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Submitted by Jameson A, Rowan C, Ashlyn D, Wyatt D, eighth graders at Curtis Middle School.
Children of Sudbury don’t have the option to go to a vocational / technical high school without a proper partnership. This has led to difficulty for students that want to explore hands-on learning. In 2016, Sudbury ended its partnership with Minuteman High School and has not reestablished that relationship. As 8th grade students we want to restart the partnership to give students in Sudbury a wider variety of options for high school.
Sudbury left the partnership in 2016 because of funding and limited enrollment numbers. However, one of the reasons that such a small number of students went to Minuteman was that so few people knew about it.
Currently, Acton, Arlington, Bolton Concord, Dover, Lancaster, Lexington, Stow, and Needham, have a partnership with Minuteman. Students may still apply for Minuteman High School even if they are not in any of those towns, however, it is unlikely that they will be accepted due to the partner communities having first priority. In Massachusetts, the chance of an out-of-district student getting into a vocational high school is significantly lower than in-district students, with state data showing about 30% less likelihood of acceptance for out-of-district applicants.
The Minuteman High School has an outstanding graduation rate of over 94%. Also, in 2018, Minuteman received the National Blue Ribbon from the U.S. Department of Education for making significant gains in closing achievement gaps. Students in Sudbury should have this option again.
Having enough students enrolling in a technical/vocational school is of profound significance because there is a high demand for vocational and technical jobs today. The pay for these jobs is well above average in terms of annual salary, with most of them paying close to $100,000 a year.
In 2024 alone, over 20,000 students in Massachusetts applied for just 10,000 seats in vocational schools. There is a very strong demand for technical/vocational education. Please contact your local elected officials and encourage them to support restarting the Sudbury Minuteman partnership. Our students deserve it.