Somerville Public Schools/Somerville High School
Center for Career & Technical Education
81 Highland Ave.
Somerville, MA 02143
M.G.L. Chapter 74 PROGRAM ADMISSIONS POLICY
INTRODUCTION
Massachusetts state regulations (603 CMR 4.00) require all state-funded career/vocational technical
education (CVTE) schools and CVTE programs at public high schools to develop and implement admissions
policies that comply with state and federal law, as well as relevant guidelines issued by the Massachusetts
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the U.S. Department of Education.
I. ADMISSIONS
When Somerville High School’s Center for Career and Technical Education’s (SHS CCTE’s) Ch. 74 programs
receives more applications than it has available seats, SHS CCTE applies a lottery to determine which
students it will admit. The lottery will admit resident students before admitting any non-residents seeking
the same program. SHS CCTE’s admission policy is on file at the Department of Elementary and Secondary
Education.
II. EQUAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY
SHS CCTE 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, sexual orientation, disability,
or any other legally protected group.
If a student’s primary home language is not English, SHS CCTE will provide them with an application form
in their home language. Please call our school-based Family & Community liaison at 617-625-6600 Ext.
611041 if you have questions or need help filling out the application form.
SHS CCTE is committed to providing educational opportunities to students experiencing homelessness.
Please call the liaison for the Somerville Public Schools at 617-625-6600 extension 6994 with any
questions. The office is located at 8 Bonair Street, Somerville, MA 02143.
Students with disabilities may voluntarily identify themselves to SHS CCTE 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 a SHS CCTE Program.
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Center for Career & Technical Education
Admissions Policy for Ch.74 Programs Revised November 2021
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III. ELIGIBILITY
Any current 8
th
grade student or rising 9
th
or 10
th
grade student who is a resident of Somerville may apply
for admission to a SHS CCTE Ch. 74 program. Students may only be admitted to a SHS CCTE Ch. 74 Program
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 seeking the same program.
HOMESCHOOLED STUDENTS:
Homeschool applicants may apply to participate in SHS CCTE full-time and will be subject to the same
admissions standards as other applicants.
TRANSFER STUDENTS:
Students who are already accepted & participating in a Ch. 74 program at another school (not including
Exploratory) and transfer to Somerville High School may apply for admission to a matching SHS CCTE
program. Students in good standing at their previous school will be admitted.
Students who transfer to Somerville High School but were not previously accepted & participating in a Ch.
74 program will be subject to the same application & admissions standards as other applicants. If a
student transfers after the SHS CCTE program application deadline, they may only apply for admission to
undersubscribed programs.
SCHOOL CHOICE:
Somerville Public Schools and Somerville High School’s Center for Career & Technical Education 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. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Somerville High School is currently located at 81 Highland Avenue, Somerville, MA. As a comprehensive
high school serving students in grades 9 through 12, we are pleased to offer thirteen Ch.74 approved CTE
programs including Exploratory, Advanced Manufacturing, Automotive Technology, Carpentry,
Cosmetology, Culinary Arts, Dental Assisting, Drafting, Early Education & Care, Electrical, Graphic
Communications, Health Assisting, and Metal Fabrication. We are in the process of seeking Ch. 74
approvals for Plumbing and HVAC/R programs.
The Superintendent of Somerville Public Schools can be contacted by calling 617-625-6600 Ext. 6005.
The Principal of Somerville High School can be contacted by calling 617-625-6600 Ext. 611013.
The Director of the Center for Career & Technical Education at Somerville High School can be contacted
by calling 617-625-6600 Ext. 610401.
It is the responsibility of Somerville Public Schools Superintendent to supervise the administration of the
policies and procedures used to admit and enroll students, consistent with all applicable laws, regulations,
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and guidance.
V. ADMISSIONS COMMUNICATION POLICIES
SHS CCTE events and activities will be listed on Somerville High School’s main calendar here:
https://somerville.k12.ma.us/events/calendar/month/2021-10?og_group_ref_target_id%5B0%5D=12 .
Students and their families can request hard copies of the calendar by calling the CTE Director at 617-629-
6600 Ext. 610401. Additional information about the admissions process can be found on our CCTE website
at: https://somerville.k12.ma.us/schools/somerville-high-school/departments-academics/center-career-
and-technical-education .
