Diocese Terminating Worcester's La Familia Lease, School Moving

WORCESTER, MA — The Diocese of Worcester will terminate a Worcester elementary school's lease for space in a former Catholic school by June, forcing the school — which was the focus of a sex ed controversy earlier this year — to move.

Worcester Public Schools sent letters to parents Wednesday alerting them of the impending lease termination, and that the La Familia Dual Language school would be combined with Chandler Magnet School for at least the 2023-24 school year. The two schools are nearly four miles apart on opposite sides of the city.

Worcester's La Familia school drew attention in January when WPS officials confirmed to Patch that St. Stephen Monsignor Robert Johnson told the La Familia principal to move students off-site for sex ed classes. La Familia's new principal, Suzanna Resendes, initially agreed to the move, but district officials intervened to stop it.

Diocese of Worcester Bishop Robert McManus has opposed the district's new sex ed curriculum. But La Familia's lease with the diocese did not contain a provision requiring sex ed classes to be taught offsite, city and district officials have said.

The situation at La Familia also drew attention to the forthcoming Worcester Cultural Academy charter school because it will lease space from the diocese. A clause in the charter's lease with the diocese says the school cannot use the building for anything "inconsistent with the doctrines or teachings of the Roman Catholic Church."

WPS officials said all La Familia students will be guaranteed a spot when the school moves to Chandler in the fall.

"Chandler Magnet has the space and programming to accommodate La Familia. Chandler Magnet has a maximum enrollment capacity of 800 students; it currently has 402 and La Familia has 172. The merger will lend itself to collaboration of resources that will enhance the educational experiences of the students, and grow sustainable programming," the district said in a news release.

Officials did not mention ties to La Familia's sex education classes in a news release about the lease termination.

To prepare the families at each school for the move, the district will hold two forums for parents on April 11:

• La Familia School families at North High School, 140 Harrington Way, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
• Chandler Magnet School families at the school, 525 Chandler St., from 6 to 7:30 p.m.