Students Picked in Taconic's Enrollment Lottery Must Accept by Friday
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — More than 200 of the 250 students picked in the lottery for Taconic's class of 2030 have accepted enrollment, and the remainder have until Friday.
"We did have 19 students that were placed on a wait list," Assistant Superintendent for CTE and Student Support Tammy Gage told the School Committee on Wednesday.
"As of this morning, 202 students have accepted enrollment at Taconic, so we are still waiting for 42 responses. Six students have declined."
School counselors will call the remaining 42 families to see whether their child will accept the seat, and next week, waitlisted students will be contacted.
Taconic held an enrollment lottery on Monday after "record" demand for career technical education exceeded the open slots for the class of 2030. In the school's fourth year of accepting only CTE students, it can accommodate 250 9th-grade seats and received nearly 270 qualified applications.
If a student is offered a seat, they must complete an enrollment verification form by Friday through the Go2CTE platform to confirm their intent to enroll and secure their spot. Seats will be forfeited if verification is not completed by the deadline.
"We will work the rest of this year and into the summer, as we do every single year, to ensure that any student that wishes to enroll is able to enroll. So I just ask parents to be patient," Gage said.
The lottery was conducted through the Go2CTE admission platform using a random, number-based selection process.
In a communication to the School Committee, Gage reported that Principal Matthew Bishop and his staff have maintained consistent communication with families. The eligibility notification was sent out on March 16, the lottery announcement on March 17, and a virtual meeting on March 19, before the lottery on March 23.
Critical deadlines were provided for parents:
• Enrollment Verification: Parents must confirm enrollment by March 27, 2026.
• Waitlist Management: Offers to waitlisted students will begin immediately after the verification
deadline and continue through Fall 2026 based on seat availability.
It is a state admissions requirement for CTE schools to have a lottery if there is more interest than seats to ensure the process is fair, safe, and equitable. Most shops at Taconic require one teacher for every 15 students, and there are square footage requirements.
Under state regulations and district policy, Pittsfield and Richmond residents will receive priority over non-resident applicants. Richmond gets priority in Pittsfield because the town doesn't have a high school. Non-residents will then be placed on a waitlist in the order of application and be offered a spot only after the Pittsfield resident waitlist has been exhausted.
In 2023, the former School Committee unanimously voted to start the school's transition to all vocational, only accepting Career Technical Education (CTE) students beginning in that fall. The class of 2027 will be the first all-technical class to graduate. The decision was fueled by the growing demand for skilled tradespeople and the evolution of career technical education.
Taconic's current CTE programs include environmental science, early education and care, cosmetology, horticulture, information technology and cybersecurity, business technology, culinary, health technology, carpentry, auto collision and repair, auto technology, advanced manufacturing, electrical, metal fabrication, and multimedia and broadcasting.
Students offered admission to Taconic go through the ninth-grade exploratory process before they choose their program.
Tags: enrollment, lottery, Taconic High,