SHS CCTE also shares recruitment information with potential applicants in the following ways:
● The Career & Technical Education website
● The Somerville High School Program of Studies
● Recruitment initiatives for incoming rising grade 9 students including:
○ 8th Grade Career Exploration Days held at SHS in January
○ CTE presentations provided to 8
th
grade students in February at each middle school in the
district by CTE Student Ambassadors and teachers
● The 9th grade Exploratory program provides information on the application and selection process
for enrolling in a CCTE program major for grade 10
● Informational brochures are posted in the Somerville Public School’s Parent Information Center
and SHS Guidance offices
SHS CCTE offers tours of its facilities to interested applicants. To request a tour, please call the CTE
Director at 617-629-6600 Ext. 610401. If the agreed-upon time slot for a tour occurs during the applicant’s
school day, the CTE Office will provide confirmation to the applicant’s current school that the applicant
attended a tour during this time. Such tours may not be counted as unexcused absences by sending
schools. All prospective students are responsible for providing their own transportation to and from
Somerville High School.
VI. APPLICATION PROCESS
APPLICATION PROCESS FOR FALL ADMISSION TO THE NINTH and TENTH GRADES
Students interested in applying to SHS CCTE for fall admission to the 9
th
or 10th grade programs should be
aware of the following timeline of events and activities:
Month Activity
January
8th Grade presentations on CTE and SHS programming at SHS
February
CTE student ambassadors visit and presentation at each middle school
February/March
Program of Studies and all course selection information is created
March
Program of Studies is released by SHS followed by 8
th
grade middle school sharing of
information with students and families
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March
SHS Course Selection for the following school year begins.
8th Grade students are encouraged to sign up for Exploratory. Each middle
school
organizes their own process and course selections must be entered
into Aspen by the
8
th
grade counselor by the same date for all schools in March.
implemented if the Exploratory program is oversubscribed.
9th grade students who participated in Exploratory work with their counselors to
select
a Ch. 74 program major, that they received a passing grade in, and wish to enroll
for
grade 10. Students
will select the appropriate course number on their form and
complete an application for admission. A lottery system will be implemented
for
oversubscribed programs. 9
th
grade students who did not participate in Exploratory will
select from the undersubscribed programs after the lottery process is completed.
10
th
and 11
th
grade students meet with their guidance counselors to go through their
scheduling options as they continue in their chosen program major.
Applications are available
online, in the CTE office, or in the Guidance office. All
applications are due in the CTE office by March 30th.
April/May
Student program selection lists are available and the admissions policy will be
applied
to all oversubscribed programs
May
Letters are mailed to students who are enrolled in programs and students waitlisted in
oversubscribed programs
April-December
Enrollment lists are monitored for student
withdrawals and eligible waitlisted students
are notified of openings till all seats are filled. Program enrollment c
hanges will be
accepted through December 31
st
. After that date, changes will be determined on a case-
by-case basis.
The CTE application for admission is available in three languages, English, Spanish and Haitian Creole.
Applications can be found online, in the Guidance office, or CTE office. It is also available in the primary
home language upon request. Any student or family requiring assistance in completing the application
can call the CTE Director at 617-629-6600 Ext. 610401.
LATE APPLICATIONS
SHS CCTE will accept late applications only for programs that have seats available (undersubscribed) after
the selection process. Any programs that are oversubscribed will not accept late applications from existing
Somerville High School students. Transfer students, coming from another vocational school are not
subject to the same conditions, refer to page 2 for more information.
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Applications can be found in the CTE office, Guidance office, and online. All late applications should be
forwarded to the CTE Office as soon as possible. If students or families have questions, they should call
the CTE Director at 617-629-6600 Ext. 610401.
TRANSFER STUDENTS
Students already enrolled in a Ch. 74 state-approved program in another school may apply for admission
to SHS CCTE. Please call the CTE Director at Office at 617-629-6600 Ext. 610401 with any questions or to
request an application form.
WITHDRAWN STUDENTS
Students who were admitted to an oversubscribed Ch.74 program, but decided not to enroll, forfeit their
spot to a student on the waitlist. Students who were admitted to a Ch.74 program that has open seats,
but decided not to enroll, may reapply if there are still seats available at that time.
VII. SELECTION PROCESS
When more students apply to SHS CCTE than available seats, SHS CCTE uses the following system to select
students for admission:
RISING GRADE 9 STUDENTS
If the grade 9 Exploratory program is oversubscribed, selection will be done by implementing a lottery
process. Every grade 8 student, who is a resident of Somerville, seeking enrollment in the grade 9
Exploratory program will be included in the lottery process.
After the lottery results for each student are determined, all students will be placed in order of their
"lottery number draw" and are then enrolled in the program in order of the lottery number they have
been assigned. The student drawn first will receive a lottery number of (1) and is enrolled first, the student
drawn second will receive a lottery number of (2) and is enrolled second, and so on until all seats are
filled. All students are enrolled or placed on a waiting list. If openings occur, the seats will be filled by
enrolling students from the wait list continuing from lowest to the highest drawn student.
