Admissions Policy

This policy is available in multiple languages upon request, or by using the translate feature at the top of this page. A downloadable version of this policy is available at the bottom of this page.

OVERVIEW

Massachusetts state regulations (603 CMR 4.00) require all state-designated career technical education (CTE) schools and programs to develop and implement admission, recruitment, and retention policies that comply with state and federal law, as well as relevant guidelines issued by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the U.S. Department of Education.

I. EQUAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY

Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District admits students and makes available to them its programs, privileges, and courses of study without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin, immigration or citizenship status, sexual orientation, or disability.

Blue Hill Regional Technical School has an online application that is available in languages other than English. Paper applications can also be requested in a student’s home language. If a student’s primary home language is not English, Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District will provide them with an application form in their home language. Please contact our Admissions Office at 781-828-5800 ext. 2270 or admissions@bluehills.org if you have questions or need help filling out the application form.

Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District is committed to providing educational opportunities to students experiencing homelessness. Please contact Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District’s liaison, Angelo Dimitriou, at adimitriou@bluehills.org or 781-828-5800 ext. 2241 with any questions.

Students with disabilities may voluntarily identify themselves to Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District to request reasonable accommodations during the application and admission process. Neither a student’s disability nor the primary language of their home will have any effect on their admission to Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District.

Consistent with Massachusetts regulations, Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District has created a plan with “deliberate specific strategies to promote equal educational opportunities and attract, enroll, and retain a student population that, when compared to students in similar grades in sending districts, has a comparable academic and demographic profile.” These strategies include but are not limited to:

Providing informational presentations to in-district 8th grade students during the fall at sending district middle schools.
Providing an annual Open House where prospective students and their parents/guardians have an opportunity to visit all career technical programs and speak with teachers. In addition, prospective students and families have access to staff members from Blue Hills ́academic courses, student support services, and extracurricular programs.
Providing a Showcase Event for in-district 8th grade students and their staff members. Showcase is held during school hours for accessibility and accommodations. In-district middle schools that choose to participate in this program are provided with transportation at no cost, and 8th grade students have an opportunity to tour the building and view program-specific presentations.
Ensuring information on our website (www.bluehills.org) is updated regularly.

II. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

Blue Hills Regional Technical School is a public regional vocational technical school located in Canton, Massachusetts. It is operated by the Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District, approved by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. Blue Hills Regional Technical School is committed to providing quality academic and career/technical education programs.

The Superintendent-Director of Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District is: Jill M. Rossetti, jrossetti@bluehills.org, 781-828-5800 x4001.

The Principal of Blue Hills Regional Technical School is: Geoffrey Zini, gzini@bluehills.org, 781-828-5800 x2257.

The Director of Admissions and Post-Secondary Education of Blue Hills Regional Technical School is: Stephanie Albernaz, salbernaz@bluehills.org, 781-828-5800 x2271.

It is the responsibility of Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District’s Superintendent-Director to supervise the administration of the policies and procedures used to admit and enroll students, consistent with all applicable laws, regulations, and guidance.

III. ELIGIBILITY

Any rising or current 8th or 9th grade student residing in the Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District (Avon, Braintree, Canton, Dedham, Holbrook, Milton, Norwood, Randolph, and Westwood) may apply for admission, subject to the availability of openings at Blue Hills Regional Technical School. Students may only be admitted if they have been promoted to the grade they are seeking to enter, so students should be aware that their admission is conditional—if they are not ultimately promoted to enter the grade they have applied for, their admission will be rescinded. Resident students who meet the minimum requirements for admission shall be admitted prior to acceptance of any non-resident students. To verify residency, a parent or legal guardian is required to submit proof of residency documents during the application process. Applications submitted without the required residency documentation will be considered incomplete and processed in accordance with Section V.C – Application Process of this policy.

A. NON-RESIDENT STUDENTS

Students who do not reside in the Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District (Avon, Braintree, Canton, Dedham, Holbrook, Milton, Norwood, Randolph, and Westwood) may apply for admission, subject to the availability of openings at Blue Hills Regional Technical School. Please be aware that residents of Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District who meet the minimum admission requirements will be admitted before any non-resident students. Admission is contingent upon the student’s promotion by their sending district to the grade they seek to enter and is subject to the same admissions standards as all other applicants. Students and families can find information on the CTE Nonresident Student Tuition Program online at https://www.doe.mass.edu/ccte/policies/admissions/.

