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Worcester superintendent highlights year of assessment gains, new teacher pipeline and boundary planning
Summary
Superintendent Allen reported year-end progress for 2025-26: STAR Reading and Math reached 35% meeting benchmarks with strong within-year gains, collaborative teaming expanded across schools, a 41-student grow-your-own educator cohort launched, and boundary realignment scenarios are due in August for public review.
Superintendent Allen presented the Worcester Public Schools' 2025-26 annual goals and year-end outcomes, saying the district saw its largest within-year gains in recent history and laid groundwork for future improvements. "On both STAR Reading and STAR Math, 35 percent of our students ended the year meeting or exceeding benchmark," Allen told the committee, noting reading improved by six percentage points and math by five.
The presentation said within-year growth in 2026 was the highest observed in a five-year span and that the share of students in the lowest-performing category on STAR Reading fell to 31 percent. Allen framed the superintendent's goals as a mix of a student learning goal, a professional practice goal and three district improvement goals tied to instruction, communication and organizational alignment.
On collaborative practices, Allen reported a district tracker showed 84 percent of team meetings implemented four core collaborative practices and that 38 of 49 schools (78 percent) met the fidelity benchmark for collaborative teaming. "These data points indicate that the district is making substantive progress towards the professional practice goal," he said.
Allen also reviewed the district's grow-your-own workforce strategy for recruiting future teachers: an inaugural cohort of 41 students participated in college and career-connected learning activities, 78 percent of cohort students are students of color, 13 students completed an early-college education course at Worcester State University, and the district held a Future Educators signing day.
On facilities and enrollment planning, Allen described the school boundary and quadrant alignment project designed to target 85 percent building capacity and align feeders from elementary through high school. He said initial scenarios would be released in August with at least three months of public input and that some changes could begin in the 2027-28 school year.
Committee members praised the results and asked for follow-up materials. One member said the progress on graduation rates, expanded middle-school sports and restored elementary libraries was encouraging and urged continuity into future planning. The committee noted that evaluation materials for the superintendent are due to the superintendent's office by July 31, with the formal evaluation scheduled for the August 13 meeting.
Next steps: the committee requested additional documentation (an assessment list and an assessment-report update to appear in the fall) and committed to reviewing the proposed boundary scenarios when they are released for public comment.
