Woonsocket High School

Woonsocket High School is a high school in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, United States (in Providence County). It is the only public high school in the city.^[2] Manufacturer and abolitionist Edward Harris donated the original land for the public high school.^[3]

Woonsocket High School
Location
777 Cass Avenue, Woonsocket, Rhode Island 02895 United States
Coordinates	42.0041°N 71.4858°W / 42.0041; -71.4858
Information
Type	Public
School district	Woonsocket School District
Principal	Brian Ernest
Staff	101.00 (FTE)[1]
Grades	9 to 12
Enrollment	1,599 (2023-2024)[1]
Student to teacher ratio	15.83[1]
Color(s)	Maroon and white
Nickname	Villa Novans
Website	WHS website

Demographics

From grades 9 through 12 at the Woonsocket high school there were 1556 students, 52% of whom were male, and 48% female. The teacher to student ratio was 20:1.^[when?][4]

1% of the students were American Indian, 7% were Asian, 10% were Black, 0.3% were Hawaiian, 29% were Hispanic, 48% were white, and 5% of the students were of two or more races.^[4]

60% of students had economic disadvantages, 53% of students were currently receiving free lunch, and 6% received reduced lunch.^[4]

Advanced placement testing

14% of students participated^[when?] in Advanced Placement testing, and of those, 22% passed. The percentage of disadvantaged students who are proficient in testing was 10.9%. Out of the students who did not have a disadvantage, 22.7% were proficient in testing.^[4]

Sports

Woonsocket High School's sports teams are known as the Villa Novans, and its colors are maroon and white. The school offers baseball, basketball, football, ice hockey, soccer, volleyball, and wrestling for boys; and basketball, field hockey, soccer, softball, and volleyball for girls. The high school athletes compete in the Rhode Island Interscholastic League (RIIL), in which most of Rhode Island's public and private schools compete. The city has various sporting facilities, including a football/soccer field, a baseball field, a gymnasium for basketball, and several tennis courts.^[5]

Notable Alumni

• Adin B. Capron (1859), United States House of Representatives member from 1897 until 1911
• Anne Bosworth Focke (1886), mathematician
• Frank W. Buxton (1896), Pulitzer Prize winning journalist
• Domina Jalbert (1922), inventor of the ram-air inflated flexible wing
• Paul T. Carroll (1928), United States Army Brigadier General and White House Staff Secretary to President Dwight D. Eisenhower
• Eileen Farrell (1939), opera singer^[6]
• Jeffrey Mailhot (1988), serial killer known as The Rhode Island Ripper
• Tarik Robinson-O'Hagan (2022), track and field athlete^[7]

See also

• List of high schools in Rhode Island