‘We’re taking the wrong kids’: High-needs students lose out in vocational school admissions (Boston Globe)
Below is an excerpt from an article published by the Boston Globe on July 18 addressing the admissions challenges for students interested in attending Massachusetts vocational schools. Center for Law and Education’s Paul Weckstein is quoted.
GARDNER — As far back as he can remember, Aaron Perkins knew he wanted to work with his hands. Childhood photos foreshadowed his ambitions: A tow-headed toddler wielding a toy chain saw in one shot, the same tyke wearing floppy workman’s gloves in another. By age 4, he’s on his back under a jacked-up toy tractor, absorbed in imaginary play.
It seemed inevitable, then, that Perkins — the great-grandson, grandson, and son of tradespeople — would attend his local vocational school when he reached the ninth grade.
But that never happened. He couldn’t get in.
State data shows Perkins, a Gardner resident, is one of many who are finding the vocational school door shut.
This spring, more than 8,500 middle-schoolers out of roughly 20,300 applicants were denied admission to the state’s 28 regional trade high schools, putting the schools’ collective acceptance rate — about 60 percent — on par with that of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the state’s flagship public university.
All sides agree: Capacity is an issue. With a total of about 30,000 seats, there just isn’t space for the ballooning number of students interested in the schools, which expose young people to vocational and technical training alongside traditional academics.
Read more at the Boston Globe.
