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Framingham High School

American public high school From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Framingham High School
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Framingham High School (FHS) is an urban public high school in Framingham, Massachusetts, United States, located approximately 20 mi (32 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1792 as Framingham Academy, the high school was created when Framingham North High School and Framingham South High School merged in 1991.

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The school enrolls ninth to twelfth grade students with approximately 2,500 students enrolled. In the 2024-25 school year, FHS ranked eighth in high school student enrollment within Massachusetts.[2]

FHS has received multiple awards, including a designation as a Commonwealth Compass School by the state of Massachusetts[3] and as a Vanguard Model School by Massachusetts School Building Authority.[4]

The Framingham High School Flyers compete in the Bay State League-Carey Division of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association's Division I. Their mascot is the Flyer.[5]

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History

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The Framingham Academy was established in 1798, replacing the organization known as the Proprietors of the Brick School House which had formed in 1792. The town of Framingham gave the academy $1000, but some time later this was found to be illegal, and the academy dissolved.

In 1852 the high school was formed, and later became the legal successor to the academy. Thus, the high school can be considered to be founded in either 1792 or 1852.[6]

In 1958, mid year, a new building on Flagg Drive replaced the original high school on Union Avenue that was built in the 1920s. The original building was eventually converted to house several facilities, including the Danforth Museum and the Callahan Senior Center.

In 1963, due to an increasing school population, the original Framingham High was split into two schools, Framingham North High School and Framingham South High School. South High was located in the Flagg Drive campus in South Framingham (in the now-demolished Fuller Middle School, which was replaced with a new building at 31 Flagg Drive in 2021[7]) and North High was located at a new school building at Winch Park on A St. in Saxonville. Originally, North High shared facilities with Winch Park Middle School ("E" & "F" halls in the current building) until 1974 when the first Cameron Middle School opened on Elm Street. The two high schools remained separate until 1991 when they were merged to create a unified school under the name Framingham High School.

The two high schools were distinguished by their colors and mascots: North were the Spartans in yellow and green while South were the Flyers, the original town mascot, in blue and white. When the schools merged in 1991, the district held an election to determine the fate of the colors and mascots. The winning combination was to be the Spartans clad in blue and white. Subsequently, original Framingham High supporters protested that the town should revert to the original mascot and colors which were used by Framingham South. After discussion with the student body, it was agreed that the colors and mascot would revert to the original set.

On a visit on October 20, 1994, President Bill Clinton signed the Improving America's Schools Act (IASA) in the school's John F. Kennedy gymnasium.[8]

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Academics

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In the late 1990s, Framingham High School was labeled underperforming. Through multiple school reforms in the early and mid 2000s, Framingham High dramatically increased their MCAS (Massachusetts state graduation assessment) scores and the number of students taking Advanced Placement courses increased.[9] In recent years, Framingham High has been labeled an "over-performing" school on standardized assessments[citation needed] compared to other districts of similar student populations.[9][10] In 2008, Framingham High was ranked by Newsweek in the top 500 high schools in the United States.[11]

Framingham High School has received press for its success with students in the English as a Second Language Program. 69 percent of Framingham students are considered proficient in English after three or more years[12] and the school has higher graduation rates and MCAS scores than most other districts with large groups of English-learners. Only 17 percent of Framingham's English Language Learners drop out of school, half that of districts with similar demographics.[citation needed] Part of this success is attributed to Framingham's use of a provision in the Massachusetts law by having parents waive their right to an all-English education.[citation needed] In Framingham, very few parents of high schoolers have chosen the English-only option.[13]

Framingham High School has a unique co-teaching program, where most teachers at the school co-teach a course with a colleague from the same discipline. This helps reduce the student-teacher ratio in the classroom and intends to lead to greater faculty collegiality and collaboration. It contributed to the school's Commonwealth Compass School designation.[3]

Framingham High School also has several innovative programs for at-risk and struggling students, including Resiliency for Life,[14] Step Up to Excellence,[15] Mazie Mentoring Program,[16] Academic Development Center (peer-to-peer school day tutoring)[9] and the Phoenix Program,[17] as well as the Thayer Campus, an alternative high school located in south Framingham.[18]

In 2004, Framingham High School launched a "homeroom adviser" program, hoping to reduce the high rate of freshman students being forced to repeat their first year, a problem for many schools in the state. The advisers have around 25 students each, and watch the students' grades and attendance, meet with them individually, and may also consult with parents or teachers. It is hoped that the program will catch struggling students early and encourage them to feel more accountable for their studies.[19]

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Demographics

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According to Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education annual statistics, for the 2024-2025 academic year, the demographic enrollment distributions for race, gender and grade level at Framingham High School are as follows:

Total number of enrolled students: 2,534
Total number of full-time equivalent educators: 199.2
Therefore, the student to teacher ratio for this school is 12.7:1

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* Approximate number of enrolled pupils is calculated based on total number of students in district, multiplied by reported percentage, and rounded to nearest whole student.

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* SP = Special Education Beyond Grade 12[20]


Framingham High School is a racially, ethnically, and economically diverse school and in part this relates to the town of Framingham being historically a hub for immigrants to the United States.[21] The student body of Framingham High is made up of significant immigrant (or children of immigrant) populations from Brazil, the Caribbean, South and Central America, Russia, Asia, and Africa.[citation needed]

Extracurricular activities

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Athletics

The Framingham High School Flyers compete in the Bay State Conference-Carey Division of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association's Division I. The school offers and competes competitively in a number of sports, including dance, cross-country, outdoor track, indoor track, cheerleading, baseball, basketball, field hockey, fencing, american football, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, swimming, softball, wrestling, and volleyball.[22]

Drama company

The school offers a theatre program for all levels of young actors.[23]

The Drama Company presents three annual shows, one of which is a one-act play for a statewide festival ran by the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild.[24] Framingham has won numerous awards for acting and technical design and often makes it to the state finals.[25] In 2006, and 10 years later in 2016, the Drama Company won the METG state finals with their productions of Tales of Trickery (2006) and Sideways Stories from Wayside School (2016).

FHS-TV (Home of "Flyer News")

Framingham High School Television's (FHS-TV) news show "Flyer News" began broadcasting a live newscast at 7:15 a.m. every day to the high school in 1997, and then to the entire town in 2005.[26] Flyer News is run by television production teacher Noah Lin and his students. A Flyer News episode may consist of student-produced segments such as Sez-You, which interviews the student body on various topics; Webcrawler, a technology segment; Word of the Week, asking students to define a different word each week and broadcasting the more entertaining responses; New England Sports Minute, which covers the latest news in the New England professional sporting world; Sports Update, which brings updates about Framingham High School sports; and a daily segment, Homeroom Headlines, giving morning announcements, among other things. One of Flyer News' focal points is to get the student opinion on the issues to voice the student-body's beliefs. The station also airs numerous sports games, as well as student-produced movies, music videos, and public service announcements.

Exchange program

The school participated[when?] in a sister-city exchange program with Lomonosov, Russia, a suburb of St. Petersburg. George Perrone, now-retired Music Director, brought a contingent of musicians to perform at several venues in Lomonosov. In return, Lomonosov residents visited Framingham and Framingham High. Students participated in an exchange program with China in 2016.[27]

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Notable alumni

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David Blatt
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Lou Merloni
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References

External links

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