The Morris County School of Technology (MCVTS or MCST) is a vocational magnet public high school located in Denville Township, in Morris County, United States, operating as part of the Morris County Vocational School District. This school prepares high school students for future careers, through its academy programs, each focusing on a particular trade as well as an advanced college preparatory program. Students apply to one of the 13 different academies in a process that starts the 8th grade year of local students. The highly competitive process begins with a general admissions test and is followed by group interviews on an academy basis. The school has an overall acceptance rate of 30%.
As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 809 students and 73.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.0:1. There were 23 students (2.8% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 9 (1.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.
The district and its schools are accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools.
Awards, recognition and rankings
In September 2013, the school was one of 15 in New Jersey to be recognized by the United States Department of Education as part of the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program, an award called the "most prestigious honor in the United States' education system" and which Education Secretary Arne Duncan described as schools that "represent examples of educational excellence".
In its listing of "America's Best High Schools 2016", the school was ranked 158th out of 500 best high schools in the country; it was ranked 27th among all high schools in New Jersey.
Schooldigger.com ranked the school 25th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 9 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (95.7%) and language arts literacy (98.8%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).
History
The school started as a share time and adult program in 1969 and has now evolved into a full-time technical high school as well as one of the more respected schools in the Morris County area. The school still has share time students and adult programs although it will slowly start to dissolve the share time program to accommodate more kids in the full-time academies. The first year that this school started its full-time program was in 2004. 2007 marks the year that the school will finally have their first full-time graduate students. This initial group was only about 35 students and now the school has grown to serve over 400 students.
The school's adult education program includes all the academies that students can choose and the program is usually at night. The school is accredited by the New Jersey Department of Education, by the Council on Occupational Education and by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1989.
Academy graduates will qualify for post-secondary education at the college level, gain admission to technical schools, or be ready for entry-level employment. Graduates of MCST have gone on to schools related to their academies. Many acquire college credits while still in high school, giving them a head start on a college education at significant cost savings.
Admissions
The Morris County School of Technology has a rigorous admissions process that makes it one of the most difficult schools to get into in the Morris County area. There are four phases to the admissions process
Phase one
Students will submit their initial applications with their 7th grade transcript as well as a teacher and counselor recommendation. They will also select their desired academy. This phase typically lasts from September to December.
Phase two
Students will take the admissions test on a day selected during phase one. This test will also determine class and honors placement should the student be accepted. As of 2021, students will also submit a video statement during this phase. This has replaced the interview process that used to occur in phase three.
Phase three
Students at or above the minimum score for their desired academy (determined after test administration) will be entered into the random selection process. Applicants who do not meet the minimum score will receive a notice of non-acceptance.