Westborough High School (Massachusetts)
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Westborough High School is a public high school in
Westborough, Massachusetts Westborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,567 at the 2020 Census, in over 7,000 households. Incorporated in 1717, the town is governed under the New England open town meeting system, headed ...
, United States that serves as the high school for the Westborough Public School District. The school's mascot is the Ranger and the school colors are cardinal and navy blue. In the 2017–18 school year, WHS had an enrollment of 1131 students. The school is located in the downtown Westborough area at 90 West Main Street.


History


Previous locations

The first public school in Westborough was on Science Hill on School Street. Starting in , Silas Stone taught 20 subjects. The school eventually became graded and graduated its first class of three in 1872. The first modern high school was built using donations from local philanthropists Frank and Fannie Forbes in . A new high school was then built on Fisher Street in . This later became the middle school as growth in student population forced the need to construct the existing building in .WHS Home. Westborough Public Schools, October 31, 2013.
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Property history

The property was first built upon by Thomas Rice in , where he built a
Garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...
house. In the mid-1800s, box factory and hotel owner Christopher Whitney built a mansion on the site. The property was sold in 1920 to the Aronson cattle dealers who hosted regular cattle auctions on the site. Two infamous events have occurred on the property that was to become Westborough High School. This first was the capturing of the five Rice boys by the Canawaugha Indian tribe from present day Canada. The second was the 1953 tornado that struck the Aronson property and fields, killing three of the Aronsons and a hired man.


Academics


Standardized test scores

On the 2013 MCAS test, sophomores at Westborough High School ranked 105 of 354 schools in English, 59 of 354 in math, and 15 of 344 in science and technology. The school had 97% of test takers place in the advanced or proficient categories in English, compared to the state average of 91%. In math, this percentage was 92% compared to the state's 90%, and a 94% in science and technology compared to the state average of 71%.Boston.com Westborough Public Schools
''The Boston Globe'', September 2013. October 31, 2013.


Advanced Placement Courses

Westborough High School offers AP courses in
microeconomics Microeconomics is a branch of mainstream economics that studies the behavior of individuals and firms in making decisions regarding the allocation of scarce resources and the interactions among these individuals and firms. Microeconomics fo ...
,
computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...
, 3D design portfolio, studio art 2D,
music theory Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...
, calculus AB, calculus BC,
statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ''wikt:Statistik#German, Statistik'', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of ...
,
biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
,
chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
,
United States history The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Numerous indigenous cultures formed, and many saw transformations in the 16th century away from more densely ...
, French,
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
, and
English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...
and allows its students to take AP courses through the Virtual High School program. 59.6% of students at WHS take at least one AP course before they graduate.US News
''U.S. News & World Report'', October 31, 2013.


Honor societies

Westborough High School has an active chapter of the
National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic achi ...
, which meets monthly. The NHS chapter runs a free tutoring service available to all Westborough public school attendees.


Athletics


Fine arts

Westborough offers the following curricular music ensembles: *String orchestra *Concert band *Symphonic band *Mixed chorus *Women’s chorale *Concert choir *Full Orchestra The following extracurricular ensembles run outside of class time: *Honors string quartet *String chamber ensemble *Marching band *Repertoire jazz band *Festival jazz band *Saxophone quartet *Woodwind quintet *Percussion ensemble *Harmony in Heels (Girls' ''a cappella'') *Don't Panic (Mixed ''a cappella'') *Member’s Only (Boys' ''a cappella'') *Double Take (Girls' ''a cappella'') *Chamber singers


Honor societies

Westborough High School’s chapter of the
Tri-M Tri-M Music Honor Society, formerly known as Modern Music Masters, is an American high school and middle school music honor society. A program of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), it is designed to recognize students for their ...
Music Honor Society is chapter 3311.


Theater

Center Stage, the Westborough High School theater group, puts on three shows per academic year: a play in November, a musical in March, and a small piece or One Act festival in May.


References

{{authority control Buildings and structures in Westborough, Massachusetts Public high schools in Massachusetts High schools in Worcester County, Massachusetts