WORCESTER — The school system’s switch to remote learning this year has created unprecedented hardships. But it may have also pushed the district to more fully address a problem that existed even before the pandemic, according to the school superintendent.
This fall, the district has rolled out a number of new initiatives aimed at keeping track of struggling students and providing more information to parents about their kids’ academic performance, Worcester Schools Superintendent Maureen Binienda said.
Those types of efforts are even more critical now that school staff are not able to physically interact with students during the ongoing remote learning phase of the new school year.
“I think the remote has actually caused some good practices to be expanded,” Binienda said. “We have to find more ways to keep track of kids.”
The district’s new approaches include twice-a-week check-ins with students, a more “aggressive” assessment system, and an update