Worcester: Education and Research

Elementary and Secondary Schools

The Worcester Public School System is administered by the Worcester School Committee, which consists of seven voting members. Students have the option of attending one of seventeen magnet schools devoted to various disciplines. Children in grades three through six may attend one of many PEAK enrichment programs. Sponsored by area businesses, foundations and individuals, the nonprofit Alliance for Education operates programs providing grants for teachers, Community Reading Day, the Regional Science Fair and an extensive school-business partnership program.

The following is a summary of data regarding the Worcester Public School District as of the 2002–2003 school year.

Total enrollment: 25,689

Number of facilities elementary schools: 39

junior high/middle schools: 4

senior high schools: 6 other: 1

Student/teacher ratio: 12:1

Teacher salaries

minimum: $39,134

maximum: $56,664

Funding per pupil: $11,964 (2001-2002)

A system of separate, publicly supported vocational schools supplements the public school system. Twenty-three parochial schools educate an additional 1,000 students. Many private schools of note are located in the area, including Worcester Academy, and the Bancroft School.

Public Schools Information: Superintendent of Schools, Worcester Public Schools, 20 Irving Street, Worcester, MA 01609; telephone (508)799-3116

Colleges and Universities

Worcester is home to nine highly rated coeducational colleges and universities, as well as a medical school and veterinary school. Worcester's higher education offerings include UMass Medical Center, which is one of three campuses of the Commonwealth's university. The School of Medicine was one of only 14 medical centers in the country to be awarded a Robert Wood Johnson grant, providing $2.5 million in funding to encourage training in primary care fields. The Medical Center is part of a medical complex that includes a teaching hospital, graduate schools of biomedical sciences and nursing, and a program of molecular medicine. Another publicly-funded school is Worcester State College, which awards bachelor's and master's degrees in the arts, sciences, and education, and has expanded to offer professional programs in biomedical sciences, business, and healthcare fields. Quinsigamond Community College is state-funded and offers two-year associate's degrees.

Private schools include the highly regarded Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Becker College, with two campuses; Curry College, satellite campus; Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine in Grafton, Clark University, noted for its graduate research program, Anna Maria College, Nichols College, and Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Catholic schools include the College of the Holy Cross, an undergraduate Jesuit institution with many prestigious alumnus, and Assumption College.

Private and public institutions in the Worcester area cooperate with colleges and universities from nearby communities in the Colleges of Worcester Consortium. With 13 member institutions, the consortium provides such benefits as cross-registration for students, inter-campus bus service, and joint bid contracts on products and services.

Libraries and Research Centers

The Worcester Public Library, part of the Central/Western Massachusetts Automated Resource Sharing consortium, operates a main library and two branches. The collection includes more than 900,000 volumes, including government documents. Among the library's special features are the Talking Book Library for the Blind, and the grant resource center.

Among its special resources, Worcester boasts the library of the American Antiquarian Society, which has one of the largest collections of printed matter about the United States' first 250 years. Clark University's Guy H. Burnham Map and Aerial Photography Library is a repository for all maps of the U.S. Geological Survey. Also at Clark University, the Goddard Library carries the papers of Dr. Robert Goddard, father of U.S. rocketry. The Worcester County Horticultural Society holds one of the most complete collections of its kind in New England. The Higgins Armory Museum includes a library, and local libraries covering a number of topics are open to researchers.

Among its research centers Worcester counts the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research, an independent research organization that invented the birth control pill. Worcester Polytechnic Institute operates several research laboratories, focusing on such areas as automation, robotics, nuclear energy, materials testing, manufacturing engineering, ceramics, fire safety, heat treatment, metallurgy, artificial intelligence, and bioengineering. Worcester State College administers a Community Education Development Center. Using a holistic approach, the Heinz Warner Institute at Clark University studies the ways that behavior affects psychological development. At the Massachusetts Biotechnology Research Park, more than fifteen companies and institutions have established operations promoting the biotechnology industry in the state and in the nation. Among these are the University of Massachusetts Medical Center; the Massachusetts Biotechnology Research Institute, the scientific and educational arm of the park; and BASF Bioresearch Corporation, whose state-of-the-art research and development center works on cures for cancer and disorders of the immune system.

