Framingham High School

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Framingham High School
Image:Framingham High School seal.gif
Principal Michael Velch
School type Public
Religious affiliation None
Founded 1792/1852
Merged 1991
Location Framingham, Massachusetts
Enrollment 2000
Faculty
Campus surroundings Suburban
Sports teams Flyers
School color(s) Blue & white

Framingham High School, or FHS, is a public high school in the town of Framingham, Massachusetts, United States. Like most high schools, it enrolls 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th graders from the town. The school has a typical enrollment of 2,000 students, over three times the district average (600).

Contents

[edit] History

The Framingham Academy was established in 1798, replacing the organization known as the Proprietors of the Brick School House which had formed in 1792. The town of Framingham gave the academy $1000, but some time later this was found to be illegal, and the academy was dissolved.

In 1852 the high school was formed, and later became the legal successor to the Academy. Thus the high school can be considered to be founded in either 1792 or 1852. [1]

In 1959 a new building on Flagg St. replaced the original high school on Union Ave. that was built in the 1920's. The original building was eventually converted to house several facilities, including the Danforth Museum and the Callahan Senior Center.

In 1963, due to an increasing school population, the original Framingham High was split in to two schools, Framingham North High School and Framingham South High School. South High was located in the Flagg St. campus in South Framingham (now the Fuller Middle School) and North High was located at the new school building at Winch Park on A St. in Saxonville. Originally, North High shared facilities with Winch Park Middle School ("E" & "F" halls in the current building) until 1974 when the first Cameron Middle School opened on Elm St. The two schools remained separate until 1991 when they were merged to create a unified school under the name Framingham High School.

The two high schools were were distinguished by their colors and mascots: North had the Spartans in yellow and green while South had the original town mascot Flyers in blue and white. When the time for the merger of the schools came, the district held an election to determine the fate of the colors and mascots. The winning combination was to be the Spartans in blue and white, however alumni of the original Framingham High raised a protest that the town should revert to the original mascot and colors which happened to be used by Framingham South. After discussion with the student body, it was agreed that the colors & mascot would be reverted to the original set.

On a visit on October 20, 1994, President Bill Clinton signed the Improving America's Schools Act (IASA) in the school's John F. Kennedy gymnasium. [2]

[edit] Academics

In 2004, Framingham High School launched a "homeroom advisor" program, hoping to reduce the high rate of freshman students being forced to repeat their first year, a problem for many schools in the state. The advisers have around 25 students each, and watch the students' grades and attendance, meet with them individually, and may also consult with parents or teachers. It is hoped that the program will catch struggling students early and encourage them to feel more accountable for their studies.

[edit] Extracurricular activities

[edit] Athletics

  • The FHS Gymnastics team had an undefeated season in 2006-2007.
  • The girl's lacrosse team won the state championship in 2006, defeating East Longmeadow High School at Bowditch Field in Framingham and finishing 25-0 for the entire season.

[edit] Drama Company

  • The school offers a very successful theatre program for all levels of young actors. The Framingham High School Drama Company, a four-time state finalist and 2006 winner of the Massachusetts High School Drama Festival, produces several plays each year under the direction of Donna Wresinski. The Drama Company was a representative of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts at the 2006 New England Drama Festival along with Wellesley High School and was honored by the State Legislature at the Massachusetts State House.

[edit] FHS-TV (Flyer News)

  • The "Flyer News" television station began broadcasting a live newscast at 7:15 a.m. every day to the high school in 1999, and then to the entire town in 2005. [3] Flyer News, run by television production teacher Dan Devlen and his students, has won 7 high school Emmy Awards as of the end of the 2006 school year. A Flyer News episode may consist of student-produced segments such as Sez-You, which interviews the student body on various topics; Webcrawler, a technology segment; Word of the Week, asking students to define a different word each week and broadcasting the more entertaining responses; and a daily segment, Homeroom Headlines, giving morning announcements, among other things. Flyer News episodes are rebroadcast to the town every day during the school year, at 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. The station also airs numerous sports games, as well as student-produced movies, music videos, and Public Service Announcements. The FHS-TV webpage, [4] was also created in March of 2006.

[edit] Music

  • In 2003, Framingham began to experiment with teaching the percussionists how to play in a drumline. Since then, the FHS Drumline has played at a Boston Celtics professional basketball game at TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, MA.

[edit] Exchange Program

  • The school has, in the past, participated in a sister-city exchange program with Lomonosov, Russia, a suburb of St. Petersburg. George Perrone, now-retired Music Director, brought a contingent of musicians to perform at several venues in Lomonosov. In return, Lomonosov residents visited Framingham and Framingham High. This exchange has not taken place in the last three years.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ [2]

[edit] External links

[edit] References

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