In addition to completing an application, non-resident applicants must also complete the Chapter 74 Career Technical Education Program Non-Resident Student Tuition Application. Section 1 of the form must be completed by the parent or guardian and submitted to the Superintendent of the student’s District of Residence no later than April 1 of the preceding school year. The Superintendent of the student’s District of Residence will then complete Section 2 within 10 business days of receipt and return the form to the parent or guardian, with a copy forwarded to the Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District.

Students who begin their enrollment as Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District residents and later move outside of the district may request to remain enrolled at Blue Hills Regional Technical School as non-residents. Such requests will be granted only if the student obtains approval from the Superintendent of the student’s District of Residence. Students in this situation must follow the same process as other non-resident applicants, including completing the Chapter 74 Career Technical Education Program Non-Resident Student Tuition Application. Section 1 of the form must be completed by the parent or guardian and submitted to the Superintendent of the District of Residence no later than April 1 of the preceding school year. If the move occurs after April 1, the parent or guardian must submit the application to the Superintendent of the student’s District of Residence as soon as practicable. The Superintendent of the student’s District of Residence will complete Section 2 within 10 business days of receipt and return the form to the parent or guardian, with a copy forwarded to the Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District.

Please note that if a non-resident student has been accepted to Blue Hills Regional Technical School, the student's city or town of residence is responsible for tuition and transportation, not the individual family.

B. HOMESCHOOLED STUDENTS

Students who are homeschooled may apply to attend Blue Hills Regional Technical School full-time and will be subject to the same admissions standards as other applicants. Students who enroll in Blue Hills Regional Technical School must enroll full-time.

C. TRANSFER STUDENTS

Transfer students from other M.G.L. c.74 state approved career technical programs, who move into the Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District, may apply for fall admission or admission during the school year to grades 9-12, provided there is available space in the requested program and the student is expected to be promoted by their current school to the grade they seek to enter at Blue Hills Regional Technical School. For fall admission to the 9th and 10th grade, applicants may pursue a different program of study, and 11th and 12th grade applicants must pursue the same program of study at Blue Hills Regional Technical School. For admission during the current school year, 9th grade and 10th grade applicants (during first term only) may pursue a different program of study. As of the second term of 10th, 11th and 12th grade applicants must pursue the same program of study at Blue Hills Regional Technical School. Transfer students will be subject to the same admissions standards as other applicants.

D. SCHOOL CHOICE

Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District does not participate in the inter-district school choice program. The inter-district school choice program, M.G.L. c. 76, § 12B, allows parents/guardians to send their children to schools in communities other than the city or town in which they reside.

IV. RECRUITMENT POLICIES

Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District maintains a calendar of events on its website, www.bluehills.org, where it provides information on the admission process, as well as other information about its programs. Students and their families can request hard copies of the calendar by calling or emailing the Admissions Office at admissions@bluehills.org, 781-828-5800 x2270.

Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District disseminates information to guidance counselors, principals, and superintendents in each sending school districts and directly to seventh and eighth grade students in the Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District.

Informational presentations are provided to in-district 8th-grade students during the fall at sending district middle schools. These presentations include a recruitment overview covering technical programs, academic courses, cooperative education, special education resources, athletics, clubs and extracurricular activities, and the application process.

An annual open house is held in the fall for all residents of the district. Prospective students and their parents/guardians have an opportunity to visit all career technical programs and speak with teachers. In addition, prospective students and families have access to staff members from Blue Hills ́academic courses, student support services, and extracurricular programs.

All eighth-grade resident students are invited to the annual Showcase held in the fall during school hours to ensure accessibility and accommodations. Students can participate in live, interactive demonstrations and spend 30 minutes in up to three of our seventeen CTE programs, while also learning about academic offerings. In-district middle schools that participate are provided with bus transportation at no cost. Interested resident students from private, parochial, or homeschool settings are also welcome to attend.

