The committee reviewed the Compass model — a Framingham High School approach for supporting students in foster care — and the administration recommended against adopting the Compass program districtwide at this time.

Tom Toney, who led the Framingham visit, described Compass as a model that pairs wellness‑room supports with stronger communication between schools, foster‑care advocates and the Department of Children and Families. "It was very comparable to our wellness rooms," Toney said, and the district said it would seek to pull useful practices into Worcester’s existing wellness rooms rather than implement a full Compass pilot immediately.

Deputy Superintendent Marie Morse told the committee that while Compass offers promising strategies, Worcester is not recommending districtwide adoption because of capacity, funding and coordination constraints. "We are currently not recommending that we take on the Compass model in Worcester Public Schools at this time," Morse said, adding that the district will instead work to improve communication with DCF and build on current wellness‑room staffing and practices.

Two motions were put to the committee. One asked the committee to file the item and not implement Compass while adopting recommended practices; another asked to hold the item for more information, including what elements Compass would accomplish that Worcester could not. Both motions failed on tied roll calls (each 2–2), so the item will remain on the department backup for further consideration and the administration will document learnings from the Framingham visit for future planning.

Several members urged caution about taking on a new program without additional funding and recommended piloting any new elements in a small number of schools first. The administration said it would continue conversations with Framingham and UMass and refine next steps.