Dedham High School

History

As early as 1827 the Commonwealth of Massachusetts required all towns with more than 500 families to establish a free public high school for students to attend. Beginning in 1844 the School Committee began recommending that the Town establish a high school, but it wasn't until 1850 when, under threat of a lawsuit, that Town Meeting voted to "instruct the Town's School Committee to hire a building and teacher, and establish a High School according to law." A sum of $3,000 was appropriated to support it.

Charles J. Capen, a private high school teacher, was hired to teach at the new school, and his classroom above the Masonic Hall was rented by the Town. The building, located at 25 Church Street, was previously Miss Emily Hodge's Private School. The school would use this space from 1851-1854 when the school was moved to the Town House on Bullard Street. It remained there one year until, in 1855, a new school was built on Highland Street and dedicated on December 10.

A new school was built on Bryant Street in 1887, and students moved in on October 3. After 1915, when the high school moved to Whiting Ave, the building housed the Ames Junior High School, and today it is the site of the Dedham Town Hall. From 1915 to 1959 the high school was located at 70 Whiting Ave, and in 1932 a new wing was added at a cost of $200,000. This wing was used as the Oakdale Junior High School.

Special laws were passed by the Great and General Court in 1957 allowing the Town to use Stone Park across the street to build a new high school. In 1959 classes began at 140 Whiting Ave, and continue to the present. An addition to this building was added in 1967 which consisted of a new academic wing and an additional gymnasium, and in 1976 a new library, a larger cafeteria, modern science laboratories, swimming pool, and more classrooms were added. The old cafeteria was converted into an auto body shop, and is currently the home of the Town's Facilities Department.

The population of the school peaked in 1972 with more than 2,100 students in grades 9-12, but declined in years following. The then-middle school (housed in the 1915 High School building), however, was at capacity, and so from 1996 until the new middle school opened in 2007 Dedham High School served grades 8-12.

The library was renovated and expanded in 1999, and the C-Wing of the school was renovated with state-of-the-art new science labs in 2002. The superintendent and other central administrators have offices in renovated classrooms in the B-wing, and the Town's Youth Commission has offices in the E-wing.

Principals

There have been 17 principals of Dedham High School, a position currently held by Ron McCarthy. The longest serving was Carlos Slafter who served for 40 years, and who hired his own daughter as a teacher. Peter Smith served twice, from 1976-1987 and then again from 1997-2000.

Academics

The approximately 63 teachers at the school serve 718 students, giving the school a student to teacher ratio of 11:1.

MCAS

Between 2006 and 2013, scores on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System improved 20%. In 2012, 91% of students scored proficient or higher on the English Language Arts portion. For the math and science portions, the numbers are 89% and 79%, respectively, both of which are at least 10% higher than the state as a whole. In the biology subject exam, Dedham High School has ranked as one of the best in the state, with three students earning perfect scores.

College courses

Students taking some honors or AP courses can dual-enroll for college credit at the nearby Massachusetts Bay Community College. The three credits can then be transferred to another state college or some private colleges, allowing students to place out of those classes in college. Courses eligible for dual-enrollment include English 4, calculus, pre-calculus, world and U.S. history, psychology, biology, chemistry, anatomy and physiology, and environmental earth science.

Mass Math + Science Initiative

More than 260 sophomores, juniors, and seniors, which is nearly half of those classes, are taking at least one Advanced Placement course. In 2009 the school joined the Mass Math + Science Initiative, a program sponsored by Mass Insight Education, and by 2012 the number of students who have scored a qualifying score on the exam has risen by 57%. By 2013, the number of qualifying scores had risen 68% to 141.

Technology

The Town of Dedham has made a substantial commitment to making sure every student has access to the latest educational technology. Beginning in 2011, each incoming freshman was provided with a new netbook computer that they could use in class and then take home with them at night. While the computers remain the property of the school district, students are responsible for them. As the district has a policy of replacing computers every five years, and since one of the machines would be nearly depreciated by the time a student is graduated four year later, the district allows students to keep the computers after commencement.

The original plan was to provide each new freshman with a netbook until, four years later, the entire school would be outfitted with them. In the 2012-2013 school year freshman were given netbooks, while sophomores received iPads. The schedule was accelerated beginning with the 2013-2014 school year when freshman received netbooks while all sophomores, juniors, and seniors received iPads. Eventually all students will now be issued an iPad.

Parents are asked to pay a $100 technology fee to help cover the cost of the equipment. However, if a student receives a free or reduced price lunch, the fee is waived. The program may be extended in future years to include middle school students as well.

Athletics

Dedham High School participates in the Herget Division of the Bay State Conference and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association. Dedham High School will join the Tri-Valley League for the 2016-17 school year, leaving behind the BSC after 58 years of membership. They had been invited to join once before, in 2009, but declined the offer. Dedham's enrollment had shrunk to 719 during the 2015-16 school year, when the move was announced, nearly one-third the size of some larger schools in the Bay State Conference, such as Newton North, Framingham, and Weymouth.

In recent years the school has seen a number of new athletic directors. Tom Arria left in 2010 to take a position at a bigger school in Nashua, New Hampshire. He was replaced by Michael Plansky, who left three years later to join a foundation with which he has family ties that assists veterans with addictions. Steve Traister, the current athletic director and director of health and physical education in the Milton public school system, took over for Plansky in 2013.

As the town of Dedham is the seat of Norfolk County, the school's athletic teams informally used the name "Shiretowners" until 1968. The name Marauders was officially adopted and an American Indian was chosen as the mascot. The name and the colors crimson and gray were retained, but the logo changed to a pirate in 2007.

Most teams play at Veteran's Memorial Field at Stone Park, which was rededicated on Thanksgiving Day, 2011, following a major upgrade and renovation.

Fall

Winter

Spring

Co-curricular activities

Dedham High School offers 30 co-curricular activities:

Senior Class Play

The senior class at Dedham High School has a long tradition of putting on a play, usually a musical, as one of their final efforts as a class. Tryouts are usually held in December, and the production is staged in mid-March. While the play has been held annually since at least the late 1960s, the tradition is much older than that. Connie Hines, a member of the class of 1948, tried out for a role in her senior class play but did not make the cut. After graduation she went on to Hollywood and starred in a number of television shows, including Mr. Ed.

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

Notable alumni