Recruitment materials describing Open House, Showcase, career and technical programs, non-traditional career options, academic courses, sports, clubs, cooperative education, and special education resources are mailed and emailed to all seventh and eighth grade students in the district and are distributed during open house and informational sessions. This information is also available on the school website at www.bluehills.org. All recruitment efforts are designed to provide students and families with comprehensive information, enabling them to make informed decisions regarding enrollment based on the school’s offerings.

V. APPLICATION PROCESS

A. APPLICATION PROCESS FOR FALL ADMISSION TO THE NINTH GRADE

To be included in the admissions lottery, 9th grade applicants must:

Obtain an application form online at bluehills.org, or request a hardcopy from their guidance counselor or school designee, or contact the Admissions Office at admissions@bluehills.org or 781-828-5800 x2270.
Complete all elements of the application online OR on the hardcopy.
Submit the completed application to the Admissions Office online (preferred), via mail, or through their middle school guidance counselor or school designee.

It is the responsibility of the sending middle school guidance counselor or school designee to provide the following information for each applicant for Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District to determine if an applicant receives any additional lottery weight:

Does the applicant have fewer than 27 unexcused absences over the 270 school days prior to the date of application? No data prior to 7th grade may be considered.
- If “yes”, one additional weight is assigned.
- If “no”, no additional weight is assigned.
Has the applicant been suspended or expelled pursuant to M.G.L. c.71 §37H or §37H1/2 for either of the following on school premises or at school-sponsored or school-related events over the 270 school days prior to the date of their application: possession of a dangerous weapon or assault of educational staff, provided that such suspensions or expulsions were in connection with felonies that have been adjudicated or in which the student has made an admission of guilt in court, provided that no data prior to an applicant's seventh grade year may be considered?
- If “no”, one additional weight is assigned.
- If “yes”, no additional weight is assigned.

If no records are received by the middle school guidance counselor or school designee, no additional weights will be assigned. Parents/guardians will be notified in writing so they are aware that no additional weights have been applied.

9TH GRADE ADMISSIONS TIMELINE

Application Available	November 1
Application Deadline	January 1
Email Notification to Parents/Guardians of Student’s Assigned Weights	Mid-Late January
Public Lottery	Mid-Late February
Offer Letters Sent via Email	Mid-Late February
Confirmation Deadline	Parents/guardians must confirm or decline the offer of enrollment within seven (7) business days of receipt.

Additional rounds of offers will occur until all seats are filled. Parents/guardians must accept or decline the offer of enrollment within seven (7) business days of receipt. Failure to respond to an offer will be considered an indication that the parent/guardian does not wish to enroll their student, resulting in forfeiture of their student’s seat. Blue Hills Regional Technical School will notify the parent/guardian of the withdrawal via email and U.S. postal mail, and the vacated seat will be offered to applicants from the waiting list. Remaining students will be selected from the waitlist in numerical order, in accordance with Section VI – Selection Process of this policy. Waiting lists will remain active until October 1 of the same calendar year in which they are established, at which time they will expire.

B. APPLICATION PROCESS FOR FALL ADMISSION TO THE TENTH GRADE

To be included in the 10th grade admissions lottery, applicants must:

Obtain an application form online at bluehills.org, or request a hardcopy from their school guidance counselor or school designee, or contact the Admissions Office at admissions@bluehills.org or 781-828-5800 x2270.
Complete all elements of the application online OR on the hardcopy.
Submit the completed application to the Admissions Office online (preferred), via mail, or through their school counselor.

It is the responsibility of the sending school guidance counselor or school designee to provide the following information for each applicant for Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District to determine if an applicant receives any additional lottery weight:

Does the applicant have fewer than 27 unexcused absences over the 270 school days prior to the date of application? No data prior to 7th grade may be considered.
- If “yes”, one additional weight is assigned.
- If “no”, no additional weight is assigned.
Has the applicant been suspended or expelled pursuant to M.G.L. c.71 §37H or §37H1/2 for either of the following on school premises or at school-sponsored or school-related events over the 270 school days prior to the date of their application: possession of a dangerous weapon or assault of educational staff, provided that such suspensions or expulsions were in connection with felonies that have been adjudicated or in which the student has made an admission of guilt in court, provided that no data prior to an applicant's seventh grade year may be considered?
- If “no”, one additional weight is assigned.
- If “yes”, no additional weight is assigned.

