Oct 
Friends of Vocational Technical & Agricultural Education,
Vocational technical and agricultural administrators are pushing back against accusations that their admissions policies are discriminatory, and that they should instead be made lottery based.
But school administrators say a lottery-based admissions system would take seats away from students who benefit most from vocational technical & agricultural education.
School administrators say a lottery-based admissions system would take seats away from students who benefit most from vocational education.
David
Bristol-Plymouth and Southeastern Regional Vocational-Technical leaders
Push back on calls for lottery-based Admissions
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<![endif]>Superintendent says Bristol-Plymouth has diverse student body
Superintendent Alexandre Magalhaes, State Senator Michael Rodrigues (Chair of Senate Committee on Ways and Means) & Senator Mark C. Montigny (Chair Senate Committee on Steering and Policy) .
Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School Superintendent Alexandre Magalhaes said the school already has a diverse student population and it’s unclear that a lottery system would result in a more diverse student body.
"If you look at the diversity of our school compared to other towns in our school district and Taunton, we have a diverse group of students," he said.
"When it comes to admitting students, we don’t ask what nationality they are or if they have special education needs. Those questions were asked 30 years ago. We have always had an application process since the school began," he said.
Twice as many applicants as seats at B-P
Magalhaes said the school can accommodate 350 freshmen each year but receives approximately 700 applications from eighth graders who wish to enroll. "Vocational schools have become popular to attend during the last few years," he said. "Kids are excelling in the trades."
Magalhaes said his administration tries to make the admission of students competitive to encourage them to work harder academically while they attend middle school. "We prepare our kids for the workforce and to be ready to attend college," he said. "That is part of the DESE (state Department of Elementary and Secondary) recommendation."
B-P’s admissions process
Magalhaes said the admission of students is based on how many classes they pass in eighth grade, attendance, and behavior.
"A student gets points for passing a course and zero for failing a course," he said. "Class attendance is part of our criteria because we train kids to be on time when they go to work and to be ready to work."
Magalhaes said the acceptance of student applicants includes evaluating their middle school disciplinary records.
"The discipline numbers are looked at and it’s not something that would hold a student back from being enrolled," he said. "If a guidance counselor truly thinks a student would be a good candidate for our school we will interview them."
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<![endif]> B-P’s admissions process
Magalhaes said the admission of students is based on how many classes they pass in eighth grade, attendance, and behavior.
"A student gets points for passing a course and zero for failing a course," he said. "Class attendance is part of our criteria because we train kids to be on time when they go to work and to be ready to work."
New B-P building will allow for more students
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<![endif]>Construction of a new $305 million Bristol-Plymouth school building is underway and it will be able to accommodate 100 more students when it’s projected to open in September 2026, he said.
"The school will be built for 1,440 students," he said. "We have a list of 1,340 students right now. We are not sure if we will be admitting 100 additional freshmen. The 100 students could be spread out to all grades. As for increasing the number of freshmen, that will be phased in."
Superintendent says students of color ‘highly represented’ at Southeastern
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<![endif]>Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical School Superintendent Holly McClanan said the school has a very diverse student population, and a lottery system would hinder the ability of administrators to admit students who can benefit from a vocational education.
"I know the proponent of the lottery,” she said. “One of their objectives is to make sure students of color and students who speak English as a second language get admitted to these (vocational) schools. Our students in those categories are highly represented."
Southeastern has nearly three times as many applicants as seats
McClanan said Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical School uses competitive criteria to admit students because the school can only accommodate 416 freshmen.
"We have received over 1,100 applications for our 416 freshmen seats," she said.
McClanan said she supports expanding access for students to receive vocational education but Southeastern can’t do that.
"We need more seats," she said. "The lottery would change the names of kids who get into our school, but it does not change the length of the waiting list for students who want a vocational education."
Southeastern’s admissions process
McClanan said the school’s competitive admissions process is designed to identify eighth-grade applicants who will benefit from a vocational education.
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<![endif]>"The admissions process involves looking at a student’s grades, their attendance and if they have received serious discipline for their behavior," she said. "Normal student misbehavior does not count against them. "
McClanan said the school also seeks recommendations from applicants’ middle school teachers or guidance counselors.
"We believe we should have some competitive criteria because we offer specialized education," she said.
“We have a live-work environment with industrial equipment that is dangerous to operate. It’s important to have students that have maturity in that space."
David J. Ferreira
MAVA Communications Coordinator
DavidFerreira
