After spending more than 90 minutes on budget discussions, the Worcester School Committee turned its attention Thursday night to several smaller but lingering issues, including an aviation career program, policy changes, digital hall passes and the future home of the district’s Transition Program.
District hopes aviation class will take off
One of the first items was a report from the administration regarding the potential expansion of the Worcester Aviation Career Exploration Club, a Scouting America program currently available to certain Worcester middle school students.
Twenty-three students from Sullivan Middle School and Forest Grove Middle School are enrolled in the program. The schools were chosen because of their proximity to Worcester Regional Airport. The program was developed through a partnership among Worcester Public Schools, the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, Scouting America, Worcester Regional Airport and the Massachusetts Port Authority, with aviation companies including Atlantic Aviation, JetBlue, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines helping introduce students to careers in the field. According to the chamber, the initiative was designed to expose students to aviation careers earlier in their educational journey and strengthen connections between local students and workforce opportunities.
District C School Committee Member Dianna Biancheria submitted a request for an update on the program in April, seeking enrollment numbers and details about its future. The administration’s written response indicated that space limitations and safety concerns remain the biggest barriers to expansion.
“Expansion of the program beyond 30 seats is not feasible; 25 seats is considered ideal. Additionally, the program is nearly entirely volunteer run,” the administration wrote. “Massport and airline staff have generously volunteered hundreds of hours of their personal time to support the program for WPS students.”
While enrollment capacity remains limited, district officials said recruitment efforts will be expanded to include all Worcester middle schools.
Plan in place for transition program relocation
The district’s Transition Program will soon have a new home, with plans to move from the Fanning Building by next September.
The program, designed to prepare students with disabilities for adult life, will relocate to the Dr. James Caradonio Center at 1407 Main St. Administrators said the site offers improved accessibility and better aligns with student needs.
Additional indoor and outdoor space, improved access to local businesses and community resources, enhanced safety and transportation access were among the benefits cited by the administration.
“Our current location is shared with community programs that require public access to the building throughout the day, creating potential safety and security concerns,” said the administration. “A dedicated school site will allow for improved supervision, controlled access, and a more secure learning environment for students and staff. This move will further enhance the Transition Program’s ability to provide authentic community-based instruction and vocational training opportunities.”
The program’s rehabilitation specialist has already begun working with local businesses to identify employment opportunities for participating students.
Policy changes head to committee
Two policy updates are headed to the district’s Operations and Governance Committee, one involving physical restraint of students and another focused on bullying prevention.
Changes to Policy JKAA, which governs physical restraint, would bring the district into compliance with updated state regulations. The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education recently approved significant revisions concerning physical restraint and seclusion practices, including new reporting requirements and consent procedures. Districts must update their policies by Aug. 17.
The proposed revision would replace the existing policy with a newly written version reflecting those state requirements.
Meanwhile, Policy JICFB, the district’s bullying prevention policy, is undergoing its scheduled biennial review. Documents forwarded to the committee show no major proposed changes to the policy, which was adopted in 2023. Any future revisions would return to the full School Committee for consideration.
District considering digital hall passes
The idea of expanding digital hall passes throughout Worcester Public Schools is also gaining traction.
School Committee Member Molly McCullough is seeking a feasibility study on broader use of the technology after a pilot program at Worcester Technical High School.
The proposal could see a system currently being piloted at Worcester Tech expanded to secondary schools across the district. McCullough asked the administration to include feedback from Worcester Tech on how the system is working and whether it could be implemented successfully elsewhere in the district.
Jason Bleau, a seasoned reporter from Connecticut’s Quiet Corner, has more than 11 years of news media experience. He has worked as a news anchor for WINY 1350 AM, contributed to Stonebridge Press publications, and covered racing as a Press Box coordinator at Thompson Speedway. Outside journalism, he is a movie enthusiast, freelance film reviewer, banker and solo musician. He can be reached at bleau.jason@yahoo.com
