Guest column: Commitment in action vowed for Worcester students in new school year
Welcome to our new year!
Worcester Public Schools is thrilled to open our doors on Monday to more than 24,000 beautiful and brilliant scholars.When I wrote an op-ed eight months ago, as I continued with my first year as superintendent, I made a commitment that as a school district, we would collectively lean in, act courageously, ignore the noise and stay focused on our purpose: to educate all children.
Since then, we have worked diligently to put this commitment into action. Here are some highlights on how WPS is prepared to lean in, act courageously and stay focused on educating all children this school year:
Restructuring district support: We have restructured district office staff to work in integrated teams whose sole purpose is to support schools in achieving improved outcomes for all children. We call this new structure our quadrant teams, or “Q-Teams,” which are each assigned to support schools in one of the four geographic quadrants in the district.
Members of the Q-Teams are current WPS educators from various departments, including educational technology, special education, multilingual education, and culture and climate. Instead of working primarily in the central office, all Q-Team members will now spend 80% or more of their work week at schools supporting principals, teachers, counselors and other support staff to ensure a higher level of student care, boots-on-the-ground support and collective accountability.
The Q-Teams will provide a level of shared accountability and responsibility between district office and school sites.
Building and honoring authentic leadership practices: Every school deserves a principal, and every department deserves a director, who sees the value in the people they lead. This includes engaging authentically with a variety of perspectives and creating environments where everyone feels like they belong. These environments are essential to ensuring our scholars can learn at their optimal levels of brilliance. This school year, we will place an emphasis on developing and strengthening school leadership. Schools are where the community, caregivers and children spend their time. District leadership will support school leaders and classroom educators as they create inclusive, caring and engaging learning environments.Review of multilingual and special education service programming: Our scholars who participate in our specialized programs are not achieving like they can and should. Continuing to do the same thing and expecting different results does not demonstrate courage. We must be willing to examine root issues and create a path forward to success. We will spend extra time this year examining these two specialized programs with clear action steps for improvement. Our scholars and caregivers deserve nothing less.
Intentional priorities for success: We are focusing on two priorities this school year: literacy at our elementary schools and engagement at our secondary schools. Our elementary children must be readers and consumers of knowledge through the written text. We have committed to dramatically increasing the number of children reading at grade level. Our middle and high school students are craving learning experiences that they can connect with. Outside of the school day, our youth are launching their own YouTube Channels, setting up online businesses and creating their own podcasts. We must come along and engage them with hands-on, relevant learning experiences. They demanded it of us and we must be courageous and rise to the challenge.
As the second year of my superintendency begins, I continue to welcome you to join WPS in this exciting time of its history. Our theme for this year is "Be the Spark." We want to nurture a culture where innovation, curiosity and experimentation is the norm. We want a culture where mistakes are recognized and accepted as part of the learning experience. Each one of us can and must spark interest, creativity and a joy of learning in all our children. This is how WPS will continue to lean in, act courageously, ignore the noise and stay focused on educating all children. I look forward to leading this culture alongside you. From here, anywhere … together.
Rachel H. Monárrez is superintendent of the Worcester Public Schools
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester schools chief Rachel Monarrez vows action as classes open
