Worcester Technical High School

83% of Incidents Coded As Staff Assaults Occurred in Elementary Schools

WORCESTER – Friday, December 12, 2025 – After the recent release of Worcester Public Schools (WPS) data showed an increase in the number of incidents coded as staff assaults over the past two school years, a subsequent analysis shows the large majority of those incidents took place at elementary schools and often by the same students — with most incidents occurring between kindergarten and third grade.

Less than half of one percent of students districtwide, or 98 out of 24,778 students total in 2024-25, were involved in an incident coded as a staff assault.

The findings are prompting WPS to plan additional steps to support elementary staff and students, which may include restoring certain programming for specialized approaches and additional training for data entry practices, among other actions.

The WPS administration will present a report on the new information to the Worcester School Committee on Thursday, December 18.

“Above all, our priority is to do everything we can to make sure all staff and students are safe in school,” said Superintendent Brian E. Allen. “There are issues we are addressing at the elementary level, for both students and staff, to ensure everyone gets the necessary support, programming, and training. At the same time, I want to dispel any notion that our schools are unsafe.”

When it comes to incidents coded as student assaults on staff, the analysis found the following:

• In the 2024-25 school year, of the 158 total staff assault incidents reported, 83% occurred in elementary schools (kindergarten through grade 6), 6% in middle schools (grades 7 and 8), and 6% in high schools (grades 9-12).

• In particular, 70% of the incidents (111 of the 158), occurred in grades K-3. 

• Overall, there was a decrease in the number of staff assaults from the prior year at the secondary school level (grades 7-12).  

The charts shown below break down the incidents coded as staff assaults by grade level for school years 2023-24 (SY24) and 2024-25 (SY25).

The analysis further shows that a sizable number of incidents coded as staff assaults in kindergarten through third grade involved the same students. 

For 2024-25:

• In kindergarten, the 26 incidents reported were committed by 10 students.

• In grade 1, the 35 incidents reported were committed by 14 students.

• In grade 2, the 35 incidents reported were committed by 17 students.

• In grade 3, the 15 incidents reported were committed by seven students.

The chart below breaks down the number of reported staff assault incidents vs. the number of students who committed the assaults for school years 2023-24 (SY24) and 2024-25 (SY25). There are also columns showing the total number of students in each grade span.

For context, the number of students in each grade span was as follows:

Suspension Data

In the upcoming presentation, WPS will share that 96% of WPS students were not subject to disciplinary action in 2023-24. Meanwhile, 2.9% received out-of-school suspensions, which is comparable to peer urban districts of Boston and Springfield, which were at 3.3% and 5.3% respectively; the statewide average is 2.4%. 

In Worcester in 2024-25, the top five reasons for out-of-school suspensions district-wide overall were 1) fighting (19% of suspensions), 2) physical assault of a student (16% of suspensions); 3) repeated school violations (13% of suspensions); 4) disruption of school (11% of suspensions); and 5) verbal assault of an employee (6% of suspensions.) 

In 2022, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts made changes to the out-of-school suspension laws. It limits the use of long-term suspension for student misconduct until other consequences have been considered and tiered as appropriate. Under Mass. General Law 37H, students can be suspended for issues like weapons possession, controlled substances, and assaults on staff.

Next Steps

WPS anticipated disparities in how incidents would be reported due to the onboarding of a new data system, also called a Student Information System (SIS), when it was launched in 2023-24. WPS will develop an instructional guidebook and additional training for staff on how to properly code incidents to ensure consistency and accuracy across the district.

WPS is also considering restoring certain programing that offered specialized approaches for students with high needs; increasing professional development for administrators and staff, such as deescalation techniques, behavioral supports, and trauma-informed practices; expanding the scope of the early childhood task force and support team; and exploring the feasibility of additional staff supports.

Original Discipline Data Release

Last month, WPS released student discipline data for school years 2023-24 and 2024-25 in response to a request from the School Committee. A link to the full data is found on the agenda of the November 10 meeting of the Finance, Operations, and Governance Standing Committee.

Under suspendable offenses, the data showed a considerable drop in several categories of weapons possession; along with declines in physical assaults between students; cell phone use; and inciting a disturbance.

Under suspendable offenses, the data showed increases in marijuana possession or use; bullying/harassment; damage or theft of property; disruption of school; fighting; smoking/vaping; verbal assault on an employee; leaving school without permission; and disruption of school.

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