By Alice Waugh
At least two area vocational high schools offer excellent academic and technical programs and could be a viable alternative for students if Lincoln withdraws from the Minuteman High School district, members of the Vocational Education Options Working Group (VEOWG) said at a public forum on Feb. 11.
VEOWG members visited and met with officials at Assabet Valley Regional Technical School in Marlborough and Nashoba Valley Technical High School in Westford as part of their research to provide information to voters in advance of the February 23 Special Town Meeting. They had also been scheduled to visit Minuteman and Keefe Regional Technical School in Framingham before the forum, but inclement weather forced postponements. The group expects to visit the other two schools before February 23, when Lincoln voters will be asked if they will approve a new regional agreement for Minuteman and whether to withdraw from the district.
If the new regional agreement is approved by all 16 towns in the Minuteman district, Lincoln’s voting power will be reduced and its share of capital costs will rise as a result of the planned $145 million new Minuteman building (see the Lincoln Squirrel, Feb. 5, 2016).
Because Lincoln is a member of the Minuteman district, Lincoln students who want to go to a voc-tech high school must attend Minuteman unless there is a specific program at another area school that Minuteman does not offer. Should Lincoln withdraw, its students may attend whichever school they wish, as long as that school has space.
Programs at Nashoba Valley and Assabet are “really exciting and interesting,” said Becky McFall, Superintendent of Schools and a member of the VEOWG. “Overall our impressions were highly favorable. There was a highly engaged student population happy to be there and happy to be studying what they want to. The teachers are extremely passionate and committed… it was very inspiring to see.”
Asked which school offered the best option for Lincoln students, McFall said, “they are all best options. It really depends on what your interest is.”
The VEOWG has published a detailed comparison of the four schools on metrics including enrollment and attendance, distance from Lincoln, academic and technical program offerings, MCAS and SAT scores, extracurricular activities and post-graduation outcomes.
Minuteman has the smallest enrollment this year at 673 students while Assabet is the largest at 1,130 students. Nashoba Valley has 764 and Keefe Technical has 693. Minuteman’s new building will have a capacity of 628 students. The school’s future enrollment will probably be affected as member towns withdraw and decide whether or not to send its students there as out-of-district students.
Carlisle, Wayland and Sudbury have already voted to withdraw, while Acton, Arlington, Concord, Lancaster, Needham and Stow have voted to approve the new regional agreement and remain in the Minuteman district. Four other towns will vote on February 22 and the other two on February 24.
If Lincoln withdraws, the town must still pay transportation costs to send its vocational students to whatever schools they choose. The town might be able to share transportation costs with other towns. Some schools even offer mileage payments to parents for taking their children to school themselves, Selectman Peter Braun noted.