ADMISSION POLICY
I. INTRODUCTION
An admission process is necessary in vocational technical schools
where space is a limiting factor. Vocational technical laboratories
(shops) are designed and equipped to serve a specific maximum
number of students safely. Consequently, a complex of such laboratories
lacks both the space and flexibility to accommodate the possible
needs and/or interests of all applicants. Therefore, a selection
process is necessary to determine which applicants may most
benefit from such educational opportunities. All applicants
to grades nine through twelve at Norfolk County Agricultural
High School will be evaluated using the criteria contained in
this Admission Policy. The Norfolk County Agricultural High
School Board of Trustees approved this policy on November 12,
2003.
II. EQUAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY
Norfolk County Agricultural High School admits students and
makes available to them its advantages, privileges and courses
of study without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national
origin, sexual orientation or disability.
If there is a student with limited English proficiency, a qualified
representative from Norfolk County Agricultural High School
will assist the applicant in completing the necessary forms
and assist in interpreting during the entire application and
admission process upon the request of the applicant.
Disabled students may voluntarily self-identify for the purpose
of requesting reasonable accommodations during the entire application
and admission process.
Information on limited English proficiency and disability submitted
voluntarily by the applicant, for the purpose of receiving assistance
and accommodations during the entire application and admission
process, will not affect their admission to the school.
III. ELIGIBILITY
Norfolk County Agricultural High School serves students who
reside in Norfolk County as well as students who attend on a
tuition basis from outside the county. Admission to the school
is available to any student who wishes to apply to grade nine,
ten or eleven. Successful completion of the preceding grade,
which is defined as promotion to the next grade in the applicant’s
sending school, is an eligibility requirement.
Students who are not residents of Norfolk County are eligible
to apply for fall admission or admission during the school year
subject to the availability of openings to Norfolk County Agricultural
High School provided they expect to be promoted to the grade
they seek to enter by their local district. Nonresident students
will be evaluated using the criteria contained in this Admission
Policy.
Students who actually reside (ie. live in) a town or city in
Norfolk County, whether with their parents/guardians or other
relatives, by themselves or in a foster or group home, or in
virtually any other situation are legally entitled to attend
the town’s or city’s public schools including the
Norfolk County Agricultural High School if they meet the selection
criteria.
Transfer students from other vocational technical schools are
eligible to apply for fall admission or admission during the
school year to grades 9-12 at Norfolk County Agricultural High
School provided they expect to be promoted to the grade they
seek to enter by their current school. Transfer students will
be evaluated using the criteria contained in this Admission
Policy.
IV. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Norfolk County Agricultural High School is a public agricultural
school located on a scenic campus in Walpole, Massachusetts.
Norfolk County Agricultural High School is accredited by the
New England Association of Schools and Colleges and serves the
residents of Norfolk County. The towns in Norfolk County are
Avon, Bellingham, Braintree, Brookline, Canton, Cohasset, Dedham,
Dover, Foxboro, Franklin, Holbrook, Medfield, Medway, Millis,
Milton, Needham, Norfolk, Norwood, Plainville, Quincy, Randolph,
Sharon, Stoughton, Walpole, Wellesley, Westwood, Weymouth, and
Wrentham. Norfolk County Agricultural High School is committed
to providing quality vocational technical programs.
It is the responsibility of the Norfolk County Agricultural
High School Superintendent-Director to supervise the administration
of the policies and procedures required to admit and enroll
applicants in conformity with this Admission Policy.
Norfolk County Agricultural High School has an Admissions Committee
appointed by the Superintendent-Director. The committee consists
of Principal, Vice Principal, Director of Student Services,
an Agricultural Department Head and an Academic Teacher. Responsibilities
of the Admissions Committee include:
A. Providing input on standards of admissions
B. Processing of applications
C. Ranking of students
D. Recommending acceptance of students according to the procedure
and criteria in the admission policy
E. Establishment and maintenance of a waiting list of acceptable
candidates
The Norfolk County Agricultural High School Admissions Office
is responsible for disseminating information through press releases,
mailings, school visits and for collecting applications.
Norfolk County Agricultural High School does not participate
in the School Choice Program.
V. RECRUITMENT PROCESS
1. Procedures for disseminating information about the school
to students.
a. An Open House is scheduled at NCAHS in early October each
year. This Open House provides students and their families with
an opportunity to tour the campus, observe demonstrations and
speak with students, parents, staff and alumni. Invitations
to attend the Open House are mailed to all Norfolk County seventh
and eighth grade students and to others upon request. These
fliers are also provided to sending school counselors. Attendance
at the Open House is not mandatory.
b. News releases announce the Annual Fall Open House. The releases
provide information about the school’s programs, the application
and admissions process.
c. Small group presentations are scheduled at sending schools.
