Shawsheen Valley Technical High School’s application deadline for ninth-grade admission in the fall of 2018 was extended to Feb.11, according to Director of Guidance Jobee O’Sullivan.

“Our 8th Grade Career Night open house had to be cancelled and rescheduled due to a snowstorm,” O’Sullivan said. “Therefore, we have received a number of calls from families who were unable to attend and are still weighing their options for next year.”

Superintendent-Director Tim Broadrick announced a forum for eighth-grade families to be held at 6 p.m. Feb. 8 at the Marshall Middle School in Billerica.

“Superintendent Piwowar and our partners in the Billerica Public Schools have been extraordinarily gracious in allowing us the opportunity to meet with families in one of their middle schools.“

Broadrick will be joined by members of the Shawsheen student body, including student representative to the school committee Matt Troisi, who intends to go on to college to study Engineering after graduating from the Drafting program at Shawsheen Tech. Other students joining Broadrick to answer questions for eighth-graders and their families will include Samantha Moriconi, girls’ basketball captain and member of the superintendent’s student cabinet; Jessica Turner, top-ranked member of the class of 2018 who intends to go on to study computer science in college next year; plus other members of the class of 2018 who are employed in the school’s co-op program and plan to pursue careers immediately after graduation.

“There are a lot of misconceptions about vocational schools; it has been that way for decades. People seem to think that a vocational technical education is only for those students who don’t intend to go on to college. The truth is, we are for everybody,” Broadrick said, “This is free public education for any student who resides in our district, and our vocational technical programs help many students refine their decision-making before going on to careers, specialized technical training, or two- and four-year college programs.”

Broadrick, who was a teacher at Shawsheen Tech before moving into administration and becoming the superintendent, described graduates who are electricians and cosmetologists as well as others who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees and now work as doctors and nurses, engineers and attorneys.

Any family of an eighth-grader or other middle school student who might be considering Shawsheen Tech is welcome to attend the parent forum on Feb. 8.

“Everybody learns by doing,” said Broadrick, “and everybody has to think about what comes after high school. We provide programs for students who want to be open-minded about where the future might take them.”