RISING GRADE 10 STUDENTS
Rising grade 10 students apply to enroll in specific Ch. 74 approved programs. If a program is
oversubscribed, selection will be done by implementing a lottery process. Every rising grade 10 student,
who is a resident of Somerville, participated in the exploratory program, and received a passing grade of
at least 60% in the specific program they are seeking enrollment in as a 1
st
choice will be included in the
lottery process.
After the lottery results for each student are determined, all students will be placed in order of their
"lottery number draw" and are then enrolled in the program in order of the lottery number they have
been assigned. The student drawn first will receive a lottery number of (1) and is enrolled first. The student
drawn second will receive a lottery number of (2) and is enrolled second, and so on until all seats are
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filled. All students are enrolled or placed on a wait list. If openings occur, the seats will be filled by
enrolling students from the wait list continuing from lowest to the highest drawn students. Upon
completion of the lottery for a program, students on the wait list will have the option of enrolling in any
program that is undersubscribed. The lottery process will begin with the program that has the largest
number of oversubscribed students, followed by the second largest and so on until completion.
Rising grade 10 students who did not participate in the Exploratory program will be able to enroll in
undersubscribed programs at the conclusion of all other lottery processes. A lottery process, as described
above, will determine the selection order.
RISING GRADE 11 STUDENTS
Rising grade 11 students are not generally considered for admission to a Ch. 74 program due to safety
concerns and the progressive nature of CTE instruction. However, students may apply and will be
considered on an individual case-by-case basis by the CTE Director in consultation with the program
instructor and guidance counselor.
VIII. EXPLORATORY PROGRAM
Because Somerville High School offers five or more Chapter 74 state-approved programs, it is required to
provide a full year exploratory program for 9th grade students, which is based on the applicable Vocational
Technical Education Framework that is approved by the Department of Elementary and Secondary
Education.
Rising grade 9 students who may be interested in applying for admission to any Ch. 74 program in grade
10 are encouraged to participate in the Exploratory program. Students sign up for this course during
course selection in March of their 8
th
grade year. It is open to all rising grade 9 students. The SHS CCTE
Exploratory program allows students to spend time exploring each of the twelve Ch. 74 vocational
programs with Plumbing and HVAC/R to be added in the near future. Teachers present lessons on career
opportunities in their respective occupations as well as allow students to engage in hands-on learning
activities related to working in each occupation. Grades are earned during each Exploratory rotation cycle
and are based on a scoring rubric where students can earn a maximum of 100 points per day. At the end
of the Exploratory program, students complete a survey indicating which specific Ch. 74 program they
wish to enroll in for the remainder of grade 9 and into grade 10. For oversubscribed shops, all students
who attained an Exploratory grade average of at least 60% will be placed in a lottery as described in section
VII above.
IX. PROGRAM-SPECIFIC ADMISSION
Somerville High School is a comprehensive school and therefore students do not need to apply for
admission to attend academic courses offered at the school. If a student wishes to participate in a Ch.74
CTE program, students must follow the application and admissions process outlined in this document.
Refer to VII for more information about the selection process for admission to a specific Ch.74 program.
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Center for Career & Technical Education
Admissions Policy for Ch.74 Programs Revised November 2021
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X. REVIEW AND APPEALS PROCESS
ADMISSION TO SHS CCTE Ch.74 VOCATIONAL PROGRAMS
If SHS CCTE does not accept an applicant, or places them on a waitlist, the applicant or their
parent/guardian may request that the Principal of Somerville High School review that decision within two
weeks. These requests can be made in the following way:
By hard-copy mail or hand delivery
Principal
Somerville High School
81 Highland Avenue
Somerville, MA 02143
The Principal will respond to these requests for review in writing and indicate whether the decision to
deny admission to the student, or waitlist the student, will stand or be overturned. In making this
determination, the Principal will review the following information:
● The results of the lottery process
● The student’s complete application
● School records related to safety and health
● The student’s academic record
● The student’s completed admissions score sheet
● Input from the student’s guidance counselor and associate principal
● Parent/guardian provided statement as to the reason for the appeal
XI. MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS
SHS CCTE maintains records of all students who apply, enroll, or are waitlisted, as well as their score on
admission criteria and lottery results, to facilitate analysis of its admissions system and compliance with
applicable laws and regulations. SHS CCTE will provide this information to the Department upon request.