Newton North High School
Newton North High School, formerly Newton High School, is the larger and longer-established of two public high schools in Newton, Massachusetts, United States, the other being Newton South High School. It is located in the village of Newtonville. The school from 2009 to 2010 underwent controversial reconstruction of its facility, making it one of the largest and most expensive high schools ever built in the United States, with a price tag of nearly $200 million. The new building opened for classes in September 2010.
History
In the 1850s, high school classes in Newton were conducted in buildings shared with grammar schools in the villages of Newton Centre, West Newton, Upper Falls, and Newton Corner. In 1859, Newton's population topped 8,000 residents for the first time, a threshold that required the town under Massachusetts state law to construct a separate high school. Newton High School's first principal was J.N. Beals, for whom the current Beals House was named. Beals also served as one of the new school's two teachers, along with Amy Breck. Beals left the job for health reasons after only one year and was replaced by E.D. Adams, for whom the current Adams House was named.The first Newton High School building, located on Walnut Street in Newtonville, opened in September 1859, and was modified in 1875. In 1898, the original building was replaced with a new building, also on Walnut Street. This building, the Classical Newton High School, eventually became known as Building I. The next building was the Vocational High School, and the third building of the Newton High School complex opened in 1926 on Walnut Street. A field house/gymnasium building, adjacent to Building I, was also part of the complex, as were the athletic fields. Buildings I, II, and III were connected to each other via a series of maintenance tunnels. Newton High School was Newton's only public high school for more than 100 years until 1960, when Newton South High School opened.
Newton High School was renamed Newton North High School in 1973 when a new building opened on Lowell Avenue. The first graduating class as "Newton North High School" was in the spring of 1974. After Newton North was built, all of the former "Newton High School" buildings were demolished.
Reconstruction
By 2003, the "old" Newton North building was 30 years old and aging poorly, with leaks, poor ventilation and crumbling stairs. After extensive community debate and a citizen review panel, a decision was reached to construct a replacement high school, with the final cost ultimately totaling $197.5 million, making it one of the most expensive high schools ever built in the state. A project consultant explained that the project's relatively high cost was partly due to demolition of the existing building, hazardous material abatement in the existing building. and the new school's complex program, which includes a natatorium, vocational technology education program, and culinary arts facilities.At a public hearing in June 2006, community residents criticized the plan for its cost and for creating a new four-way intersection at Walnut Street and Trowbridge Avenue. Others claimed the proposed north–south orientation and lack of a basement level would waste energy as compared to the current structure. Nonetheless, after a public referendum and vote in January 2007, Newton residents approved the current plan for a new building.
Gund Partnership designed the new building, and Dore and Whittier Architects was the Architect of Record. Dimeo Construction Company was the construction manager and general contractor for the project. The removal of the asbestos, laden throughout the existing building, was priced at $10 million. The building was dismantled, with contaminated construction debris packaged in lined cardboard boxes and shipped out in 650 trailer loads.
The new building is oriented on a north–south axis on the eastern side of the current lot, with athletic fields to the west and a soccer field on the east side. The main entrance has returned to Walnut Street, as was the case from 1859 to 1973. The new building places the school office in a more accessible location – it was on the third floor in the old building – and ensures that most classrooms have natural light and windows to the outside.
The school incorporates many features that improve energy efficiency, and is among the first LEED-certified schools in the state. Green features include rooftop solar panels, systems to reuse rainwater, interior materials with low emission of volatile organic compounds, and occupancy motion sensors. Unlike the previous school building, where 50 percent of the classrooms did not have windows or access to daylight, classrooms in the new school receive natural light; light fixtures are dimmed based on the amount of daylight to conserve energy. In 2020, solar canopies were constructed over the main parking lots.
