42°28′47″N 71°27′26″W / 42.47972°N 71.45722°W
| Acton-Boxborough Regional High School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
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| , | |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Motto | "Home of the Colonials" |
| Principal | Alixe Callen |
| Faculty | 133[2] |
| Enrollment | 1,951[2] |
| Campus | Charter Rd. Complex |
| Color(s) | Blue & Gold |
| Athletics | 38 Interscholastic Teams[citation needed] |
| Mascot | The Colonial |
| Budget | $13,182 per pupil (2010-11)[1] |
| Website | http://ab.mec.edu/abrhs/ |
Acton-Boxborough Regional High School (ABRHS) is an open enrollment high school in Acton, Massachusetts. It serves the Massachusetts towns of Acton and Boxborough, with roughly 500 students per grade level in grades 9 through 12. It is situated downhill from the Raymond J. Grey Junior High School, at 36 Charter Road in Acton. Raymond J. Grey Junior High School occupies the facility that, until 1973, was the high school. ABRHS underwent an $80 million dollar renovation and expansion in 2005.
ABRHS has consistently ranked among the top secondary schools in the country. It was one of 39 American high schools named a Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education in 2009.[3] In 2012, U.S. News & World Report ranked Acton-Boxborough #3 among open enrollment high schools and #7 overall for STEM education.[4] Nonprofit group GreatSchools ranked Acton #2 among small cities nationwide for its public education.[5] ABRHS has achieved this success while serving many immigrant and limited-English-proficient students and maintaining per-pupil spending below the state average.[1]
The National Wildlife Federation awarded ABRHS a Green Flag Award for its work to increase environmental awareness and promote environmental stewardship. It is only the fourth school to recieve this award. ABRHS is also set to recieve awards from the Massachsetts state government and the National Energy Education Development Project.[6]
Academics
ABRHS offers classes in a wide range of academic and artistic subjects, including Chinese, Latin, photography, graphic design and anatomy & physiology. For most classes in academic subjects, students have the option of taking SP (standard prep), CP (college prep), AE (accelerated enriched) or Honors/Advanced Placement (AP) classes.
The school regularly has graduation rates over 95% and college attendance rates over 90%. In 2012, the school produced 24 National Merit Semifinalists, 20 of whom became Finalists.[1]
Test scores
ABRHS consistently has strong showings on standarized tests including the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) exams, the SAT and SAT Subject Tests, and AP exams. On the Spring 2012 10th grade MCAS, 96% were "proficient" or "advanced" in English/Language Arts, 94% in Mathematics and 94% in Science.
The school had the highest average SAT Math scores in Massachusetts from 2010-2012. During the same period, average scores for all three sections were above 600.[7][8][9] Average SAT Subject Test scores in 2012 ranged from 647 (Latin) to 750 (Mathematics Level II).[10] 95% of the Class of 2012 took the SAT, as opposed to 89% statewide.[2]
In 2012, 450 students took 948 AP exams[10] and 97.4% of them recieved "proficient" scores (3-5).[9]
Athletics
ABRHS's athletic teams include:
- Girls only
- Field Hockey
- Softball
- Gymnastics
- Boys only
- Wrestling
- Baseball
- Both boys and girls
- Football
- Tennis
- Volleyball
- Soccer
- Lacrosse
- Cross Country
- Track
- Ice hockey
- Basketball
- Alpine Skiing
- Nordic Skiing
- Swimming and Diving
- Golf
- Rowing
ABRHS's sports rivals include Westford Academy for football and Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School for track and cross-country.
Extracurriculars
ABRHS's theater group is named "Proscenium Circus" (PC). The club, which has existed since 1978, has over 100 members and stages several productions each year. AB Friends of Drama, a nonprofit organization, helps to support PC through fundraising and volunteers. PC's 2007 production of The Laramie Project led members of the Westboro Baptist Church to demonstrate outside the school, but students counter-protesting greatly outnumbered them.[11]
ABRHS'S student media includes a radio station, newspaper, yearbook, and magazines. WHAB is the school-run radio station operated by technical advisors and Student DJs. The newspaper The Spectrum is an entirely student-run and student-produced paper. In 2009 and 2010, it won awards for Editorial Writing from the Suffolk University Journalism Competition and First Place with Special Merit from the American Scholastic Press Association.[citation needed] The school's yearbook is called "The Torch" and its student-run magazines include Idiosyncrasy" and "Window Seat.
