Wayland High School
Wayland High School is the public high school for the town of Wayland, Massachusetts, United States. During the 2022-2023 school year, there were 824 students enrolled at the high school. Wayland High School is consistently ranked as one of the best schools in the Boston area. In 2023 Boston Magazine ranked WHS as #4 on their list of "Best Public High Schools in Boston".
History
Early history (1854–1951)
The first public high school in Wayland was opened in the 1854–1855 school year at 55 Cochituate Road. However, "Classes were suspended in 1859 and again in 1862 because the town was unwilling to vote funds to support a high school."In 1873 the consolidated Cochituate School was opened to house both older and younger students, but in 1896, due to crowding and rundown buildings, The Center School was built. The school "welcomed students in grades 1 to 12 in 1897. It served as a high school until 1936, and as a junior high school until 1961."
In the 1930s, again due to overcrowding, a new building was constructed behind the Trinitarian Church using federal grant money from the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933. "he final construction was for a four-classroom building with no basement due to the high water table, all to accommodate 250 students. The plans showed a central building of colonial design with two small wings. Additional wings were built – a gymnasium and cafeteria wing on the north side in 1948 and a classroom wing on the south side in 1951."
The Cold War and WHS (1951–1966)
During the suburban post-World War II population boom Wayland's population more than doubled. This new wave of residents included many well-educated individuals: doctors, lawyers, businessmen, who wanted an education for their children that was as professional as theirs. This, combined with overcrowding at the high school led to the formation of the School Building Committee.Educational consultants Cambridge Consultants, Inc. of Boston were hired to help the town determine what educational changes and structural changes were needed to make the new high school better than the last. At the same time there was a nationwide push to focus on math and science education due the launch of Sputnik. In his 1957 annual report, superintendent Edward J. Anderson cited Sputnik as the reason why math and science needed more attention.
The groundbreaking ceremony for Wayland High School's new open campus was held on April 25, 1959. The campus was designed by Herbert Gallagher and John "Chip" Harkness of The Architects' Collaborative, who were hired by the Town of Wayland in January 1958; the two were assisted by the renowned architect Walter Gropius.
When the high school opened in the fall of 1960, it was hailed for its innovative design. In November 1960 The Architectural Forum wrote, “Probably the most talked-about school plant in the U.S. this fall is a collection of five flat-roofed buildings and a big white dome set down in a green pasture some 16 miles west of Boston." The school received an enormous amount of attention from the press. Featured in Life magazine, Time magazine, The Architectural Forum, The New York Times, and The Boston Globe, it was identified as a leader of the advancement of education.
Expansion and renovation (1966–2000)
In 1966, an English Building was built behind the Math-Science Building at the rear of the campus. This was followed six years later, in 1972, by the construction of an Administration/Media Center building in the front of the school, with renovations to areas in the Commons and Arts Buildings previously occupied by the administration and library spaces now relocated to the new building.In 1968 Wayland became a METCO Community when, "nine students from Dorchester and Roxbury became our community’s ground-breakers, including eight freshmen and one sophomore, Elliott Francis, who would go on to become Wayland's first METCO graduate in 1971."
In November 1973 Aerosmith played one of their first concerts in Wayland's field house.
Between 1990 and 1992, Wayland Public Schools undertook renovations to all of its school buildings, including a $6.2 million renovation to Wayland High School. The scope of the project included replacing outdated building systems, updates to lighting, ceilings, flooring, and selected classroom modifications.
New building (2001–present)
In late 2001, the Town of Wayland signed Dore & Whittier Architects to come up with concepts for a larger, modern high school. However, in 2003, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts announced that it would put a moratorium on its state building assistance program. With state funding uncertain, the vote to proceed with the schematic designs for the Dore and Whittier proposals was defeated at a Town Meeting. In April 2003, the firm withdrew from the project.In 2009, Wayland voters approved a new, $70.8 million, three-building campus designed by HMFH Architects, Inc. Construction of the new school was completed at the end of November 2011, and occupancy by the student body began January 3, 2012. In February 2012, with the exception of the Field House, all of the original high school buildings were demolished.
Academics
Students at Wayland High School are required to take courses in English, Social Studies, Mathematics, Science, Wellness, and Fine Arts in order to graduate. Courses are offered at the Advanced Placement, Honors, college, and Introductory level. Since the Class of 2022, Wayland High School only calculates unweighted GPAs.The vast majority of students pursue post-secondary education after leaving WHS. 92% of the class of 2022 planned on attending either a 4-year college, 2-year college, or prep school. In the past five years the top schools where students have matriculated include: Boston College, Boston University, Clark University, Harvard University, Northeastern University, Syracuse University, Tufts University, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Massachusetts Lowell, University of Michigan, University of New Hampshire, University of Vermont, University of Wisconsin, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Awards and recognition
Wayland High School is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.In their 2021 rankings, U.S. News & World Report ranked WHS as #16 in Boston, MA Metro Area High Schools, #18 in Massachusetts High Schools, and #539 in National Rankings.
The faculty at Wayland High School has been nominated for, and won, numerous awards for their teaching. One of the most awarded teachers was former Social Studies and Business Department Head, Kevin Delaney. "Delaney is the recipient of the 2017 New England History Teachers Association Kidger Award for excellence in teaching, the 2016 Massachusetts Daughters of the American Revolution U.S. History Teacher of the Year, and the 2014 Massachusetts History Teacher of the Year." Delaney retired at the end of the 2020–2021 school year.
Numerous Wayland teachers have also won the Goldin Foundation Award for Excellence in Teaching including: Retired Couselinig Department Coordinator Marybeth Sacramone, Former Business Teacher James Page, Retired Drama Teacher Richard Weingartner, Retired Social Studies Teacher Daniel Frio, and Retired English Teacher Joseph Auciello.