House system
The school is divided into administrative units called "Houses". Each has its own office, secretary, and Dean, who deals with administrative and disciplinary matters for house students. The House system was designed to provide better communication, distributed administration, more personal attention to individuals, a smaller peer group for students, more practical social events, and intra-house athletic teams. The houses are Adams, Barry, Beals and Riley, with each year group occupying one house. In the period of its largest population, there were six houses – the two additional houses being Bacon and Palmer – which also contained student common rooms and teachers' lounges. Originally, students in the same class were broken up into different houses; now the four houses correspond to the four grade levels. Students remain in the same house throughout their four years at Newton North. Houses are named for notable former principals, such as Dr. Leo J. Barry, J.N. Beals, and E.D. Adams.Academics
Newton North offers both traditional college-preparatory academic courses along with technical and vocational training. Traditional courses in the humanities and the sciences are streamed, often with College Prep, Advanced College Prep, Honors and Advanced Placement options. Starting with the 2014–2015 school year, course levels were renamed to College Prep, Advanced College Prep, and Honors/Advanced Placement. Non-standard courses include video production, architecture, automobile repair, and biodiesel production.Currently there are 5 levels of Classes; No Level, College Prep, Advanced College Prep, and Honors. Additionally for some classes there is Advanced Placement that falls under the Honors umbrella, additionally there is an Accelerated form of ACP that is only found in the Mathematics department.
Newton North held the sixth position in Boston Magazines 2010 rankings of public high schools.
Greengineering
During the academic year of 2009/2010 a Greengineering course was added in the Career and Tech. Ed. Department at Newton North High School. The course taught students how to produce biodiesel, make fused plastic bags, and grow algae that would later be processed into fuel. The biodiesel was sold to a recycling company as well as the community at large. This program was the first of its kind in both Massachusetts and the United States. Greengineering was renewed for the academic year of 2010/2011 with additions to curriculum for Greengineering 101 and a new Greengineering 201 course. They had started creating a styrofoam type material using mycelium. They planned to use it to replace the need for non-green styrofoam and to create a surfboard made of fiberglass-coated mycelium. During the 2016–2017 school year, Greengineering had multiple new subject areas including pedal power and aquaponics. However, in the beginning of the 2018 school year, Greengineering came to an end and was replaced with a new Sustainability course.Partnerships and exchanges
Students studying foreign languages have the opportunity to participate in one of several international exchange programs. In addition, Newton North participates in the Newton-Beijing Jingshan School Exchange Program. The city of Newton hosts students and teachers for four months each fall and sends students and teachers to Beijing each spring.Extracurriculars
Clubs and societies
Competitive clubs at the school include History Team, Model United Nations, Mock Trial Team, Debate Team, Mathematics Team, Science Team, and a FIRST Robotics Competition team: The LigerBots 2877. Newton North's Science Team has entered national and regional competitions. Newton North's History Team is ranked within the top half of teams, nationally, and has won several regional history bees.In the 2011–12 school year, the science team placed first at MIT Trivia, Envirothon, and JETS. In 1993 the team's Science Bowl division won the state championship and placed 3rd nationally. They won the Science Olympiad State competition in 1995, 2004, 2007, 2008, and 2009, and have represented Massachusetts at the national competition.
In the 2013–14 school year, the LigerBots won the WPI District Competition, were finalists at the Northeastern University District Competition, and placed for the FIRST Championship in St. Louis. In the 2014–15 school year, the LigerBots were semi-finalists and Chairman's Award winners at the UMass Dartmouth Competition, were finalists at the Northeastern competition, won the NE Regional Chairman's award, and placed for the FIRST World Championship in St. Louis. In the 2015–2016 school year, the LigerBots won the Entrepreneurship Award at the WPI competition, as well as the Innovation in Control Award at both the Boston University District Competition and the New England District Championship competition. In the 2017–18 school year the team won the Imagery Award and Engineering Inspiration Award at the district level, and qualified for the FIRST World Championships.
The Chess Club has sent teams of four players to the tournament yearly for the past two decades. The school team won the championships in 2002, 2009, 2010, and 2012. In 2016 they placed second to two-time champions Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School. In 2018, they once again placed second after losing in the final round to the eventual champions BBN, 1.5–2.5. The last time an individual player has won the state title was Jacob Fauman in 2012. The current school team has top 50 nationally ranked chess players in their age group and top 25 finishers at the last national grade championships. The club itself has USCF Club affiliation and a Club TD, something that no other high school in Massachusetts has.