If no records are received by the school guidance counselor or school designee, no additional weights will be assigned. Parents/guardians will be notified in writing so they are aware that no additional weights have been applied.

10TH GRADE ADMISSIONS TIMELINE

Application Available	January 1
Application Deadline	March 1
Email Notification to Parents/Guardians of Student’s Assigned Weights	May
Public Lottery	August
Offer Letters Sent via Email	August
Confirmation Deadline	Parents/guardians must confirm or decline the offer of enrollment within seven (7) business days of receipt.

C. LATE APPLICATIONS

Applications received after the published deadline will be entered into a separate lottery, which will occur only after all names from the initial lottery have been exhausted. If seats are available at any time, resident students will receive preference, in accordance with Section VI – Selection Process of this policy.

D. INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS

If incomplete applications are received, the following procedures will be followed:

The Admissions Office will notify the applicant’s guidance counselor/school designee responsible for submitting the application that the application is incomplete. This notification will specify what is needed for completion.
The applicant's parent(s)/guardian(s) will be notified by our Admissions Office in the event that the problem is not resolved by the applicant’s guidance counselor/school designee. The notification specifies what part(s) of the application are missing.
If after notifying the applicant’s guidance counselor/school designee and parent(s)/guardian(s), the application remains incomplete for ten school days, the application will be placed on ‘inactive’ status, until such time as the additional information is received.

E. TRANSFER STUDENTS

Students already enrolled in a state-designated CTE program in another school may apply for admission to Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District. Please contact the Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District Admissions Office at admissions@bluehills.org, 781-828-5800 x2270 with any questions or to request an application form.

F. WITHDRAWN STUDENTS

Students who withdraw from Blue Hills Regional Technical School and who are currently enrolled in another high school, a home-school program, or similar educational placement, may reapply to Blue Hills Regional following the procedures contained in this admission policy. A student who has withdrawn from Blue Hills Regional Technical School is not guaranteed acceptance.

VI. SELECTION PROCESS

When Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District receives more applications than it has available seats, Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District applies a weighted lottery to determine which students it will admit. The School Committee has approved the weighted criteria Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District will apply, and the School Committee will approve the use of these weights annually. The lottery will admit resident students before admitting any non-residents seeking the same program.

All students with completed applications are entered into the lottery.
As identified in Application Process V, students will be assigned additional weight in the admissions lottery for meeting criteria in the following areas:
- Attendance
- Behavior
The lottery will take place in public as published on the school district’s website with reasonable public notice at least one week prior to the lottery.
Resident students who apply by the application deadline will be entered into the lottery. Students will be chosen randomly using an online platform. Those not selected will be placed on a waitlist in random, numbered order. If additional seats become available, resident applicants will be selected from the waitlist in numerical order until all seats are filled.
Resident students who apply after the application deadline will be considered in a second lottery, once all names from the initial lottery have been exhausted.
When there are no further resident applicants, and if there are seats remaining, a lottery for non-resident applicants will take place, and students will be selected in the same manner.

Waiting lists will remain active until October 1 of the same calendar year in which they are established, at which time they will expire.

VII. ENROLLMENT

In order to enroll at Blue Hills Regional Technical School for the fall, applicants must have been promoted to the grade they are seeking to enter, so students should be aware that their admission is conditional—if they are not ultimately promoted to enter the grade they have applied for, their admission will be rescinded. An official final transcript must be submitted to the Admissions Office by the student’s sending school prior to enrollment to verify promotion and complete the enrollment process.

Acceptance and enrollment at Blue Hills Regional Technical School is based upon the accuracy and completeness of the student’s application. Blue Hills Regional Technical School reserves the right to revoke its acceptance of any student, at any time, if it determines that the student, the student’s parent/guardian(s), or the student’s sending school district provided inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading information during the application process.

All accepted incoming students will participate in placement testing. In accordance with Massachusetts state law, updated physical examination and immunization records must be submitted prior to the first day of school. Parents/guardians must complete all required registration forms in the student information system to formally enroll their student. Failure to complete these forms will be considered an indication that the parent/guardian does not wish to enroll the student, resulting in forfeiture of the student’s seat. Blue Hills Regional Technical School will notify the parent/guardian of the withdrawal via email and U.S. postal mail, and the vacated seat will be offered to applicants from the waiting list.