Other ABRHS clubs include Anime Crew, "Best Buddies" Club, Chess Club, Chinese culture club, Classics Club, Common Ground (a gay-straight alliance), Computer Science Club, Envirothon Team, Film Club, French Club, Future Business Leaders of America, Acton Boxborough Young Republicans Club, Acton Boxborough Young Democrats Club, Hip-Hop Club, Human Rights Club, Invisible Children, Italian Club, Mock Trial, Ocean Science Bowl, Outdoor Club, Photography Club, Recycling Group, Robotics, SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions), Spanish Club, Speech and Debate, Trivia Team, Videogame Design Club, and Youth in Philanthropy.
Academic teams
The Math, Science, Robotics and Debate Teams regularly finish first in Massachusetts competitions, usually competing in national assessments and competitions afterwards. ABRHS's Academic Decathlon has been very successful over the past several decades, often competing at the National Championship.[12]
Performing arts
Acton-Boxborough Friends of Music is a parent-run group that financially supports the performing arts groups throughout the year.
Marching band
The marching band is led by Mark Hickey and includes music, marching, visuals, color guard, percussion, and drum majors. Each year it performs a different field show. It has been regularly awarded the best band marching in statewide parades. Most recently in October 2011, it was awarded a gold medal at MICCA, a regional marching band competition.
- In 2003 and 2009 the band traveled to Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
- In 2004, they participated in New York City's St. Patrick's Day Parade
- In 2006, it participated in the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin, and was awarded "The Best Band Overall in Dublin's St. Patrick's Day Parade," and received an award for "most entertaining" at the Limerick International Band Competition.
- In April 2008 and April 2012, the band traveled to Washington, D.C. to march in the National Cherry Blossom Festival parade.
Chorus
ABRHS's Choral Program consists of four unique choirs that run year-long. Every year, the Chorus Department hosts a variety show called Cabaret Night. Other annual choral events are the Pan-Choral Concert and Spring Jam. The choirs sing repertoire from different time periods and composers.
- La Capella consists of new female members to the program.
- Concert Choir is a heterogenous group that consists of slightly advanced members of vocal performance.
- Chamber Choir includes the most advanced vocal performers of the program.
- Madrigal Singers include the some members of the Chamber Choir. It performs regularly in a medieval-style manner and performs in competitions, receiving a gold medal at MICCA competition in 2010 and 2011.
The choral program also supports student-run a cappella groups, including "Downbeat" (females only), "13 Fish Named Jennifer", "Testostertones" (men only), "Fresh Beat" (freshmen only), "Masti" (performs Indian music) and "Cascade."
Notable alumni
- Seth Abramson, poet
- Tom Barrasso, NHL Hall of Fame Goalie and member of the 2002 U.S. Silver Medal hockey team
- Bob Brooke, NHL hockey player
- Drew Houston, founder of Dropbox
- Jeff Norton, NHL hockey player
- Caroll Spinney, Sesame Street puppeteer who performs Big Bird
- Evelyn Stevens, cyclist
- Bob Sweeney, NHL hockey player
- Ilya Zhitomirskiy, co-founder of open source distributed social networking software company Diaspora; did not graduate from ABRHS
- Actor and comedian Steve Carell is often thought to be an alumnus since he lived in Acton, but he attended the private Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts.
- Comedian Christian Finnegan is often thought to be an alumnus, but he attended a private school, The Walnut Hill School in Natick, Massachusetts.
External links
See also
References
- ^ a b c "The Lamplighter, March/April 2012" (PDF). Acton Public Schools & Acton-Boxborough Regional Schools. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ a b c d "ABRHS Class of 2012 Profile" (PDF). Acton-Boxborough Regional High School. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ Vittorioso, Stephen. "Acton-Boxborough Regional High named Blue Ribbon school". Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ "Acton-Boxborough Regional High School: Overview". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ "Top public schools: Small U.S. cities". GreatSchools. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ Smith, Margaret. "ABRHS wins Green Flag award". Wicked Local. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ "2010 School Rankings". Boston Magazine. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ "2011 School Rankings". Boston Magazine. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ a b "2012 School Rankings". Boston Magazine. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ a b "District Profile 2012-2013" (PDF). Acton Public Schools/Acton-Boxborough Regional Schools. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ Schiavone, Christian. "Protests exchanged at play". Wicked Local. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ http://acadecscores.gilslotd.com/wiki/State/Massachusetts