WORCESTER – Latino students in Worcester make up nearly half of the student body, but a recent report from Worcester Public Schools revealed that they only less than a third of students enrolled in Advanced Placement courses.
The district published the report following a request for the data from District B School Committee member Vanessa Alvarez. The report notes that Hispanic/Latino students make up 46% of the student body and 29% of students enrolled in AP courses during the 2025-26 school year.
In the 2024-25 year, 25% of AP students were Hispanic/Latino and 28% of AP students were Hispanic/Latino in the 2023-24 school year.
Advanced Placement courses are generally regarded as the most challenging courses a student can take at the high school level. At the end of the school year, students in the courses complete a standardized test and those who pass the exam are typically granted college credit.
Alvarez, who works as an adjustment counselor for the Milford Public Schools, said that one way to improve Hispanic student participation would be to increase wraparound coordinator services in the district. These are professionals in school buildings who work directly with families, many of whom are recent immigrants, in attaining extra support and services to improve the student experience.
“Wraparound services are really important. Every family that comes in only speaking a certain language and their child is now being enrolled should have a team assigned to them,” Alvarez said. “We have that now, but what we have could use some strengthening. If we are still seeing a lack of progression in students who are enrolling in AP courses, that just shows we need to do more.”
Alvarez said she requested the information, as well as additional information such as the percentage of Hispanic students that are enrolled in extracurricular activities, to get a better sense of how those students are performing relative to their peers. Alvarez noted that the Hispanic or Latino student body includes a wide diversity of various experiences, home lives and support systems.
“The reason this issue takes priority for me, Hispanics are the largest portion for our student population. To me, I just want to know who are they. Right now, I’m having a really hard time understanding the way Hispanic students are being labeled [within the district],” Alvarez said. “Some of them are multilingual learners, some of them are English-only, some of them are first- or second-generation Americans. Their supports at home, their home styles are all different even though they still identify as Hispanic or Latinos.”
Alvarez, who is in her second term on the School Committee, entered the Worcester Public Schools as the child of Salvadoran immigrants. She did not speak any English when she entered school. In her junior year at Doherty High, she recalled that she started the year placed in honors-level English, but was quickly placed down a level after performing poorly on an early assignment.
“I don’t really ever remember supports being offered to me. Looking back now, I wish I would have been offered more and I think if that was my experience, what is the experience of other students who were in my shoes?” Alvarez said. “In the honors classroom I remember I was the only Latina in that classroom. I didn’t see anybody who looked like me.”
Outside of AP enrollment, the Worcester Public Schools has made strides in creating higher education opportunities for all students. The district has doubled the amount of early college students since 2023, with 1,362 students enrolled in the program in 2026. The district also offers the Advancement via Individual Determination, or AVID program, which helps middle and high school students gain college preparation skills.
“I was a part of the AVID program in high school,” Alvarez said. “The program helped me gain access to higher education. We got our application fees waived, took classes at Anna Maria College, worked on public speaking. It was really personal and helped me feel connected with my school. Through that I was encouraged to take AP courses.”
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Report: Latino students underrepresented in AP courses in Worcester schools
