WORCESTER – If you’ve ever wondered what percentage of students at your child’s school are high needs or the student-to-teacher ratio, the Worcester Regional Research Bureau has created a dashboard to help people easily find that information and more.
On Thursday, the bureau launched a Catchment Zones Dashboard. The dashboard includes maps outlining the geographic areas city schools draw their student populations from in addition to data drawn from the census, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), and Worcester Public Schools FY24 Budget.
The dashboard has tabs for all 45 schools in the district and details the demographics of the total population of the catchment zones as well as sharing the details of the school population.
The information about the general population of the catchment zones includes race/ethnicity, age, educational attainment and income.
The information about the schools includes the year built, enrollment, student to teacher ratio, students race/ethnicity, the percentage of licensed and experienced teachers and a break down of how many students are high needs, have a first language that is not English, are english language learners, have a disability, and are economically disadvantaged.
The catchment area for Chandler Elementary Community School, for example, has a population of 16,732 that is 46.5% White, 14.5% Black, and 19% two races or more, a median household income of a little over $41,000, and a median age of 34, according to the dashboard. Over 7,300 people in the area consider themselves Latino.
The school has 411 students, a 12.7 student to teacher ratio, and 100% of teachers are licensed and experienced, according to the dashboard. Nearly 61% of the students are Hispanic, 14.6% are White, and 11.2% are Black.
Breaking down selected populations within the school, 97.6% are high needs, 71% have a first language other than English, 52.3% are English Language Learners, 18.2% have a disability, and 92% are economically disadvantaged.
Chandler Elementary Community School was built in 1992 and is over 185,000 square feet.
The dashboard is meant to act as a resource for families, policymakers, and educators, according to the Research Bureau.
“The development of this tool reflects The Bureau’s commitment to objective data, clear communication, transparency, and collaborative educational planning for the city of Worcester,” the Research Bureau states on the dashboard’s website.
Kiernan Dunlop is an award-winning journalist who has spent the past five years reporting in Worcester, New Bedford and Antigua and Barbuda. She’s been published in Bloomberg, USA Today, Canary Media, MassLive and the New Bedford Standard Times, among other outlets. She can be contacted at kdunlop@theworcesterguardian.org
