Affectionately known as "Essex Aggie," the state-funded vocational high school is open to students across the commonwealth and enrolls over 400 pupils each year for an education in agriculture and environmental technologies. The campus sits on 166 acres stretching across both sides of Maple Street with 35 buildings in the Hathorne neighborhood. In addition to core academic studies, students pursue vocational training in animal science, plant science, environmental science or "Tech Prep," which allows students to complete some hands-on coursework in preparation for college. Several of those programs are connected with North Shore Community College. Maude Hall and Berry Hall are also used by NSCC as a satellite campus for several programs.

The "Aggie" has been around for nearly a century, but its centennial event may in fact be the shuttering of the school. With the final agreement in Dec. 2009 on a merger and financing commitments to combine Essex Aggie, North Shore Technical High School and the Peabody Vocational High School into a new regional mega-voke, a brand new school will be built on the Maple Street campus.

The Essex North Shore Agricultural and Vocational Technical School is slated to open in 2013.