This guest opinion was published in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette on May 3, 2026.
“For school programs, adding means subtracting”
By Amy B. McKinstry
Here in Massachusetts, we pride ourselves on setting the bar for educational excellence. In fact, starting with the Class of 2003, our students had been required to achieve proficiency on their high school Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests in order to receive a diploma – a high standard to which very few states can compare.
Unfortunately, the graduation standard set by MCAS, a set of exams that took five years of research and development before being first administered in 1998, was eliminated after a public vote in November 2024.
In December 2025, the Healey-Driscoll administration proposed a new set of graduation requirements, which is grounded in that same aspiration – holding our students to high standards and ensuring their success beyond high school.
And though many superintendents across the state agree that we need another accountability measure to keep our standards high, we also agree that our districts have vastly different contexts and capacities. This means that effective implementation of any new plan will require a gradual, detailed, resource-based approach.
In the Northbridge Public Schools, we serve approximately 1,875 students. Our demographics have shifted significantly over the past decade: 37% of our students are low-income, 51% are identified as high-needs, 23% have disabilities, 5% are English learners and 10% speak a first language other than English. These numbers are not just statistics. They represent real students with very real, and sometimes complex, needs – needs that require thoughtful, responsive programming and resources to match.
And as our student population changes, so does our ability to financially support the programming necessary to meet our students’ needs and interests. In fact, following a failed Proposition 2 ⁄ override last year, we were forced to cut nine staff, eliminate middle school sports and significantly reduce classroom resources, including the loss of our only school librarian. This year, we face a nearly $1 million deficit and are pursuing a $3.386 million override just to maintain level services for the next five years.
If we don’t succeed, we will have to cut another 12 staff, as well as other programming, including several high school sports. If we keep chipping away at the classes and programs that keep them coming to school, we’ll be lucky to keep the students we have.
Now layer the new graduation requirements, as well as the standardization they require, into our reality: a core set of subject areas and courses that must be taken by all students before graduation, world language exposure for all students, expanded career planning and support, state-developed end-of-course assessments that will count toward a student’s final grade, completion of college financial aid forms, financial literacy, capstones and portfolios – all of which will likely come with associated costs for additional staffing, training and resources.
The questions then become not whether the new requirements are important or have value. They are and they do – for some students. But the real questions are: What will the rest of our students lose when we implement them? And, how will struggling districts implement with fidelity?
Each year, I survey my students in grades six to 12 and ask a simple question: What classes can we offer you that will help you most before you graduate? Their top three answers are remarkably consistent year after year. They want wood shop; they want to learn how to cook; and they want to learn how to file taxes, build credit, buy a car or a home, manage a bank account and take out loans responsibly – financial literacy.
And every year, for the past three years, I have added one of those programs at our high school. Unfortunately, each time I do, I must cut other staff and elective options to balance the budget. That is the reality in which we live: addition by subtraction.
But if we are serious about preparing students for life after high school, we have to expand access to flexible and varied coursework, work-based learning, internships and career-connected experiences. We have to give students the opportunity to discover what they love before they invest time and money in college or career pathways that may not be the right fit.
As the superintendent, I am committed to doing what is best for my students. That means providing them with a well-rounded education but also honoring their individuality. It means setting high expectations, but also giving each student the opportunity to choose their own path – a path that is both attainable and meaningful to them, within the context of our district’s reality.
The governor’s vision is a strong one. But for districts like Northbridge and countless others, success will depend on how that vision is implemented. Without flexibility and adequate funding, we risk creating a plan that looks good on paper but falls short in practice.
Our students are telling us, clearly and consistently, that they want an education that prepares them to live well and navigate the real world. We should be listening.
Amy McKinstry is superintendent of Northbridge Public Schools and vice president-elect of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents.