District & School Overview

Worcester Public Schools District

The Worcester Public Schools (WPS) District serves approximately 24,400 students each year with 33 elementary schools, 4 middle schools, and 8 high schools. WPS has approximately a 73.9% people of color (POC) population, with the highest minority group being Hispanic. Compared to the state, WPS is 27% more diverse. In terms of gender diversity, WPS has a relatively even split, with 48.6% female, 51.4% male, and 0.04% non-binary. The district has 1,951 full-time teachers, with 97.2% being licensed and 79.9% being experienced teachers. The student to teacher ratio for the district is 12.2 to 1.

Doherty Memorial High School

Doherty Memorial High is a public high school located in Worcester, Massachusetts that sees approximately 1,400 children enrolled each year. It serves grades 9-12 and has a student to teacher ratio of 15.5 to 1. Doherty has approximately a 62.4% POC population, with the highest minority group being Hispanic. Compared to the district, Doherty is 11.5% less diverse. In terms of gender diversity, Doherty has a relatively even split, with 46.6% female and 53.2% male. Each grade has approximately 310-380 students, with 9th graders being the highest population.

10th graders at Doherty Memorial High take the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, or MCAS for short, in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science & Tech/Eng. The grading scale has four categories, with “Not Meeting Expectations” having a score of 440-470, “Partially Meeting Expectations” having a score of 470-500, “Meeting Expectations” having a score of 500-530, and “Exceeding Expectations” having a score of 530-560. In English Language Arts, Doherty receives an average score of 494, which is 3 points higher than its district. In Mathematics, Doherty receives an average score of 490, which is also 3 points higher than its district. In Science & Tech/Eng, Doherty receives an average score of 489, which is 5 points higher than its district. All average scores fall in the “Partially Meeting Expectations” range.

There are a total of 104.8 teachers that teach full time at Doherty Memorial High, with all of those teachers being licensed. 90.7 teachers within the school are classified as experienced. The age range of Doherty’s teachers mainly fall under 49-56, with 31 teachers in that age range. Only 7 teachers are under the age of 26 and only 5.5 teachers over the age of 64. Demographically, the staff at Doherty is majority white, with 119.8 staff identifying as white. There are 2 Black staff, 14.5 Hispanic staff, and 1.2 multiracial staff. There are no staff that identify as Asian or Native American. There is a higher percentage of females, with 59.7% identifying as female and 40.3% male. Doherty has retained 97 teachers, which translates to 86.6% retained. In comparison to its district, Doherty retained 13.8% more of its teachers.