VIII. APPEALS PROCESS

Acceptance at Blue Hills Regional Technical School is based upon the accuracy of the admission criteria information provided by the sending school district and the accuracy of information provided by parents/guardians and students on the admission application form.

Prior to the lottery being drawn, applicants will be assigned weights, in accordance with Section V – Application Process of this policy. Parents/guardians will be notified by email of the number of weights their student has received. Parents/guardians who wish to appeal a missed weight must submit the appeal in writing to the Superintendent-Director or their designee, via email or mail, within ten (10) business days of notification.

The Superintendent-Director or their designee will review the appeal and provide a written decision within ten (10) business days of receiving the appeal. The decision of the Superintendent-Director or their designee will be final.

Appeals may only be made regarding the calculation of weights or the application of admissions criteria. The outcome of the lottery is final and cannot be appealed.

With regard to program placement, the parent/guardian of a student, who was not placed in a particular technical program, may request a review of the decision by sending a letter to the Principal. The Principal will review the matter and respond in writing within thirty (30) business days.

IX. EXPLORATORY PROGRAM & PROGRAM-SPECIFIC ADMISSION

All ninth graders who enroll in Blue Hills Regional Technical School participate in a technical exploratory program. First, the mini exploratory program is the preliminary introduction to Blue Hills Regional’s technical program offerings. For the mini exploratory, students rotate through all seventeen (17) technical programs for one period of time (about 40 minutes). Students then choose the top nine (9) vocational technical programs they wish to explore for a one-week (approx. 30 hours) period of time during nine (9) technical week cycles.

A universal exploratory evaluation form is used by each technical program. Each student will be assigned a total score derived from the sum of the sub scores (points) in the following areas: Professionalism/Employability, Participation, Quality/Completeness of Work, Safety and Tech/Related for a maximum total of 100 points. At the end of the last exploratory, each student selects their first, second, and third choice programs for final placement.

Students are admitted into the technical program of their choice based first on the total point score they received in that program. The student with the highest total point score for a technical program is admitted first. The student with the next highest point total score in that program is admitted second, and so on. In the event that equal grades are earned by multiple students applying to the same vocational program, consideration will be given to the overall average students received in all exploratory programs. For example, if two students earned a 94 in Culinary Arts and only one seat is available, the student with the highest overall average of all exploratory grades will be placed in Culinary Arts. If a student does not receive their first choice, their second choice becomes their new first choice for purpose of placement. Students will be placed in their second choice area following the same procedure as their first choice placement that is, based on the score they received in that program, and so on. Students are admitted to the second or third choice of program in order of their rating for the technical program.

If a student cannot be placed in their first, second or third choice of program, the guidance counselor will meet with the student and present a list of the technical programs with openings and invite the student to select their top choices in rank order. If the student chooses a technical program in which he/she previously explored, the technical program placement will be made using the same criteria discussed above. If several students are vying for one seat, students will be placed in the program based on the grade received in the program during exploratory. If a student did not explore the program, they may be assigned to the program after students who have received an exploratory grade for the program. In the event of a tie, the overall average of all exploratories will be used to break the tie. In a case where the overall average is also a tie, we will blindly draw a student’s name.

Students who enroll in Blue Hills Regional Technical School after grade 9 will be accepted into a specific program upon admission, subject to available seats in that program.

Students who wish to transfer from one technical program to another during the school year may apply for transfer only once up until October 1 of a student’s sophomore year. Transfers will not be allowed for students in grades 11 or 12. Transfer requests will be considered subject to the availability of openings in the requested program. Each transfer applicant will be interviewed and counseled individually to determine the appropriateness of the transfer for the particular student. Transfers will not occur without parent(s)/guardian(s) permission.

X. MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS

Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District maintains records of all students who apply, enroll, or are waitlisted, and their admission criteria weight, to facilitate analysis of its admissions system and compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Blue Hills Regional Vocational School District provides this information to DESE upon request.

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