Public Library Information: Main Library, City of Worcester, 3 Salem Square, Worcester, MA 01608; telephone (508)799-1655, fax (508)799-1652

Worcester: Population Profile

Metropolitan Area Residents

1990: 478,384

2000: 511,389

Percent change, 1990–2000: 6.9%

U.S. rank in 1990: 7th (MSA)

U.S. rank in 2000: 7th (MSA)

City Residents

1980: 161,799

1990: 169,759

2000: 172,648 (of which, 82,914 were males and 89,734 were females)

2003 estimate: 175,706

Percent change, 1990–2000: 1.7%

U.S. rank in 1980: 91st

U.S. rank in 1990: 101st

U.S. rank in 2000: 139th (State rank: 2nd)

Density: 4,596.5 people per square mile (2000)

Racial and ethnic characteristics (2000)

White: 133,124

Black or African American: 11,892

American Indian and Alaska Native: 769

Asian: 8,402

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander: 96

Hispanic or Latino (may be of any race): 26,155

Other: 12,504

Percent of residents born in state: 63.5% (2000)

Age characteristics (2000)

Population under 5 years old: 11,142

Population 5 to 9 years old: 11,854

Population 10 to 14 years old: 11,381

Population 15 to 19 years old: 13,769

Population 20 to 24 years old: 15,622

Population 25 to 34 years old: 26,781

Population 35 to 44 years old: 25,578

Population 45 to 54 years old: 19,711

Population 55 to 59 years old: 6,756

Population 60 to 64 years old: 5,665

Population 65 to 74 years old: 10,956

Population 75 to 84 years old: 9,582

Population 85 years and over: 3,851

Median age: 33.4 years

Births (2003)

Total number: 9,529

Deaths (2002)

Total number: 691

Money income (1999)

Per capita income: $18,614

Median household income: $35,623

Total households: 67,083

Number of households with income of . . .

less than $10,000: 9,744

$10,000 to $14,999: 5,126

$15,000 to $24,999: 9,059

$25,000 to $34,999: 9,058

$35,000 to $49,999: 10,830

$50,000 to $74,999: 11,965

$75,000 to $99,999: 5,771

$100,000 to $149,999: 3,931

$150,000 to $199,999: 800

$200,000 or more: 799

Percent of families below poverty level: 14.1% (57.1% of which were female householder families with related children under 5 years)

2002 FBI Crime Index Total: not reported

Worcester: Health Care

Ten general hospitals in the Worcester area (five within the city) minister to local health care needs, including rehabilitation, long-term and chronic care. The keystone of Worcester's health care system is the University of Massachusetts Memorial Health Care. A merger between the University of Massachusetts Medical Center and the Medical Center of Central Massachusetts, it is the largest health care network in central and western Massachusetts. It includes the university's medical school, graduate programs, and a tertiary care facility with 783 beds on three campuses. UMass Memorial Medical Center is the region's only Level I trauma center. Four community hospitals are members of the UMass Memorial system. The center's purchase of Two Biotech has allowed the campus to expand its research capabilities and provides a base for its new Cancer Center. The 264,000 square foot Lakeside expansion project will provide new facilities for emergency care, radiology, intensive care, as well as operating space. Other projects include a Cardiac Catheterization Center, a renovated Endoscopy Center, and a Pediatric Infusion Suite, all at the University Campus. A major development at the Memorial Campus is a new Women's Health Center, allowing for centralized treatment at a single location.

In 2000, the downtown Worcester Medical Center opened as a partnership between Saint Vincent Healthcare System and Fallon. The Medical Center has 299 beds in its inpatient area and offers several specialty care centers and outpatient services. Saint Vincent Hospital, a 348-bed acute care hospital located within the Medical Center, has historic roots dating back to 1893.

