2019 School Committee Election
The Worcester Education Justice Alliance (WEJA) knows that the School Committee Election is an important place where we can advocate for greater racial and social justice in education. Rather than endorse candidates, WEJA sought to use this opportunity to assess how each of the school committee candidates aligned with WEJA’s core values. We developed a list of 27 policy questions that are connected to current educational policy debates that could conceivably come before the Worcester School Committee. We asked candidates to indicate whether they would be in favor of the question (Yes) or against it (No) much like they would have to vote on the school committee. We compared their answers against the way WEJA would recommend voting based on our core values. We also gave them an opportunity to provide comments. If their answer differed from WEJA’s ideal answer but our steering committee felt that their comments reflected important considerations, we gave the candidate a ½ a point for their answer. Candidates got points for every answer that was consistent with WEJA’s resulting in a score out of 27. If candidates did not answer a question they were given a zero unless their answer was offered in the comments or they obtained partial credit from their commentary. Their final score was converted into a percentage and the percentage was converted into a grade just like Worcester Public Schools do on their report cards. We hope this process is able to help you decide who you will vote for. You may not agree with WEJA’s preferred answer for each question, regardless, digging into each candidates questionnaire will allow you to decide how each candidate aligns with your own values and viewpoints.
Below you will find each candidates grade, their percentage, and number out of 27 correct according to our rubric. You will find WEJA’s values, the set of questions along with WEJA’s preferred answer, and spreadsheet showing a snapshot of each candidates answers. If you click each candidates picture, you will be taken to a PDF where you can see the raw data of each candidates responses and explanations to each question in the format that the survey was distributed.
Click on each candidate to view their answers and responses to each question
WEJA’s Core Values and Principles
Public Schools are Public Institutions: Schools must be transparent and accessible to the public, and be held to the standards that any other public institution would be held to.
Fully Funded Schools: Our schools must be fully funded for success and equity. Stronger schools sustain stronger communities.
Community Voice and Power: Our voices matter; students, parents, teachers and community residents must be valued and respected for their knowledge and contributions.
Inclusion and Safety: Schools must be welcoming and respectful places for all, regardless of income, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, legal status, birthplace or unique needs and abilities.
Racial Justice: District and school leadership must work to identify, acknowledge, unlearn, and undo structural racism in curriculum, hiring, and discipline.
Well-Rounded Curriculum and Student Citizenship: A rich, varied, engaging, and culturally responsive curriculum is the key to student success. Schools should support students in their journey towards becoming creative and independent thinkers, questioners and conscientious citizens.
Questions and WEJA’s Preferred Answer
Questions Related to Curriculum
1) Would you vote in favor of a comprehensive age appropriate sexual education curriculum as was advocated by the Worcester Impact of Sexual Health (WISH) taskforce (https://www.wishtaskforce.org/sexual-education/recommended-curricula/) like the Making Proud Choices? (https://www.etr.org/ebi/programs/making-proud-choices/) [YES]
2) Would you advocate for the elimination of the MCAS as a high school exit exam? [YES]
3) Would you advocate for the elimination of high stakes standardized tests, like the MCAS, to evaluate school performance? [YES]
4) Do you believe that teachers should be required to follow the state curriculum frameworks to ensure that all students are learning the same curriculum across the state (as opposed to giving school sites and teachers more flexibility to teach the topics and content that they believe most important)? [NO]
Questions Related to Funding
5) Do you support the Promise Act and would you advocate for its passage with the state legislature? [YES]
6) State spending requirements enable local communities to spend more than the minimum required by the Chapter 70 Foundation formula. Since most local communities do spend more than required to address the educational needs of their students, on average, local communities spend over 25% above their required allocation. Worcester typically funds right at the minimum required by the Chapter 70 Foundation formula (give or take roughly 1%). If you were elected to school committee would you advocate for the city to spend 10% or more above the required foundation formula even if that means the city would have to secure additional revenue? [YES]
7)Facing fiscal shortfalls as a result of the Great Recession, in 2010, the City of Worcester became one of the few municipalities in the state that began taking a 3% indirect of the state and federal grants that pass through City Hall. This amounts to over a million dollars that is designed to cover the costs of developing and administering the grants (which in Worcester are all handled by the school department). Would you, if elected to the school committee, advocate for City of Worcester to continue to take this 3% indirect? [NO]
Questions Related to Staffing and Leadership
8) Would you support merit pay or bonuses for teachers who are considered highly effective in producing strong education outcomes (based on measured test score improvements) for students? [NO]
9) Would you support hiring bonuses or stipends for certified bilingual teachers in our Worcester Public Schools? [YES]
10) Do you support utilizing ‘diversity bonuses’ in order to recruit more teachers of color in Worcester? [YES]
11) Do you support ‘Grow Your Own’ programs that recruit teacher candidates from non-traditional populations (e.g., high school students, paraprofessionals, and after-school program staff) who are more likely to reflect local diversity and more likely to continue to teach in their communities? [YES]
12) Do you support the hiring of the Associate Superintendent for Diversity and Inclusion? [YES]
Questions Related to Student Life and Discipline
13) Would you advocate for secondary schools to begin later in the morning to allow adolescents to sleep later? [YES]
14) Do you support the continuation of the current WPS policy that bans “hats, bandanas, scarves or sweatbands,” as well as “outerwear” and “droopy pants.” See the full dress code in the 2019 handbook. (https://worcesterschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/2018-19-English-with-updated-links.pdf) [NO]
15) Would you support a moratorium on suspensions and expulsions that are not directly associated with violence or drugs or issues of direct safety for the educational communities? [YES]
16) Would you support a ban on all suspensions in grades pre-K through 3rd grade? [YES]
17) Do you support continuing to hire and station police officers in schools? [NO]
18) Do you support the creation of restorative justice programs in the schools? [YES]
19) Would you support an amendment to the Community Based Juvenile Justice Program (https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleII/Chapter12/section32) that would require the notification of parents by the school district of all youth in the Worcester Public Schools who are identified by the district attorney’s office as a juvenile “most likely to pose a threat to their community? [YES]
Questions Related to School Choice
20) Do you support the creation of additional innovation schools in Worcester? [YES]
21) Are you in favor of supporting the creation of additional charter schools in Worcester? [NO]
22) Are you in favor of supporting vouchers for low-income students to be able to attend schools of choice, including public schools, charter schools or private schools? [NO]
Questions Related to Community Voice and Accountability
23) Will you demand that the Worcester Public Schools ensure that school site councils are established and active in every single school in order to develop the school improvement/accountability plan, develop site specific goals and review the school site budget as stipulated by state and federal law? (http://www.doe.mass.edu/lawsregs/advisory/schoolcouncils/) [YES]
24) Will you ensure that parents (and students in high schools) are part of the hiring committee for faculty and administration? [YES]
25) Will you make sure that all data that the school district collects and all research that is completed by outside researchers in the Worcester Public Schools is made available to the public? [YES]
26) Would you vote in favor of allowing 16 and 17 year-olds to vote in local elections? [YES]
27) Would you support the creation of an online (and phoned) anonymous bias incident reporting and investigating process for incidents that occur in the Worcester Public Schools? [YES]
Candidate Responses Spreadsheet
