Worcester is trying to build a local pipeline of teachers for dual-language classrooms, even as the district and other Massachusetts schools struggle to staff them. Worcester Dual Language Magnet School enrolls roughly 550 students from preschool through eighth grade, while interest in seats like these exceeds what districts can currently provide. State education officials say the staffing gap threatens the future of bilingual instruction across the commonwealth.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Pedro Martinez visited Worcester Dual Language Magnet School on Oct. 30 and said the state is not equipped to provide dual-language programs in communities where Spanish or Portuguese predominate, according to the Worcester Telegram. Martinez, appointed by Governor Maura Healey in 2025 after serving as superintendent of Chicago Public Schools, described dual-language programs as the best way to educate English language learners while acknowledging that Massachusetts lacks the infrastructure to offer them broadly.
The state provides a small appropriation to help districts expand dual-language programs, but Martinez said requests exceed available funding by at least four to one, the Telegram reported. The gap in resources is part of a broader statewide mismatch between demand for dual-language education and the number of programs districts can offer.
Certification Bottleneck Slows Growth
Martinez identified the shortage of qualified staff as a central barrier to expansion. Teachers need an additional certification for bilingual instruction beyond a standard teaching license, he said, according to the Telegram.
Jessica Mandes, Worcester's director of multilingual education, told the Telegram that the additional credential takes a full year, includes a practicum and costs a few thousand dollars. Mandes wants local colleges to develop a dedicated bilingual-education pathway to make the training more accessible.
The certification hurdle has affected Jocelyn Lopez, an educator at Worcester Dual Language who moved from Puerto Rico to Massachusetts in 2016 and later earned an education degree in the state. Although Lopez completed bilingual coursework and a DESE endorsement, she cannot use her Spanish teaching license in the program. Mandes told the Telegram that Lopez has the skills the school needs but still faces certification barriers to becoming a full classroom teacher.
Martinez Points to His Chicago Playbook
Martinez said he used a different approach in Chicago, paying for dual-language certification for interested teachers and bringing colleges into schools to train groups of educators together. In Massachusetts, he wants districts to identify multilingual adults already working in school buildings who could pursue teaching or paraprofessional roles, the Telegram reported.
Worcester Grows Its Own Teachers
Worcester is also developing its own teacher pipeline. Superintendent Brian Allen launched a grow-your-own recruitment program last year, including early-college education courses at Worcester State University for high school students. Under a “promise” agreement, the district commits to hiring participants after they complete their college degrees.
Students attended the Worcester State classes in both the prior year and the current one, Allen said. He said 25 high school seniors signed the agreement last year, and some are bilingual. The program is part of Worcester Public Schools’ effort to diversify its teaching workforce as demand for bilingual classrooms grows.
A District Trying to Build a Longer Pathway
The staffing crunch comes as Worcester works to stretch dual-language instruction further up the grade ladder. Four schools in the district currently offer some form of dual-language programming — Worcester Dual Language Magnet School, Woodland Academy, Burncoat Middle School and Burncoat High School — according to The Worcester Guardian, which reported that 618 students total are enrolled in dual-language programs across the district, spanning pre-kindergarten through high school. Burncoat High School graduated its first dual-language class in 2024, the outlet reported.
The Guardian also reported that Worcester is working toward a blueprint for a kindergarten-through-12th-grade dual-language pathway by the end of this school year, a response to concerns the district says it repeatedly heard about students lacking a clear way to continue dual-language coursework once they reached secondary school. District data presented to the Worcester School Committee, per the Guardian, pointed to higher test scores among students in the one-way and two-way dual-language approaches.
Dual Language Is One of Several Multilingual Programs
Worcester Public Schools lists dual-language instruction alongside three other multilingual education options: Sheltered English Immersion, Sheltered English Immersion for Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE), and Transitional Bilingual Education, according to Worcester Public Schools.
Worcester Dual Language Magnet School serves roughly 550 students from preschool through eighth grade.
