Vocational - Technical School District 2005 Annual Report

                              REPORT OF SOUTH SHORE REGIONAL
                        VOCATIONAL-TECHNICAL SCHOOL DISTRICT

Continuing Improvement, Progress and Growth - Substantial Facility Need

Once again, the South Shore Regional School District is pleased and thankful
for the opportunity to report on the "State of Vo-Tech" and how it relates to the
eight district member communities. Now nearly recovered from the extensive
budget cuts of two and three years past, South Shore has embarked on an
aggressive long-term plan aimed at providing still better and more
comprehensive career and technical educational pathways for the students of
the region. More than at any other time, the value of multiple educational and
future workplace options cannot be emphasized enough. Whether it be further
academic improvements, equipment upgrading, programmatic examination and
pursuit of new technical fields or the ongoing attempts to address the needs of
a close to forty-five year old facility, Vo-Tech stands prepared to continue and
enhance a partnership which targets positive results for all concerned.

The 2005-2006 school year has opened with South Shore's highest enrollment in
the school's history, following a trend of several years, and we are now "maxed
out." The school is at capacity with an extensive waiting list. As reported last
year, the Class of 2009, like its immediate predecessor, did not have admissions
room for students from outside the eight-town district. While this is obviously a
very positive sign from the point of view of student and parent interest, it does
have a financial consequence. The reduced tuition-based enrollments from
other non-member towns, continues to drain a revenue stream that has always
gone to help reduce district town assessments. We will certainly keep finance
and advisory committees informed as we progress through the FY '07 budgetary
planning process.

It is important to touch upon several noteworthy highlights that have attributed
to an extremely successful past year, and which serve as indicators of
continued improvement, progress and growth at your Hanover based regional
resource. Among them:

• MCAS results that continue to improve, with the best passing rates yet on the
first testing try for the Class of 2007. It is anticipated that the Class of 2006 will
mirror its 2005 predecessor from which (100%) one hundred percent of South
Shore's class reached the mandated competency determination criteria. The
number of students achieving at the proficient and advanced levels is also on
the rise.

•Equipment upgrades or new installations have been made recently in the
Welding, Automotive, Culinary Arts, Graphic Arts and HVAC programs. In
addition, a complete overhaul and reconfiguration of the Drafting department
was accomplished, with every workstation now able to utilize CAD, Computer
Aided Drafting and Design.

•The heating and ventilation systems building-wide have been audited, and
many repairs and upgrades already completed should greatly enhance energy
efficiency as well as a more uniform control of climate-related equipment and
delivery.

•All academic and vocational curricula are or are in progress of becoming
completely aligned with State DOE Frameworks.   This includes several technical
area third party credentialing articulations with state and national affiliations.

•The school's automotive program continues to excel not only locally but also at
the State and National levels. For the first time, South Shore students
represented Massachusetts in both the Ford/AAA and Skills USA competitions, a
rare feat for any such dual success by one school in the same year.

•Two new wireless computer labs have been made available for student use,
primarily by the English and Health Career departments, but indicative of the
growing trend toward technological portability and flexibility.

•In inter-scholastic sports post-season tournament play was realized to an
unprecedented degree, as Viking teams qualified in Football, Boys and Girls
Basketball, Hockey, Baseball and Lacrosse. The football and baseball team
victories in the State Vocational tournaments resulted in State Championships.

Growing involvement through the school's Parents' Association and Continuing
Education program has provided further evidence of community involvement
and extended regional participation. As always, South Shore seeks ways to
extend both learning and service beyond the school campus.

Currently, 108 of the total enrollment of 592 are from Abington. June 2005
celebrated the graduation of the following students from the town: Kimberlee
Candelora, Joshua Cobb, Courtney Cooper, Eric Daly, Melissa Dodge, Jason
Heger, Sean Hickey, Robert Hewlett, Ryan Joyce, Kristina Kawana, Robert Mills,
Thomas Philips, Kevin Russell, James Seaton, Stephanie Smart, Derek Woods
and Joan Zenewicz.

The upcoming year promises to be another busy one at South Shore. The
District will have submitted its two-year follow-up report to the New England
Association of Schools and Colleges. This compliments the recommendations
made after the Fall 2003 decennial accreditation visiting team evaluation
process which was very encouraging overall, but as always, includes many
suggestions for continued improvement. That together with annual
recommendations made by our Advisory Committees helps to set a course of
planning for Vo-Tech. One area that will definitely realize change is in the
schedule of academic classes. as the addition of Science and Social Studies to
the MCAS menu necessitates additional instructional time similar to what is
currently the case with English and Mathematics.

Once again, South! Shore Vocational Technical High School wants to thank its
member communities for their continued support.   Successes benefit all
concerned, from students to hometown citizenry. As a strong educational and
community partner, we welcome the challenge to assist whenever possible in
making our entire region more dynamic and filled with opportunity.

Respectfully submitted.,

Lenwood E. Thompson Abington Representative