WORCESTER, Mass. — Clark University and the Worcester Public Schools (WPS) today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that formalizes and strengthens a decades-long partnership dedicated to improving educational opportunities for Worcester students, supporting educators, and creating pathways to college and careers.
The agreement establishes a framework for continued collaboration across teaching, learning, research, professional development, and community engagement. The MOU reflects both institutions' shared commitment to educational excellence, opportunity, and community impact.
“This MOU formalizes our promise of expanding and strengthening our partnership with the city, especially in the area of K-12 education,” said Clark President David Fithian. “The agreement affirms our commitment to work together to support students, educators, and families while creating new pathways for learning and success."
Under the MOU, Clark and WPS will collaborate in several key areas, including:
Curriculum development and classroom partnerships between Clark faculty, students, and WPS educators;
Internships, practica, clinical experiences, and other field placements for Clark students in WPS schools;
Joint research and faculty collaborations;
Professional development opportunities for WPS teachers, administrators, and staff;
Expansion and support of scholarship opportunities for Worcester students;
Development of summer and afterschool enrichment programs;
Creation and growth of dual enrollment and early college programs; and
A "Grow Our Own" teacher pipeline initiative designed to support Worcester students, paraprofessionals, and community members interested in pursuing careers in education.
Clark’s Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Program has long served as a pipeline to teaching or administrative positions with the Worcester Public Schools. As of September 2025, there were 217 Clark alumni employed by the WPS; approximately 120 WPS teachers are graduates of Clark’s MAT program.
“This agreement further strengthens a longstanding commitment between the Worcester Public Schools and Clark University to support the educational growth of students and faculty in both organizations,” said Brian E. Allen, Superintendent of the Worcester Public Schools. “This collaboration not only provides life-changing opportunities for district students, graduates and educators, it helps Clark’s faculty further enhance their own pedagogy and programming. Clark University continues to be a strong partner of the Worcester Public Schools and we are grateful for the continued partnership.”
Allen, a Worcester native and graduate of South High Community School, received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Clark in 1992, and a certificate of advanced graduate studies in conflict management in 2004.
“The power of this partnership is that learning moves in every direction. Clark students, faculty, and staff and Worcester students and educators bring distinct knowledge and experience to the work, learning with and from one another while creating a lasting impact in classrooms, across our institutions, and throughout the Worcester community,” said Laurie Ross, associate provost and dean of the college at Clark University. “Together, we are making higher education more accessible for Worcester students while helping Clark students discover visible, meaningful pathways to careers in education.”
Clark faculty across multiple disciplines have forged meaningful partnerships with community organizations to expand educational opportunities for elementary- and high-school students; to conserve urban green spaces; to improve housing and health care and more. Clark faculty frequently host students in their classrooms, and partner to give place-based STEM demonstrations at local waterways; our Education Department works with the WPS to evaluate, design and expand bilingual offerings; and historians in Clark’s Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies are collaborating with high schools to teach students about genocide.
The signing ceremony, held today at Claremont Academy, one of Clark’s six partner schools, brought together leaders from both institutions — almost all of whom have personal ties to Clark — to share and celebrate how the longstanding partnership has impacted their lives. Speakers included Anahit Marutyan, a graduate of Claremont Academy who is now a sophomore at Clark; Nate Kapiloff, a MAT graduate and mentor who participates the Bruce Wells Scholars Upward Bound program; and Eduard Arriaga-Arango, associate professor and chair of the Department of Language, Literature & Culture, who spoke about Clark’s Herencia y Cultura Hispánicas (HCH) program (or Hispanic Culture and Heritage program) that enables Spanish-speaking undergraduates and Worcester residents to connect over language.
Several of the 22 candidates currently in Clark’s Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Program attended the event.
Next year will mark 30 years since the opening of the University Park Campus School, the neighborhood “School with a promise” that quickly earned a reputation as one of the country’s finest public schools and a model for town-gown partnership. Students from Claremont Academy and UPCS have been able to enroll in classes at Clark for more than 15 years, well before state and city initiatives. Since 2000, more than 165 Worcester residents have been able to attend Clark tuition-free through the UPP Scholarship Program; the University widened the UPP Scholarship Zone by 26 streets in 2023, enabling an additional 1,100 students to qualify for the scholarship. This fall, eight graduates of the University Park Campus School (UPCS) and two graduates of South High School are attending Clark tuition-free with the help of UPP scholarships.
The MOU agreement states that Clark and WPS leaders are required to meet regularly to assess progress, identify new opportunities for collaboration, and ensure the partnership continues to meet the evolving needs of students and educators.
Founded in 1887, Clark University is a liberal arts-based research university that prepares its students to meet tomorrow's most daunting challenges and embrace its greatest opportunities. Through 44 undergraduate majors, more than 30 advanced degree programs, and nationally recognized community partnerships, Clark fuses rigorous scholarship with authentic world and workplace experiences that empower our students to pursue lives and careers of meaning and consequence.
Worcester Public Schools is the second-largest school district in Massachusetts, serving students across the city through a diverse range of academic programs and educational opportunities dedicated to student achievement and success.