WEC hosted a breakfast on Thursday, May 8, that brought together leaders from the Worcester School District and from Worcester community-based organizations with members of the Worcester legislative delegation. The purpose of the meeting was to share information about education issues in Worcester and discuss potential legislation to address these issues.
Brian Allen, who serves as WPS Deputy Superintendent and has been appointed the new WPS Superintendent, provided an overview of the district’s new strategic plan and efforts over the past year to begin implementation of the plan. WEC staff also provided an overview of WEC’s work and identified its key legislative priorities for the coming year and beyond.
Rep. Ken Gordon, the new House Chair of the Joint Committee on Education, attended the meeting and shared his perspectives on important issues facing the Committee during this legislative session. He particularly highlighted:
Reforming the state education funding formula and addressing the funding gap created by the formula’s inadequate inflation factor
Establishing state high school graduation standards to ensure that academic measures are consistent across all schools in the Commonwealth
Continuing to support equity and diversity in hiring and instruction despite attacks from the Trump Administration
Ensuring that immigrant students and families know that “they are welcome in Massachusetts schools”
Continuing to support funding for preschool programs, Early College programs, and literacy programs
Restricting student access to cellphones in the classroom
Rep. Gordon commended WEC for organizing the breakfast so that legislators could remain informed of the conditions and needs in the communities they represented. He also encouraged community organizations to track proposed legislation and submit oral, written, or video testimony during committee hearings conducted to review the proposed legislation.
Members of the Worcester legislative delegation attending the meeting included Sen. Robyn Kennedy, Rep. Daniel Donahue, Rep. Mary Keefe, Rep. David LaBoeuf, Rep. John Mahoney, and Rep. James O’Day.
