Heard Street Discovery Academy

Heard Street school is such a wonderful school, with staff and administration who are truly concerned about the child as an individual and as part of a larger community. They encourage strong parent/school ties and encourage the children to grow in a positive manner in all areas of development. We had moved out of district and took an extra twenty minutes a day just to drive our children to school there for the last several years as we couldn't bear to send them any place else!!! Great School, GREAT STAFF!!
--Submitted by a parent

Perhaps because of its location, Heard Street is one of those school that has the misfortune of not being culturally or racially diverse. Nonetheless, the school does still enroll a small number of minority students and it is arguably incumbent upon the school's staff & teachers to provide a welcoming and conducive environment for minority students. Unfortunately this is not the case at Heard Street. The Principal in particular, who is supposed to set the standards when it comes to such as issues as accommodating minority children, is very racially insensitive and indifferent to concerns raised by minority parents. Inevitably, his teachers follow his lead. My child has been in a couple of classrooms in which he has faced the same kind of discrimination & reckless racial epithets as in previous classrooms. Attempts at seeking redress through the teacher(s) & the principal have been dismissed with contempt.
--Submitted by a parent

Both of my children attend this school and I have to say I wish I had better things to say about it. Its great if you want your kids working off of work sheets and sitting quietly for 6 hours a day. I myself think that kids learn better when trying things for themselves instead of reading it from a worksheet. What happened to experiments and learning through trial and error. I just cant hear anymore that we are doing the best we can for your children. Do you really think so? When we keep teachers for seniority and not for actual results it is totally frustrating. Oh and you can't pick which teacher you want as all the teachers are good, I went to school too and we all know not all teachers are created equal. Wish I had better choices for schools.
--Submitted by a parent

Heard St. Discovery Academy is still one of the few small school left in Worcester. I can honestly say that most of the children in school know every other classmate by first name. There is a feeling of closeness and community throughout the whole school. I was fortunate to buy my parent home and attended Heard St. when I was young and my three children have attending it also. The teachers are wonderful, caring, supportive and try very hard to give the students the best education possible. In a time of serious cut-backs, Heard St. is like many other schools with limited extracurricular activities but I consider it one of the best schools in the city. The level is parent involvement is very strong and I have participated in all three of my children's education. We are really lucky to be part of this small school community.
--Submitted by a parent