Health Care Information: UMass Medical Center, Medical Center Library, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, MA 01655-2397; telephone (508)856-0011

Worcester

The City in Brief

Founded: 1673 (incorporated, 1722)

Head Official: City Manager Michael V. O'Brien (since 2004)

City Population

1980: 161,799

1990: 169,759

2000: 172,648

2003 estimate: 175,706

Percent change, 1990–2000: 1.7%

U.S. rank in 1980: 91st

U.S. rank in 1990: 101st

U.S. rank in 2000: 139th (State rank: 2nd)

Metropolitan Area Population (PMSA)

1990: 478,384

2000: 511,389

Percent change, 1990–2000: 6.9%

U.S. rank in 1990: 7th (MSA)

U.S. rank in 2000: 7th (MSA)

Area: 38 square miles (2000)

Elevation: 473 feet above sea level

Average Annual Temperature: 46.8° F

Average Annual Precipitation: 47.60 inches of rain; 67.4 inches of snow

Major Economic Sectors: Services, trade, manufacturing, government

Unemployment Rate: 5.5% (March 2005)

Per Capita Income: $18,614 (1999)

2002 FBI Crime Index Total: Not reported

Major Colleges and Universities: University of Massachusetts Medical School; Clark University; Worcester Polytechnic Institute; College of the Holy Cross; Worcester State College; Assumption College; Becker College

Daily Newspaper: Telegram & Gazette

Worcester: Convention Facilities

Worcester's entertainment and convention center, formerly known as the Centrum Centre, was renamed the DCU Center in 2004. Equally capable of hosting sporting events, shows, and concerts, the venue is well-known as a premier entertainment facility. The DCU's convention center offers over 100,000 square feet of exhibit space and more than 20,000 square feet of meeting space, as well as a ballroom, kitchen facilities, and administrative offices. Plans for future development of the DCU complex include a convention hotel adjacent to the DCU, which will be connected to the Center by a skyway.

The Beechwood Hotel, adjacent to the UMass Medical Center, offers facilities for meetings and groups as well as for special events such as weddings. The Hotel's Grand Ballroom alone provides 4,200 square feet of space which may be subdivided as the size of groups dictates. The Holiday Inn has 11 meeting rooms and more than 20,000 square feet of space available for meetings and conventions.

Historic Mechanics Hall, renovated in the early 1990s and seating up to 1,600 people, offers 14,000 square feet of exhibit space. Most local colleges and museums act as supplemental meeting sites, offering limited exhibit space and seating for groups of 40 to 1,000 people.

Convention Information: Worcester County Convention and Visitors Bureau, 33 Waldo Street, Worcester, MA 01608; telephone (508)753-2920

Worcester industrial city (1990 pop. 169,759), seat of Worcester co., central Mass., on the Blackstone River; inc. 1722. The canalization (1828) of the Blackstone River marked the beginning of Worcester's rapid industrial development. A port of entry, its manufactures include machinery, metal goods, chemicals, plastics, pharmaceuticals, glass, electrical equipment, textiles, clothing, and shoes. There is also a printing and publishing industry, and state hospitals add to the city's economy. Settled in 1673, Worcester suffered Native American attacks in 1675 and 1683. In Shays's Rebellion the courthouse was besieged (1786) by insurgents. The first woman's suffrage national convention was held (1850) in Worcester. Edward Everett Hale was pastor there from 1842 to 1856. Worcester is the seat of Clark Univ., the College of the Holy Cross, the Univ. of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Worcester State College. It has a number of notable museums, two zoos, and an annual music festival (dating from 1858). Also of interest is a huge three-level shopping center with a Plexiglas dome. Lake Quinsigamond and two state parks are in the vicinity.

Worcester: Municipal Government

Worcester operates with a council-city manager form of government, with eleven council members elected to two-year terms. Six council members are elected at large and five are elected by district. A mayor presides over the council and is elected by a separate ballot at each biennial election. The city manager is appointed by the council and serves at its pleasure. Worcester is also the county seat for Worcester County, although the county has performed no functions of governance since 1998, when all former county activities were assumed by other governmental agencies.

Head Official: City Manager Michael V. O'Brien (since 2004; open contract evaluated yearly)

Total Number of City Employees: 1,805 (not including school department employees) (2004)

City Information: Office of the City Manager, City Hall, 455 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01608; telephone (508)799-1175; fax (508)799-1208

Worcester: Introduction

Historically and culturally rich Worcester is emerging as a center for research and the production of a number of high-technology products. Its central location and network of roads and railways ensure that Worcester will continue to be a major New England retail and distribution center. Known for its historic attractions and natural beauty, the city has been gaining a reputation as a tourist attraction with colonial-era buildings, fine museums, and a well-developed park system. An increasing focus on services has allowed Worcester's work-force to adapt to current economic realities.

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