Weston High School (Massachusetts)

Weston High School
Address
444 Wellesley Street Weston , Massachusetts 02493 United States
Coordinates	42°20′20.0″N 71°18′16″W
Information
Type	Public high school
School district	Weston Public Schools
Faculty	60.39 (FTE)
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	639 (2022-23)
Student to teacher ratio	10.58
Color(s)	Maroon, Gray and White
Athletics conference	Dual County League
Mascot	Wildcats
Team name	Wildcats, Red Tide (Swimming) Wayland-Weston Crew (Rowing)
Website	Weston High School

Weston High School is a high school (grades 9–12) in Weston, Massachusetts, United States, a suburb 12 miles west of Boston. The school is located at 444 Wellesley Street in Weston. During the 2022-2023 school year, it had 639 students.

The current headmaster is Sue Baristow and the current assistant headmaster is Todd Whitten.

Other administrators include Katherine Lemons (English Dept.), Kimberly Young (Social Studies Dept.), Stephen Ribisi (Science Dept.), James McLaughlin (Mathematics Dept.), Kathleen Baker (World Language Dept.), Christopher Fehl (Art Dept.), and Christopher Memoli (Music Dept.). Marla Shay is the Head of Guidance and Patrick Kelly is the Head of Special Education.

History

Between the end of WWII in 1945 and 1970, the "Boomer" generation, the number of school-age children in Weston increased 363%, from 635 students to 2,937. The town embarked on 25-year school building program resulting in five new school complexes. After a devastating fire in 1948 destroyed the roofing and interior of the new Weston High School, the building was rebuilt as an elementary school and a new replacement high school was commissioned.

This new high school, which was located near Weston Town Center by the current Weston Public Library, Country & Woodland Elementary Schools, was renowned as the "architectural achievement of the century" by the Boston Herald when it opened in January 1950. The nation's first million-dollar public building, Weston High School offered resources and technologies never before seen in a public school. Revolutionary architecture and layout of the school allowed for new teaching and class organization methods. The building has since been torn down due to the building of the new Field School, but it served as the Field School until the 2014–2015 school year.

In 1961, the current Weston High School was built as one of the most expensive schools in the nation at $8,930,001 (1961 dollars). This building is the fifth public high school in Weston and is designed to be in active service far longer than many contemporary schools, thanks to constant renovation and a high-quality initial design and build.

Campus

Weston High School campus and athletic fields

Weston High School is a large brick and glass building, surrounded by trees and sports fields.[1] There are several fields, tennis courts, baseball diamonds, and a large track, shared by the Middle School, which is located on an adjacent campus. There is also a pond situated between the middle school and high school campuses.

Weston High School, designed and built in 1961 at a cost of $64.3 million (2012 dollars), has been renovated periodically since its construction. The facilities have maintained a modern appearance, marked especially by the extensive use of glass.

The building itself consists of a large gymnasium, weight room, library, theater and tech center, dance studio, music rooms, auditorium, computer labs, and many classrooms. The building is split into different wings for each subject, including English and History, Math and Science, and Language.

A seventh wing (G Wing) has been constructed for the 2012–2013 school year. The 23,000 square foot addition serves as the science wing, housing eight science classrooms, a 58-seat lecture hall, an outdoor amphitheater-style classroom, and copious atrium space. The project is designed for and seeking LEED Silver certification.

Rankings

The school is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. In 2023, Boston Magazine ranked Weston High School #1 in the Boston area, and U.S. News & World Report ranked the school #7 in the Boston area, #10 in Massachusetts, and #355 in the United States. In 2023, Niche ranked Weston High School #4 of 363 public high schools in Massachusetts and #93 of 20,032 public high schools in the United States.

Online Education

In 2016, Weston partnered with MOOC provider edX to offer several free online courses in a variety of subjects. Courses include On-Ramp to AP* French Language and Culture, On-Ramp to AP* Calculus, and others.

Sports

Weston competes in the Dual County League, which includes Acton-Boxborough Regional High School, Bedford High School, Concord-Carlisle High School, Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, Newton South High School, Waltham High School, Wayland High School, and Westford Academy. The athletics department is headed by Athletic Director Mike McGrath.

In 2022 Weston High School fielded athletic teams in 20 sports during three seasons.

More than 50 percent of the school’s student body participated in each of the three sports seasons in 2022.

Notable alumni

• Grover Norquist, class of 1974, political activist and lobbyist, journalist for The American Spectator, president of Americans for Tax Reform
• John Garabedian, disc jockey, nationally syndicated host of the Open House Party radio show and a veteran in broadcasting for over 60 years
• Alec Sulkin, television writer, writer and producer of Family Guy
• David Frank, founding member of the 1980s R&B group The System.

External links

• Weston High School website