SPRINGFIELD – In order to meet state guidelines, the School Committee has changed its selection policy for students who want to enroll at Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical Academy or other career education programs, but teens will still have a chance to get a competitive edge.
The School Committee voted 7-0 earlier this month to approve the policy to create a lottery system for eighth graders who want to enroll at Putnam for next year, replacing rules that give more weight to good grades, attendance and behavior.
“It is very simply a random lottery,” said Robert St. Lawrence, chief information officer for the school district.
In May, the state education board voted to ban vocational schools from using selective criteria such as grades and counselor recommendations in the enrollment process. Studies showed weighted admissions for the popular programs have been leaving behind low-income children and those who speak limited English.
Any Springfield student interested in attending Putnam can still boost their chances by earning as many as two extra lottery tickets. One extra ticket will be granted for every student who has fewer than 23 unexcused full-day absences during the last academic year and the first quarter of this year, said Assistant Superintendent Jose Escribano.
Teens will also be able to earn an additional ticket by submitting an essay or 90-minute video on why they should be selected. The statements of interest will not be scored, Escribano said.
Both advantages are allowed under the new state rule.
The lottery system will only be needed for vocational programs which have more student interest than seats, St. Lawrence said.
Putnam has the most and best-known vocational programs and always has a waiting list, but there are other career technical programs scattered throughout the city schools, including the after-school program at the High School of Science and Technology, St. Lawrence said.
School Committee Vice Chairwoman LaTonia Monroe Naylor said she is hoping to boost the marketing for all the programs so students can make better choices and know that career technical programs are not limited to Putnam.
“I don’t believe the School Committee is in favor of the change the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education decided to do,” said Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, committee chairman. “We tweaked it a bit to try to stay in line with what we were doing because it’s been very successful.”
Putnam has one of the highest graduation rates and some of the top MCAS scores among the Springfield Public secondary schools, state statistics show.
The city’s School Department is also making changes in its programs to help middle school students select the high school where they want to go when they become ninth graders, said Superintendent Sonia Dinnall.
Middle schools are doing more to introduce students to career options. There will be fairs and “road shows” that introduce this year’s eighth graders to the different offerings at the city’s high schools, Escribano said.
“We will develop a host of online resources for our families,” Dinnall said. “We don’t want to leave our families out.”
As part of that effort, there is a high school and middle school fair scheduled from 4 to 6 p.m. on Jan. 7 at Putnam High School where students and their families can learn more about different opportunities available at each.
The department is also unveiling a new online school selection system called SchoolMint that will allow families to apply to different schools, including middle and elementary magnet schools, track applications and gather more information.
The department has been releasing a series of videos and written instructions to teach families how to navigate the system before it starts accepting applications in mid-January.