10 to Watch in 2016: Maureen Binienda

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

GoLocalWorcester News Team

In 2013, GoLocalWorcester tapped Maureen Binienda as Central Massachusetts’ Woman of the Year. 2016 may be the big year for her.

Entering 2016, her impact may be even more important. The big question is can her passion and experience at South High overcome the selection process bureaucracy of the Worcester School Department.

Binienda is called the “Angel of the Battlefield” for the work that she does in Worcester’s poorest school district. In a city where 10% of the kids are homeless, she teaches at the school where the homeless rate for her school is 20% higher.

Since 1978, Binienda has taught at South High Community School in Worcester. She started as a special education teacher and has an outstanding track record as Principal of South High Community School in Worcester.

Battling Poverty

"South High is one of the poorest schools in the Worcester Public School system. There is a lot of unemployment. A lot of our staff members take leadership roles in dealing with these issues, so it is a group effort. As I mentioned before we deal with their basic needs such as health, hunger, clothing, and eyeglasses," Binienda told GoLocalWorcester.com. The impact is profound. While the test scores are low, they are improving. The result is optimism is area in which optimism is a rare commodity.