Worcester Public Schools Expands STEM Academies to Three More High Schools

Worcester Public Schools will expand its specialized STEM academy program to three additional high schools next fall, adding roughly 400 new student slots after existing academy programs reported waitlists at nearly every participating school.

The STEM academies operate as school-within-a-school programs, offering students a more intensive sequence of engineering, computer science, and applied science coursework alongside standard graduation requirements, along with partnerships that give students access to internships with local biotech and manufacturing employers.

"Parents and students have made it very clear that they want more rigorous technical coursework available close to home, and we simply didn't have enough seats to meet that demand," said the district's associate superintendent for secondary education. "Expanding to three more schools lets us serve a lot more of the district without asking families to travel across the city."

The expansion is funded partly through a state grant aimed at growing STEM education access outside the Boston metro area's traditionally strongest school districts, along with contributions from Worcester-based employers who have committed to hosting student interns and providing guest instruction in specialized coursework like biomanufacturing techniques.

School system officials said the three new academy sites will begin accepting applications from rising ninth graders this spring, with the first cohorts starting classes in the fall semester. Worcester's existing STEM academies, first launched nearly a decade ago, have graduated more than 1,600 students to date.