These sessions are conducted by NCAHS staff and are coordinated
through the sending school guidance department. A video presentation
is also available to sending school guidance departments.
VI. APPLICATION PROCESS
APPLICATION PROCESS -FOR FALL
ADMISSION TO THE NINTH, TENTH, AND
ELEVENTH GRADE
1. Students interested in applying to Norfolk County Agricultural
High School for fall admission in grades 9, 10 or 11 must:
Obtain an application upon request from NCAHS or from sending
school guidance departments. Students may begin the application
process as early as the summer prior to the year they plan to
attend the school.
Complete the application and have it signed by the parent/guardian.
Submit the application to the Admissions Office at the Norfolk
County Agricultural High School.
2. It is the responsibility of the sending school counselor
to:
a. Forward a transcript/report card
of the applicant’s last full year and first semester/trimester
of
the current
year.
b. Complete
the recommendation form and discipline/conduct report.
c. Forward attendance records with unexcused
and excused absences for the current year and
last full year.
3. If incomplete applications are received, the following procedures
will be followed:
a. The Admissions Office at Norfolk
County Agricultural High School will notify the local school
Guidance Counselor
responsible for submitting the required forms that the application
is
incomplete and will
request completion.
b. The applicant's parent(s)/guardian(s)
will be notified by the Norfolk County Agricultural High
School Admissions
Office in the event that the problem is not resolved by the
local school
Guidance Counselor.
c. If after notifying the local school
Guidance Counselor and parent(s)/guardian(s), the application
remains incomplete
for sixty (60) days, the application will become inactive.
LATE APPLICATIONS
Applications received after April 1st will be evaluated using
the same criteria as other applications and their composite
score will be integrated in rank order on the established waiting
list.
TRANSFER STUDENTS
Applications from students who are enrolled in a state-approved
(Chapter 74) vocational technical high school program in another
school (transfer students) will be considered for admission
(including admission during the school year) if they relocate
away from their current school and wish to pursue the same program
of study at Norfolk County Agricultural High School. All transfer
applicants must attend an interview at the Norfolk County Agricultural
High School. If the applicant, parent or guardian cannot provide
transportation, an official from Norfolk County Agricultural
High School will go to the local school to meet with the applicant.
Applications will be evaluated according to the provisions of
this Admission Policy.
WITHDRAWN STUDENTS
Students who withdraw from Norfolk County Agricultural High
School and who are attending or not attending another high school
may reapply for admission in a subsequent year following the
procedures contained in this Admissions Policy.
VII. SELECTION CRITERIA
Completed applications are processed by the Admissions Committee
using weighted admissions criteria. Each applicant will be assigned
a score derived from the sum of the sub scores of the following
criteria:
A. Scholastic record
B. Attendance
C. Conduct and Discipline grades
D. Sending School Recommendation
E. Interview
VIII. ENROLLMENT
In order to enroll at Norfolk County Agricultural High School
for the fall, applicants must have been promoted to the grade
they wish to enter by their local school district. In addition,
they must pass courses in English language arts or the equivalent
and mathematics for the school year immediately preceding their
enrollment at Norfolk County Agricultural High School.
IX. VOCATIONAL TECHNICAL PROGRAM PLACEMENT
Students who are accepted into grade nine participate in an
introductory agricultural program. Placement in a specific program
area is made at the conclusion of grade ten. Students select
one of three broad career clusters: Animal and Marine Science,
Diesel and Mechanical Technology or Plant and Environmental
Science. Every effort is made to place students according to
their interest and aptitude. In grade ten, students select a
cluster in which to focus with elective courses from the other
two clusters.
X. REVIEW and APPEALS
The applicant's parent(s)/guardian(s), upon receipt of a letter
from Norfolk County Agricultural High School indicating that
the applicant was not accepted or placed on a waiting list,
may request a review of the decision by sending a letter requesting
a review to the Principal within thirty days of the receipt
of the letter. The Principal will respond in writing to the
letter with the findings of the review within thirty days. If
after the review, the parent/guardian wishes to appeal the findings
of the review they may do so by sending a letter requesting
a review with the Superintendent-Director. The Superintendent-Director
will respond in writing to the parent/guardian with a scheduled
date for the appeal within thirty days of the receipt of the
letter. The Superintendent-Director will respond in writing
to the letter with their decision on the appeal within thirty
days of the letter.
The applicant’s parent/guardian, upon receipt of a letter
from Norfolk County Agricultural High School indicating that
the applicant was not accepted or placed on a waiting list for
a particular program list, may request a review of the decision
by sending a letter requesting a review to the Superintendent-Director
within thirty days of the receipt of the letter. The Superintendent-Director
will respond in writing to the letter with the findings of the
review within thirty days.
Approved by the NCAHS Board of Trustees, November 12, 2003
|
