Myth busting

Her family had recently moved to Bolton, a community they chose partly because its high school, Nashoba Regional, had a strong academic reputation.

But three years later, with Michael Breen just completing his junior year in Minuteman’s biotechnology program, his mother couldn’t be more pleased with his education.

“I thought of a vocational school as just trades,’’ she said. “We didn’t want him to go. He brought us there kicking and screaming, and now we’re so happy.’’

While Michael Breen was able to convince his parents that the vocational school was the best option for him and one that would still lead to college, Minuteman still struggles to attract students.

Unlike other regional vocational schools around the state, Minuteman has had a longstanding history of low enrollment from its 16 member communities: Acton, Arlington, Belmont, Bolton, Boxborough, Concord, Carlisle, Dover, Lancaster, Lexington, Lincoln, Needham, Stow, Sudbury, Wayland, and Weston.

“It’s been a chronic part of our history,’’ said Minuteman’s superintendent, Edward Bouquillon.

Minuteman is about to embark upon an enrollment study that will look back at its struggles and look forward to predict its student population, part of preparations for a major project to renovate the building, which hasn’t been updated since opening in 1979.

Minuteman could handle up to 800 full-time students from its member communities; this year’s enrollment from the 16 suburbs was 364, the lowest in its history. To round out its numbers, the school accepted 219 full-time students from outside communities, along with 118 part-time and postgraduate students.

While Minuteman struggles to attract students, most of the state’s other regional vocational schools, including Assabet Valley Regional Technical High in Marlborough and Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High in Upton, have waiting lists.

“Generally, enrollment has been increasing at many of the vocational schools,’’ said David Ferreira, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators. “The vast majority have waiting lists.’’

He said the exceptions are Minuteman and Framingham’s Joseph P. Keefe Technical School, which also draws students from suburban Ashland, Holliston, Hopkinton, and Natick.

Ferreira said there’s been a huge demand for vocational education over the past 10 years. He said strict state curriculum standards and the introduction of the MCAS graduation requirement in 2003 forced vocational schools to beef up their academics. As a result, he said, most vocational schools no longer are seen as lesser schools.

Minuteman and Keefe continue to struggle with communicating that message, however.

Minuteman staff members, students, and parents say the socioeconomic makeup of the district and its failure to debunk negative perceptions have led to its low enrollment figures. The member towns are among the wealthiest in Massachusetts and most have public high schools that rank near the top of the state academically.

“We have some absolutely incredible schools in the district, and people tend to neglect other options,’’ said Jeffrey Stulin, chairman of Minuteman’s School Committee. “Another option like a career technical school can be looked at with suspicion.’’

Bouquillon said roughly 6 percent of eighth-graders from suburban communities apply to vocational schools, compared with 25 to 30 percent of eighth-graders from cities, and 12 percent to 15 percent of eighth-graders from rural communities.

“When you look at Minuteman, we are all suburban,’’ Bouquillon said of its member communities.

But school officials also say they need to do a better job selling the school and convincing parents that the students will be academically prepared for college. Part of that, they said, is showing parents that vocational schools are not just about trades such as carpentry and plumbing, but also have specialties that require advanced degrees, such as biotechnology, telecommunications, and engineering.

Adam Strandberg of Tewksbury attended his town’s high school for his freshman year, then transferred to Minuteman. He said his guidance counselor tried to talk him out if it, saying it wasn’t a school for college-bound students.

Strandberg graduated from Minuteman this month and will be studying biotechnology at MIT in the fall.

“The whole thing about vocational schools not preparing you for college is a myth,’’ Strandberg said, adding that the hands-on learning at Minuteman enabled him to get accepted into the prestigious university.

He is not the school’s only success story; 66 percent of 2009 Minuteman graduates enroll in college, and the destinations for this spring’s crop of seniors include Northeastern University and Tufts University.

“There are some outdated perceptions among parents,’’ Bouquillon said. “There is a negative perception because students are perceived as not being able to go on to college. That’s totally bogus. It’s our job to help get parents the information they need.’’

Bouquillon said he implemented a new marketing strategy in the last year that is already starting to pay dividends. Applications have more than doubled, going from 250 for last fall to 503 for this September.

“Our strategy is engagement and our tactic is personal,’’ Bouquillon said. “What we really want is for parents to know that they have a choice.’’

Bouquillon said the school is moving away from what he described as the “billboard approach.’’ Instead of appealing to the masses with videos and glossy brochures, the school is trying to make a personal connection by sending Minuteman students to talk to potential students, and following up with each applicant.

“I think we’ve turned the corner on enrollment but I’m being guardedly optimistic,’’ Bouquillon said. “The numbers that really count are the ones in the fall.’’

Administrators at the area’s other vocational schools say marketing is critical when it comes to enrollment.

James Lynch, the superintendent at Keefe, which has started to see a slight boost in enrollment after years of decline, said the schools have to do a better job promoting themselves.

“Vocational schools are schools of choice and we have to sell the products we offer,’’ Lynch said. “We’re trying to get the word out there.’’

Making the switch to a regional tech school can be a hard decision for students who don’t want to leave their friends behind, he said. It’s even harder when, as in each of Keefe’s five member communities, their hometown has built or approved new or remodeled high schools, he said.

Michael Fitzpatrick, superintendent at Blackstone Valley, said the school works closely with the region’s middle schools and spends a significant amount of time getting its message out. As a result, enrollment is “robust,’’ he said.

“The approach here is we aggressively promote the school,’’ Fitzpatrick said.

Stulin, the Minuteman School Committee member, said officials at his school need to make sure that they do the same, and reach all the students who could benefit from its programs.

“The understanding of the school and its mission is not as well understood as it could be by our communities,’’ Stulin said. “If the benefits of the school were better understood in our member communities, I think there wouldn’t be an enrollment issue.’’

Jennifer Fenn Lefferts can be reached at jflefferts@yahoo.com.