A state senator found a way to deliver on his offer last year to pay for Worcester students to visit Old Sturbridge Village, after the city’s school committee essentially banned annual field trips there in response to a conflict with the museum’s proposal to open a charter school in Worcester.
Months after he said he would cover students’ and families’ admission to the “living” museum, state Sen. Ryan Fattman, R-Worcester and Hampden County, and state Rep. Todd Smola, 1st Hampden District, presented a $15,000 check in December to Old Sturbridge Village to “help schools afford the cost of a visit and encourage new visits,” according to a statement issued Tuesday.
Fattman’s budgetary efforts came after Worcester school field trips to Old Sturbridge Village were, themselves, seemingly history.
The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education’s approval of Worcester Cultural Academy Charter Public School in February 2023 stirred controversy, with critics suggesting there were conflicts of interest, that the school would take money away from the district and amass revenue for Old Sturbridge Village, with which it is affiliated, while also not being able to live up to promises it made to serve English language learners and students with disabilities.
Jim Donahue, Worcester Cultural Academy’s founding executive director, is also CEO of Old Sturbridge Village, and executive director of Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School, which serves as a model for the Worcester school, according to its website.
At odds with the museum, the Worcester School Committee last April, at the urging of former School Committee member Tracy O’Connell Novick, essentially banned field trips to Old Sturbridge Village — at least for the 2023-24 school year — in a motion passed unanimously that asked for alternative spring field trip locations for the districts’ annual Culture Learning through Education & Partnerships program.
Museum educators Taylor Ewald and Aibhlin Hannigan teach a “young artists” group about drawing and painting during the Discovery Adventures programs at Old Sturbridge Village on Thursday, July 22, 2021. (Hoang ‘Leon’ Nguyen / The Republican)
Donahue told the Boston Globe in April that while the museum’s $15 million budget would not be hurt by the School Committee’s decision, students would be greatly affected.
“It is a shame that students would miss out on learning about local history and culture in the name of politics and students being used as political pawns,” Donahue said in a statement obtained by MassLive at the time. “Worcester students would be the ones to bear the brunt of a boycott.”
- Read more: Controversial Old Sturbridge Village-affiliated Worcester charter school approved by state board
Fattman stepped in days after the April decision, saying in a statement, “Should Worcester children be denied the opportunity to experience OSV by their elected leaders … I will ensure your complimentary admission to the village for you and your child, whether that be through the state budget process or the wonderful philanthropic efforts of the people in our area.”
It was not clear last spring how that would be accomplished, although Fattman told MassLive then it would likely be through a budget earmark.
According to Fattman in the Jan. 16 Old Sturbridge Village press release, the $15,000 that will cover Worcester County students’ admission came from the state’s 2024 budget.
“This is the first time Senator Fattman has acquired a budget earmark for Old Sturbridge Village,” the museum said in the release.
- Read more: Old Sturbridge Village CEO accuses Worcester officials of using students as political pawns
Despite the intention to stop going to Old Sturbridge Village, it appears Worcester students are still shuffling along the dirt paths, poking around the circa-1800s buildings and watching crafts people make pots and other wares of the time.
Worcester Public School field trips to Old Sturbridge Village continue, with “several” booked already for this spring, museum spokesperson Christine Freitas told MassLive.
A Worcester Public Schools spokesperson told MassLive on Thursday that in June, two School Committee motions focused on finding alternative field trip locations were passed and went to the district for review.
An exterior shot of the Salem Towne House, the crown jewel of Old Sturbridge Village’s town common.
The money from Fattman’s grant will go toward Worcester Days at the museum on March 13 and 15, Freitas said.
“Kids from Worcester public schools come on a $14,000 grant from the district and we are using the donation to offset the remaining costs,” she continued.
On the days when Worcester Public School students are at the museum, they will have “exclusive access to field trips with exclusive Worcester-related programming,” Freitas said.
“There are a number of gems within my district and there is no doubt that Old Sturbridge Village is one of those,” Fattman said in the museum’s statement. “Allowing students to visit and experience OSV is critical to their understanding of the history of our area. This funding through the state budget will provide students in the greater area the ability to see history come alive.”
