Dedham High School is a public high school in Dedham, Massachusetts, United States, and a part of the Dedham Public Schools district. The school was founded in 1851 by the oldest public school system in the country. It earned a silver medal from U.S. News & World Report in 2017, ranked as the 48th best high school in Massachusetts.
In the 2010s the school saw growth in both the number of students taking Advanced Placement courses and in qualifying scores on the exams. It ranks in the top 10 of Massachusetts high schools with 26.6 percent of students taking at least one AP exam during the 2015-16 school year. The school's athletic program offers 26 varsity sports with a mascot known as the Marauder, and 26 co-curricular clubs and activities. Each student receives a personal computer from the school.
History
1800s
As early as 1827, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts required all towns with more than 500 families to establish a free public high school. Beginning in 1844 the School Committee repeatedly began recommending that the town establish a high school. It was not until 1850 when, under threat of a lawsuit, that the 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.
The new school was opened on September 15, 1851 with 42 students. Charles J. Capen, a private high school teacher, was hired to teach at the new school, and his classroom in the Masonic Hall above William Field's dry good store was rented by the town. The building, located at 25 Church Street, was previously Miss Emily Hodge's Private School. The school used this space from 1851 to 1854, at which point it was moved to the Town House on Bullard Street.
In 1894, the alumni association presented the school with a gift of 350 books as the nuculeus of the Slafter Reference Library, named in honor of principal Carlos Slafter. The books were chosen from a selection of American and English authors as well as many standard reference books. The school committee purchased a special oak book case for the collection and placed a silver plate upon it stating:
Slafter Reference Library
Dedham High School
Formed in grateful recognition of the service of
Carlos Slafter
Principal of the High School 1852-1892
Given by the Alumni Association November 27, 1894
1900s
In 1958, the student council adopted a dress code at the school. By 1973, much of the code had been eliminated, including skirts for girls and neckties for boys, but there remained a ban on blue jeans; jeans of other colors were allowed. A student protest on February 15, 1973, which included a walkout of classes and became known as "Dungaree Day," led to a repeal of the ban.
The population of the school peaked in 1972 with more than 2,100 students in grades 9-12, but declined in the following years. 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.
Buildings
After moving from Masonic Hall, the classes were held at the Town House for 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. That building was 80' long and 77' wide. After 1915, when the high school moved to Whiting Avenue, the building housed the Ames Junior High School, and today it is the site of the Dedham Town Hall.
From 1916 to 1959 the high school was located at 70 Whiting Avenue. Governor Calvin Coolidge took part in the dedication ceremony on March 31, 1917. Students first occupied the school in the spring of 1916. It was three stories tall, plus a basement, and was built of water-struck brick and featured terra cotta trimming. It later served as the Dedham Middle School.
In 1932 a new wing was added at a cost of $200,000. It contained an auditorium dedicated to George Frederick Joyce, who was connected to the school for 25 years and principal for 21 of them, on May 12, 1933. Later, this wing was used as the Oakdale Junior High School.