Worcester educators look to Springfield model as they refine ‘incubation hub’ proposal

Full and original article posted on Telegram.com

WORCESTER – City school and community leaders last week heard a presentation by the architect of the Springfield schools’ Empowerment Zone, a unique initiative aimed at improving the district’s struggling schools.

Those leaders downplayed the possibility of Boston-based Empower Schools creating an identical model in Worcester. But they also said co-founder and CEO Chris Gabrieli’s presentation was food for thought as the group developing the city schools’ new strategic plan contemplates the creation of a similar “incubation hub” within the district.

“There’s no way we’d ever import whole-cloth what they’re doing in Springfield,” said Jennifer Davis Carey, executive director of the Worcester Education Collaborative, which together with the Worcester Regional Research Bureau is putting together the strategic plan and organized last week’s Empower Schools presentation. “But (Mr. Gabrieli) has done this work in a number of areas – we wanted to get his insights.”

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