WORCESTER – School Committee members on Thursday were encouraged by the district’s latest graduation and dropout rate improvements, in particular by the better results for the system’s English language learners.
School officials consequently floated the theory that ELLs’ success stemmed in part from the state’s sidelining of the MCAS graduation requirement for those students last spring because of the pandemic.
Committee member Tracy O’Connell Novick moved for the district to formally testify to the state that Worcester’s improved ELL graduation and dropout rates speak to the “artificial barrier” created by the MCAS, and that those students would be better served by a different evaluation to determine their readiness to leave school.
Worcester School Committee adds more synchronous learning to meet new state regulation, but student says it won’t help with mental health
Updated Jan 07, 2021;
Fatimah Daffaie, one of the student representatives of the Worcester School Committee, said Thursday night that many of her peers are wishing for more time to make personal connections at school as classes remain online.
The committee on Thursday night voted to approve new class schedules in order to adhere to requirements voted on last month by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. The new recommendations require remote districts like Worcester to offer 40 hours of synchronous instruction over a two-week period and daily synchronous instruction, mainly based on concerns about students’ mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.