A lottery system could exclude even the most qualified and motivated students while admitting others who are not. This will not solve the statewide access problem ― it will simply reshuffle the slots.Lottery isn’t the solution for Massachusetts vocational schools
By Karen Burgio
Updated May 17, 2025, 3:00 a.m.
Earlier this year, residents of nine South Shore towns including my own, Hanson, voted overwhelming to fund a new $276.4 million South Shore Technical High School. This facility, which will be built on the grounds of the existing school’s athletic field, will expand capacity by more than 200 students and add new programs in plumbing and veterinary science to its already extensive slate of offerings.
I voted yes on this project because I believe more students deserve the chance to benefit rom a model that works. Nearly 80 percent of voters agreed with me. At a time when6,000 to 11,000 students in Massachusetts are on a wait-list for a vocational-technical school, voters in the nine communities came together to make a smart, long-term investment in students.
I was trying to strengthen the system with this vote, not overhaul it. Yet on May 20, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will vote on a new policy proposed by Governor Maura Healey that would eliminate the current admissions process and replace it with a randomized lottery.
Massachusetts’ voc-techs are recognized nationally as the gold standard in voc-tec education because they combine academic rigor with hands-on training. They offer students a clear path to well-paying jobs in high-demand fields such as health care, construction, and manufacturing, as well as for further education.
My four sons attended South Shore Tech, each majoring in a different vocational program. They had different levels of learning challenges and abilities, and three of them were accepted in the first round of admissions. My youngest son had the motivation and determination to attend the school his brothers attended and started to prepare for the admissions process when he was as young as fifth grade because he knew his grades and good behavior gave him a chance to be accepted. But he actually wasn’t accepted until the end of the second round, and that drove him even harder to make sure he got his acceptance letter.
My sons took their admissions very seriously and excelled in their academics, shops, clubs, sports, and co-op programs. They are proud to say they made it into South Shore Tech and continue to promote the school as a top school to attend in our area.
They tell kids who are thinking of applying to keep their grades and attendance up and to not get into trouble if they want a chance to attend. If they get accepted, they can know that they earned that spot. Earning a spot means a lot more than simply matriculating at the local high school.
Under the current admissions system, most voc-techs take into account a student’s grades, attendance, behavior, and interest in the program. These are reasonable and relevant criteria for a model that requires students to be present and engaged every day to succeed. Whether it is carpentry, electrical, or culinary arts, voc-tech students are working with real equipment in real-world environments.
A lottery system would toss those factors aside and could exclude even the most qualified and motivated students while admitting others who are not. This will not solve the statewide access problem ― it will simply reshuffle the slots.
What is powerful about voc-techs is that they bring students from urban, suburban, and rural communities together under one roof and provide them with the tools to succeed, regardless of their backgrounds. A one-size-fits-all lottery fails to account for the needs of various districts. A lottery system may serve Boston better while less urban areas may benefit more from the current admissions-based system.
Our communities were clear in their vote. We chose to invest in a bigger school because we have seen what South Shore Tech can do when it is given the resources. If DESE moves forward with the lottery, it will undercut the thoughtful decision we made to increase the opportunities available to our local students.
Rather than discarding the admissions process that supports students’ success, the state should bolster its investment in more seats to serve more students. That commitment is especially important as the construction costs for voc-techs, which require more space, infrastructure, and specialized equipment, are higher than for traditional high schools. South Shore Tech intends to break ground in 2026 and open the doors of its new school in 2028. Those doors should open to students who are prepared to walk through them —students who have shown that they are eager to learn and can thrive in the voc-tech setting.
