Students Shut Out At Regional Vocational School

PEABODY, MA -- In a typical year, the Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School in Danvers has 1,400 applicants for the 400 slots in each incoming class. That means students in Peabody and other North Shore communities are getting lost. Prior to the opening of Essex North Shore in 2014; Peabody had 500 students enrolled in its own vocational school; now just 289 Peabody students are enrolled at Essex North Shore.

"It's a growing concern that I feel like a number of students at Peabody High School are getting lost," Peabody Mayor Ted Bettencourt said at the Peabody Area Chamber of Commerce legislative breakfast Wednesday. According to the Salem News, which first reported this story, Bettencourt is trying to work on a pilot program with school officials that would expand opportunities for Peabody students.

For more on this story, see the Salem News. Subscribe to Peabody Patch for more local news and real-time alerts.

Patch file photo.