“Touring with Dr. Monárrez, I was impressed with how focused she and her team members were on learning everything they could about the programs we visited. I also loved seeing the Superintendent connect with the students we met at some of the sites, and it was clear she loved making those connections.”
-Karen E. Ludington, Executive Director, Worcester Area Mission Society
On October 28, 2022, Liz Hamilton and Karen Ludington provided an update of the community agency visits arranged for the Superintendent. She visited 9 sites for approximately 15-20 minutes each in two rounds. The tours were reported to be very successful and the Superintendent expressed an interest in scheduling further tours in the Spring.
Report to the Worcester Education Equity Roundtable (WEER):
We are pleased to report to the members of WEER on the results of the project to welcome Dr. Rachel Monárrez and introduce her to the wonderful web of not-for-profits in Worcester that support WPS students. We are grateful to the committee that worked with us: Darlene Belliveau, Katie Bilotta, J. P. Perkins, and Christina Puleo.
The project had two parts: the tours and the briefing book. There were two tours, the first on October 3rd, and the second on October 17th. During the first tour, we visited four sites, spread around two of the four WPS Quadrants, South and Doherty: The YWCA Central Massachusetts, the Worcester Youth Center, the Black Excellence Academy, and the YMCA of Central Massachusetts’ Central Branch. The second day we visited five locations in the two other Quadrants, North and Burncoat: African Community Education (ACE), Girls Inc. of Worcester, Friendly House, the Ecotarium, and the Guild of St. Agnes’ Burncoat program. We were warmly welcomed everywhere, and our thanks go to the hosts at all the sites. Assistant Superintendent Marie Morse joined us on the first tour, and Ivonne Perez, Director of Diversity, participated in both. We appreciated their interest, insight, and commitment. At two of the sites, our tour guides were students, and they were delightful and proud representatives of their programs.
We are attaching a copy of the briefing book that we collected for the Superintendent’s reference. Thanks to all the organizations that submitted information. They did an amazing job of fitting information, and even photos, onto the two-sided page we allotted each. We hope the book will be a useful reference for Rachel and her team.
We are especially grateful that Rachel took the time to do the tours when she is so busy and that she was truly interested in what she was shown. “The information was invaluable, and your hospitality was top notch! I look forward to a long, strong partnership,” as stated in her thank you note. She reiterated to us her strong commitment to WPS/community agency collaboration – a happy prospect for WEC, WEER, and the students we all care about. Our plan, based on Rachel’s interest, is to set up more visits with a lens on the many art programs in the area for the spring.
Liz Howard Hamilton, CEO/Executive Director, Boys & Girls Club of Worcester
Karen E. Ludington, Executive Director, Worcester Area Mission Society
“It was wonderful to showcase the many and varied after school programs our community has to offer. Dr. Monárrez made it clear that she is a champion of out-of-school enrichment programs and is excited to build partnerships, as it is in the best interest of Worcester’s children.”
-Liz Howard Hamilton, CEO/Executive Director, Boys & Girls Club of Worcester
