Lynn Vocational Technical Institute will use weighted lottery for ninth-grade admissions; current eighth-graders may be admitted

Principal Gallo told the Lynn Public Schools policy subcommittee on Sept. 11 that recent Board of Education regulations require lotteries, including weighted lotteries, for admissions to career and technical education (CTE) schools and that LVTI has drafted a policy to comply. "With the new policy, it allows us to admit them into ninth grade," Principal Gallo said, referring to current eighth-grade students who previously were not guaranteed continuation into ninth grade.

Why it matters: the change shifts LVTI from the prior practice (which sometimes required eighth-graders to reapply midyear or lose placement) to a two-step admissions process that includes a district-wide weighted lottery for incoming ninth-graders. The policy sets application timing, weighting criteria, and a process for creating waiting lists — all of which affect hundreds of Lynn families and students vying for LVTI’s limited seats.

Key details…