The Worcester Public Schools’ FY27 budget, Vision to Action, of $623.8 million is a 5.8% increase from the adopted budget of the year before. In Paying for a Public Education: FY27, The Research Bureau continues its annual practice of explaining how WPS' budget works, how Massachusetts determines what it costs for an “adequate education,” how WPS compares to other Gateway Cities, and what to watch out for in future years.

The 2026 Update of Understanding Your Neighborhood Schools dashboards, developed by Worcester Regional Research Bureau in partnership with Worcester Education Collaborative, use 2025-2026 enrollment data for the Worcester Public Schools, MSBA 2025 survey data, as well as data from the 2024 5-YR American Community Survey to provide interactive dashboards that serve as a valuable resource for families, policymakers, and educators, offering a comprehensive view of each school in the WPS District.

Worcester Regional Research Bureau in partnership with Worcester Education Collaborative (WEC) developed an interactive Tableau dashboard that displays progress on Our Promise to the Future, the Worcester Public Schools’ 2023–2028 Strategic Plan. The dashboard is designed to help the public understand progress to date on the district’s more than 50 performance indicators. The accompanying brief explains what the strategic plan is, how it was created, and summarizes key findings form the district’s early progress monitoring data.

Paying for a Public Education: An Examination of the FY26 Worcester Public Schools’ Budget is the latest in an on-going series from the Bureau, analyzing the budget-making process of the Worcester Public Schools and some of the new additions to this coming year's adopted budget.

Fixing the Foundation: Uneven Access to Modern Schools and a Blueprint for a More Equitable Future explores inequities in access to school facilities with conditions suited to 21st century learning contribute heavily to large and growing achievement gaps in Massachusetts.

The Worcester Public Schools (WPS) is undergoing an evolution in governance, most notably with the shift to district based representation on the School Committee.

Introduction: As the end of the Strategic Plan approaches, there is a new Superintendent, transitions for the School Committee, and new circumstances presented by the pandemic, WPS must develop its next iteration, learning lessons from Defining our Path.

On May 17, 2021, Worcester Public Schools (WPS) will resume offering full in-person learning for grades 9-12.

On May 3, Worcester Public Schools (WPS) will resume offering full in-person learning for all grades up to grade 8. Families can opt in to in-person learning or can choose to remain with remote learning.

Some parents may be eager to send their children back to school for real or perceived improvements in educational quality, while others may hold back because of a belief that the risk of contracting or spreading COVID-19 remains too high to risk classroom situations.