For Immediate Release:
Monday, April 6, 2026
Media Contact:
Dan O’Brien
Chief Communications Officer
Worcester Public Schools
PRESS RELEASE
Worcester Dual Language Magnet School to Expand to Grade 8 as District Focuses on Dual Language Enhancement, Expansion
Dual Language is Nationally-Recognized Model to Foster Biliteracy
WORCESTER — Monday, April 6, 2026 — Worcester Public Schools (WPS) has announced that the Worcester Dual Language Magnet School will expand to serve grades 7 and 8 beginning next school year: 2026-27.
The school, which is located at 525 Chandler Street, currently serves preschool through grade 6. Students are admitted citywide through a lottery application process and learn in two languages: English and Spanish.
“The addition of grades 7 and 8 at Worcester Dual Language Magnet School is an important step toward scaling a model that works,” said Brian E. Allen, WPS Superintendent. “We are not just embracing, but elevating this approach to ensure more students have the opportunity to graduate with multilingual and multicultural skills.”
“The expansion of the Worcester Dual Language Magnet School is a milestone that reaffirms our commitment to cultivating global citizens,” said Principal Suzanna Resendes. “By creating more opportunities for students to learn in a Dual Language program, we are ensuring they possess the language and cultural skills to thrive in an interconnected world.”
In a two-way Dual Language program, students typically begin in preschool or kindergarten with instruction taught approximately 90% of the time in Spanish and 10% of the time in English, with the amount of English increasing each year. By third grade, half of the content is taught in English and half in Spanish. The students include native English and native Spanish speakers.
The Dual Language model is widely considered the optimal framework for multilingual education because it treats a student’s primary language as an asset to be developed rather than a barrier to overcome. Extensive research demonstrates that students in Dual Language programs, including both native English and Spanish speakers, consistently meet or exceed the performance of their peers on several academic measures.
WPS hosts a second Dual Language program for grades K-6 at Woodland Academy, which is a residential-based admissions school.
Registration for the preschool and kindergarten admissions lottery for the Worcester Dual Language Magnet School is open now with a deadline of Friday, May 1. Families will be notified if they have been accepted through the lottery before May 22. Families must indicate if they will accept the placement by May 29. For more information, visit worcesterschools.org/enrollment.
