Worcester Parents Must Pick In-Person, Remote Learning By Friday

WORCESTER, MA — Parents of thousands of Worcester students must decide this week whether to either return their children to school buildings or have them continue learning remotely.

Worcester is planning a return to buildings for students in kindergarten through 8th grade on May 3. Parents can elect to send students back to buildings on that date or continue with remote learning. A hybrid option will not be available, according to Worcester Public Schools (WPS).

Most elementary school students in Massachusetts were set to return to buildings full time on Monday, and middle school students will return by April 28. Neither the state nor WPS has set a deadline for high schoolers to return to buildings full-time.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) granted Worcester a waiver to push off the full return until May. DESE has granted waivers for 64 districts across the state since the April deadlines were put in place.

Superintendent Maureen Binienda initially sought the waiver due to concerns about having enough space for students to remain socially distant. Coronavirus cases have been rising in Worcester recently, and people under age 30 are the biggest demographic, according to officials.

The last day of the school year in Worcester is June 15. Take the WPS parent survey on the district's website.