The Worcester Public Schools Admissions & Equity Subcommittee on Feb. 13 reviewed ZIP-code application and enrollment data for lottery and Chapter 74 programs and voted to file the report and add the topic to standing biannual updates.

The report, prepared by district staff, examined applications, lottery acceptances and actual September 2024 enrollments by ZIP code and sending school for elementary, middle and sixth-grade programs. "Each school draws the majority of its interest from its own geographic quadrant," said Chris Cressonas, the district's administrative director for culture and college-and-career programs, summarizing the analysis.

Why it matters: The data helps officials plan program placements, feeder patterns and outreach. Committee members said ZIP-code detail clarifies whether new or relocated programs will serve neighborhood needs and whether to pursue expanded vocational offerings at schools that now lack them.

Key findings from the district presentation

- Most programs attract the majority of applicants from their own quadrant, indicating localized demand.

- Doherty High School's programs showed the broadest citywide interest; the district reported the engineering program accepts about 100 students into its freshman class (a larger program by seats compared with other schools).

- North High School's programs had the smallest applicant pools (reported at roughly 40 students for its programs), and South High School showed intermediate interest (about 82 students reported as expressing interest).

- Burncoat High School currently has no Chapter 74 programs; students from Burncoat were shown to apply more often to Doherty than to other schools.

Chris Cressonas told the subcommittee the district can track applicants by ZIP code and by quadrant for each program and can produce program-level breakdowns on request.

Committee action and next steps

The subcommittee moved to approve and file the report and to include this admissions data in biannual updates to the committee going forward. Members also asked administration to add a quarterly count of students per quadrant to the next Friday data letter.

A roll-call vote on the motion recorded four "yes" votes: Vice Chair Alvarez; Member Venenda; Member Mailman; and Chair Alex Guardiola. The motion passed.

Administration confirmed quarterly and biannual materials, including the Friday letter and posted reports, are public and available on the district website.

What officials said

"This suggests students tend to prefer schools closer to their homes," Cressonas said while summarizing the ZIP-code breakdown. Member Venenda said the report was "a great report" and useful for understanding neighborhood ties and school choice behavior.

Ending

District staff said they will continue to provide the ZIP-code and sending-school breakdowns by program and will return with the requested quadrant counts in the next available data update.