Taunton High School

Taunton High School
Address
50 Williams Street
Taunton, Massachusetts, 02780
United States
Coordinates 41°54′05″N 71°04′18″W / 41.9015°N 71.0716°W / 41.9015; -71.0716Coordinates: 41°54′05″N 71°04′18″W / 41.9015°N 71.0716°W / 41.9015; -71.0716
Information
School type Public
School district Taunton Public Schools
Superintendent Julie Hackett
Head Master Matthew Mattos
Teaching staff 313.7 (FTE)
Enrollment 2,887
Campus Urban
Color(s) Black & Orange          
Athletics MIAA - Division 1
Athletics conference Hockomock League
Nickname Tigers
Rivals Coyle-Cassidy, New Bedford, Durfee, Brockton
Average SAT scores 502 verbal
504 math
484 writing
1490 total (2014-2015)[1]
Newspaper The Tauntonian
Website THS
[2][3]

Taunton High School (often abbreviated THS) located within a large, three-floor, interconnected, multi-block complex in the eastern section of the city of Taunton, Massachusetts. It is an urban public high school with an estimated average student enrollment of 3,000 students. It offers many student-oriented services, specialty academic programs, extra-curricular clubs, various after-school programs and a wide array of scholastic sports. Taunton High School is one of the largest high schools in New England, and is the 4th largest in Massachusetts, behind Brockton, Lowell, and New Bedford.

The main building complex once contained a public middle school, John F. Parker Middle School, until 2009 where, during a total renovation of the school, a fifth, exterior wing was added to the front of the school. The high school section of the building is divided into four different "houses" in which different classes are held, along with an associate headmaster’s office in each, and the main headmaster’s office in the middle. On the side of the building is also the high school's fine arts house, Robert H. Park Auditorium, which currently holds seating capacities up to 1,500 people, and beneath that the music rooms, dressing rooms, and storage. The school also has a two-leveled gymnasium, where most of the indoor sports teams perform and several "pep rallies" are held throughout the year. The school's field house is one of the largest gymnasiums in New England, capable of holding both indoor track meets and basketball tournaments simultaneously.

Campus

Taunton High School is set on a large urban campus containing many buildings including five student academic houses. Each of the four academic houses are governed by their own "house master". The campus also features a field house, 10,000 seat football stadium, eight athletics fields, ice rink, eight tennis courts, cross country trails, 1500-seat capacity multi-level auditorium, three LGI mini-auditoriums, student operated restaurant, TV and radio stations, and a branch of Bristol County Savings Bank.

The current Taunton High School campus was state of the art for its time when it first opened in 1975, for it featured a modern greenhouse, pool, ice rink, planetarium, a modern public address system with a tone used for class-change signaling (in contrast to standard class-change bells) and telephones, and a high-tech (for 1975) TV studio. The academic houses and class rooms were carpeted from its opening in 1975 through the 2000 school year.

History

The requirement for High School level classes in Taunton was established in 1838. The City of Taunton, at that time, did not have a central building in which to hold high school level classes. The local school officials decided to hold high school classes in a neighborhood schoolhouse and rotate each semester to a different location. The first organization of a high school class was held in the District #11 Schoolhouse that later became known as the Woodward School at 52 Worcester Street. The rotation system continued for two years and the state of Massachusetts decided to discontinue the requirement for cities and towns to offer high school classes. From 1840 to 1848, there were no high school classes offered in Taunton. In 1849, Massachusetts, once again, required cities and towns to establish high school classes. The leaders of Taunton decided to hold high school classes in the basement of a church on Spring Street known as the Winslow Church. The classes continued at that location until local officials expanded the interior of the City Hall. The high School classes were moved to the second floor of Taunton City Hall in the mid-1850s and remained there until 1885 when a new High School was built on Washington Street on the site of a popular picnic grounds called 'King's Grove'. The Taunton High School on Washington Street received numerous additions as well as a face lift over the years. The building was in need of replacement and city officials purchased the Baylies estate on Williams Street to construct a new and current Taunton High School complex in 1975.

Renovation

Taunton High School underwent a $112 million renovation. The John F.Parker Middle School was removed from the High School and a new wing was constructed that houses the operations of the John F. Parker Middle School. The renovation was handled by the firm of Bacon & Agostini.

From Bacon & Agostini

The project consists of renovations to the existing 496,503SF three story high school and middle school building and a new 62,365SF three story middle school addition, as well as site, utility and road work.

This is a phase project in which the existing building will continue to be occupied during construction. The schedule is aggressive, especially during the summers and coordination will be complicated. The final completion was finished in August 2011.

Administration

Headmasters

Curriculum Supervisors

Guidance Counselors

Athletics

(EMass Division 1, Hockomock League, Kelley-Rex Division)

Fall sports teams

  • Football
  • Boys/Girls Soccer
  • Field Hockey
  • Cheerleading
  • Girls Volleyball
  • Cross Country
  • Golf

Winter sports teams

  • Boys/Girls Basketball
  • Cheerleading
  • Ice Hockey
  • Boys/Girls Indoor Track & Field-
  • Boys/Girls Swimming
  • Wrestling

Spring sports teams

  • Baseball
  • Boys/Girls Outdoor Track & Field
  • Softball
  • Boys/Girls Tennis
  • Boys Volleyball
  • Boys/Girls Lacrosse

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/state_report/sat_perf.aspx
  2. ↑ "Enrollment Data (2013-14) - Taunton High (02930505)". mass.edu. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "2011-12 SAT Performance Report - Taunton (02930000)". mass.edu. Retrieved 22 March 2015.

External links

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