Worcester Superintendent Addresses Student Safety Data, Orders Deeper Analysis

WORCESTER, MA — Worcester Public Schools Superintendent Brian E. Allen addressed last school year's safety incident data in a letter to families and staff on Tuesday.

Last week, data from the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years provided to the School Committee showed an increase in violent incidents at Worcester Public Schools. Now, Superintendent Allen said he has tasked a team with analyzing the data to identify any underlying trends.

Related: Violence Rose In Worcester Public Schools Last Year, Data Shows

The school district saw an increase in both physical and verbal assaults on employees, as well as more instances of fighting, marijuana use, and possession of weapons, like knives, according to the data.

"I strongly believe our schools are overwhelmingly safe and our proactive culture and climate initiatives are working well," said Superintendent Allen. "However, I will be directing some action steps to identify trends and determine disparities in the data shared, and ensure consistent training is in place to bolster safety for students and staff."

The data showed that there were 158 instances of physical assault on an employee in the 2024-2025 school year, up from 92 cases in the 2023-2024 school year. There were 127 instances of verbal assault on an employee in the 2024-2025 school year, up from a total of 107 in the 2023-2024 school year.

The percentage of both physical and verbal assaults on an employee went up by a considerable margin.

Related: Worcester School Ranked Best Public High School In MA, See The New Analysis

The data were not separated by elementary, middle, and high school levels, and didn't cover more than two school years, according to Superintendent Allen. But he said a new analysis will disaggregate the data by age group.

He added that the team will also "examine the frequency of incidents that involve students with severe special needs in which physical contact is related to their disability and may have been coded as an assault."

"I want to say unequivocally that it is never acceptable for any staff member or student to be physically assaulted or feel unsafe at school for any reason," said Superintendent Allen. "The safety and well-being of everyone is our highest priority."

You can read the complete letter from the Superintendent here.

See Also:

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