized.
I hope these briefs are helping you stay informed without feeling overwhelmed. If they are, please consider a paid subscription or a tip to support our work. See you next month.