A Message To Our Community

As a public school district, the Peabody Public Schools is committed to the education and growth of each and every student who comes through our doors. Our teachers, administrators, and paraprofessionals work diligently to ensure our students are ready for promotion into each new grade level and graduation at grade 12. We are also responsible, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for providing special education services from ages 3-21.

Peabody offers strong educational options, including career technical education programs at both Peabody Veterans Memorial High School and Essex Tech in Danvers, which is also a public school.

Earlier this year, Essex Tech filled its allotment of 71 seats for Peabody students via a blind lottery for the 2026-2027 school year. This new admissions system was added after much-needed reforms passed at the state level. Essex Tech then rescinded the admission of 22 Peabody students without notice, publicly stating the students had failed Grade 8 and should not have been promoted.

This is flatly not true, and the actions – both in private and now in public – represent both a startling departure from the norms of what is expected in public school districts; as well as a serious breach in ethical standards expected from a public school.

In a public school, when a student fails a subject, or fails a single quarter/term of a subject, they are not rejected or abandoned by their public school district. Here in Peabody, we have programs, services and resources available to ensure that every student is deserving of promotion.

Less than 2 percent of Peabody students are held back, and about 1 percent of students statewide are held back. It is an extraordinary and rare action to take that is fraught with its own consequences. We reject the notion, asserted by the superintendent of Essex Tech in a political column, that students should be cast aside and retained en masse. That is not how a public school district operates.

We acknowledge that not every student who comes through eighth grade is ready for honors level courses, but every rising ninth grade student in Peabody has a seat waiting for them, with the appropriate level of educational support and guidance and all of the resources we can muster
available to them. That’s how we operate in a public school in Massachusetts.

When a student is promoted from grade 8 to grade 9 in Peabody, they are promoted in accordance with both State and District guidelines.

A student who struggles during the first term but then passes with high marks in terms 2, 3 and 4 should not be denied educational opportunities at Essex Tech or at any other public school, and they certainly would not be denied an education at Peabody High School.

Furthermore, numerous studies have shown that grade retention is not an effective intervention for students performing below grade level. Retention in eighth grade can actually increase high school dropout rates later on.

In addition to the research studies which demonstrate the negative effects of grade retention, there are many reasons to promote an eighth grader who worked through struggles, including:

• Failure in a class may not be totally academic related but may be caused by skill deficit, attendance, or immaturity. Students who may struggle in one grade can be developmentally ready to move to the following grade and can be put on a curated, student-specific academic plan.
• Students struggling in a subject area are likely to be placed in a more appropriate class level in Grade 9. Many high school courses are leveled, and students are able to select classes accordingly. High school is about accruing necessary credits and graduating within four years, and an appropriate class level ensures that students are more likely to graduate. Unlike middle school which focuses on grade completion, high school graduation is based on credits accumulated. If a student does not pass a course, they can pursue various options to acquire the credits they need to complete their graduation requirements.
• Students who struggle in one subject area are able to choose courses which are aligned with their ability level and receive the necessary support they need to be successful. As an urban district, Peabody Veterans Memorial High School offers many programs to support struggling learners as well as English Language Learners, students who have suffered severe or chronic illness, and students who may be off-track. For example, our “Period 8” provides students with extra support to recoup lost credits. This and other programs have helped increase our graduation rate.

We expect any public school district – comprehensive or career tech – to have robust programs in place to allow students to reach their full potential, regardless of additional assistance they may require, rather than dismiss them for not meeting a different level of standards that are not supported by the state. Vocational schools are public schools and should hold students to the appropriate standards.

During Essex Tech’s public attack on Peabody, it still accepted 24 additional Peabody students who were deemed to meet the school’s own set of standards and was later forced to additionally give back the seats it had taken away from the original 22 Peabody students. Essex Tech’s actions will cost the taxpayers of Peabody an additional $500,000 next year, after our city already saw an 18% increase in the annual Essex Tech assessment. Meanwhile, the overall Peabody Public Schools’ budget is increased by only 2.9%.

This is the first year of vocational admissions reform, and it shows. Prior to this school year, career technical schools have been able to pick and choose from the public school roster as part of their application process. This selective system allowed Essex Tech, a public school receiving public funds, to reject students for any number of reasons. We welcome the admissions reforms, and we welcome Essex Tech to the reality of public education.

The new blind vocational school lottery means equal opportunities of access for students. It doesn’t mean reshuffling the deck when a vocational school disagrees with the outcome, denying opportunities to those who can benefit.

The goal of all public schools, including vocational technical high schools, must be the same: to teach the whole child and prepare them for the next grade and next chapter of their lives. We prepare students for adulthood, whether that means college or starting a career after high school; we have an absolute duty to all children in our district, regardless of their background, socioeconomic status or the level of support they may need.

Sincerely,
Josh Vadala, Ed.D
Superintendent of Schools

Categorized in: District