MA Ed Commissioner Backs Worcester Charter School Ahead Of Vote

WORCESTER, MA — The state's education commissioner is in support of a new charter school opening in Worcester, despite forceful opposition from Worcester Public Schools and city leaders.

In a memo Wednesday to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education board, Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley says he supports the Worcester Cultural Academy, and called for a special meeting to discuss the school's charter on Monday.

The DESE board is set to hold its regular meeting on Tuesday, where a possible vote to approve the charter school could happen.

"I am recommending that the board vote on Feb. 28 to grant a charter to the proposed Worcester Cultural Academy Charter Public school," Riley said in the memo.

Both the Worcester School Committee and Worcester City Council held nonbinding votes at the end of 2022 to oppose the charter school. DESE also hosted a public hearing on the school at Quinsigamond Community College on Dec. 9, where many spoke in opposition.

The proposed school, which would be connected to the Old Sturbridge Village Charter in Sturbridge, would operate using money from Worcester Public Schools — about $7 million, according to school district estimates. That would eat up a majority of $12 million in new state funds coming to Worcester through the Student Opportunity Act, officials have said.

According to the Worcester Cultural Academy's application, the school would be free and initially serve students in kindergarten to 4th grade. The school backers hope to open in a former Catholic school at 81 Plantation St. The lease of the Catholic church have raised concerns the charter school may not remain secular.

Although linked to Sturbridge Village, the school will run under a model designed by EL Education, a New York company that has designed curriculum and other services for dozens of charter schools across the U.S., including Christa McAuliffe in Framingham.

In a memo to the DESE board, Riley highlighted EL Education's other Massachusetts charter schools as beneficial for Worcester-area students.

"The proposed school design is based upon the EL Education model that focuses on three aspects of student achievement: mastery of knowledge and skills, character, and high-quality student work. The proposed school will implement all aspects of the EL Education model, including learning expeditions; student-self assessment structures, such as student-led conferences at all grades; and whole school community structures, such as daily advisories and community meetings," he wrote.

Riley also lauded the leadership of the proposed school, whose board will include an unnamed former Worcester city councilor and local university and nonprofit leaders; and a principal who worked in Fitchburg Public Schools.

The DESE board meeting begins at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the department's headquarters in Malden, but will also be live-streamed.