Melrose High School
360 Lynn Fells Pkwy, Melrose, MA, 02176-2244 - Map Map

School Overview:
Definition of Terms
Melrose High School
School Level High school
Grades Offered Grades 9 - 12
County Middlesex County, MA
Students & Faculty
Total Students 906 students
% Male / % Female 47%  /  53%
Total Classroom Teachers 64 teachers
Students by Grade
Grade 9 - 228 students
Grade 10 - 220 students
Grade 11 - 211 students
Grade 12 - 247 students
This School
(MA) School Average
Teacher : Student Ratio 1:14 1:14
Students by Ethnicity
This School
(MA) School Average
% American Indian n/a n/a
% Asian 3% 3%
% Hispanic 3% 11%
% Black 7% 11%
% White 86% 73%
% Unknown 1 % 2%
Additional Student Information
This School
(MA) School Average
% Eligible for Free Lunch 8% 20%
% Eligible for Reduced Lunch 1% 4%
% Migrant Students Enrolled n/a n/a
School Performance:
(MA) Statewide Testing Performance
School Statewide Performance View Education Department Test Scores
School District:
School District Name Melrose School District
This School's Agency
(MA) District Average
Number of Schools Managed 8 5
Number of Students Managed 3,875 students 2,427 students
District Total Revenue $38,049,000 $31,707,000
District Expenditure $37,772,000 $31,191,000
District Revenue / Student $9,819 $13,064
District Expenditure / Student $9,748 $12,852
District Graduation Rates n/a n/a
In the News:
View all past news stories
School Notes:
  • Melrose High School (MHS) is a public high school serving children in grades 9–12. It is located at 360 Lynn Fells Parkway in Melrose, Massachusetts 02176 and is Melrose's only high school. Enrollment for the 2008–2009 school year is 929 students. The school is accredited by the New England Association of Schools & Colleges (NEASC) and is a member of the METCO program.
  • History
  • 1868–1897: First high school
  • Melrose High School began teaching children in the 1800s and has called several buildings home. The oldest known location is on West Emerson Street where the Melrose Public Library now stands. On March 30, 1868, Melrose appropriated $20,000 for the construction of the high school on a lot located on the corner of West Emerson Street and Lake Avenue. An Additional $7,500 was added to the price tag of the school on January 19, 1869 and on July 15, 1869, the school was finished and dedicated. Almost thirty years later on January 25, 1897, a fire destroyed the building.
  • 1898–1931: Second high school
  • The building on West Emerson Street quickly became too small for the growing community and so at the town meeting held on February 24, 1896, the town allocated $100,000 for the building of a new high school. The town selected a lot of land known as the "Old Burial Ground" on Main Street across from the Central Fire Station as the location for the new school building. On August 1, 1898, an additional $3,000 was appropriated for site work around the building. The school was dedicated on September 17, 1898 and at the time, was the one of the "finest school buildings to be found in New England".
  • 1932–1974: Third high school
  • In 1932, another new school was built and the previous school building became the Calvin Coolidge Elementary School. This time the new building was built on swamp land taken from Ell Pond on Lynn Fells Parkway. It was a very large school, featuring a 900 seat Auditorium and a full size gymnasium. 1961 saw the addition of the Daffinee Gymnasium which contained new locker rooms for both basketball and football and also extra classroom space. The addition also included the construction of a three-floor annex attached by a bridge. Many historians praised the main building for its period design and architectural beauty.
  • 1975–2004: Fourth high school
  • In 1975, a new "modern" Melrose High School opened next-door to the old one, which became the middle school. This building is renowned for its "open spaces," which were large open areas with movable walls. Less than half of the buildings classrooms were in open spaces and the rest were triangular in shape. The school was supposedly built by an architect who also designed prisons and the building style reflects this. Numerous classrooms contain no windows and masonry is the main building material. Windows appear in a select few classrooms and are plentiful, yet most don't open. There is a constantly running air circulation system to combat the window problem and this also cools the building in the summer.
  • 2005–present: Renovations
  • In Summer 2005, walls were constructed in the second- and third-floor open spaces creating fourteen separate classrooms. The work was done in conjunction with the project to build a new middle school on the site of the third high school and done as a requirement of an NEASC accreditation report. For two years while the construction of the new middle school occurred, eighth-graders occupied the new classrooms. After Summer 2007, regular high school classes resumed in the former open space.
  • On October 16, 2007, Mayor Robert Dolan announced that the building would undergo major renovations within the next four years. The $3-4 million renovation will include the installation of "SmartBoards" in all 78 classrooms, improved lighting, roof replacement, and repainting the entire school. The first phase, with construction that occurred in Summer 2008, costing $1.44 million and was for the installation and purchase of the "SmartBoards" and the electrical work needed to accommodate the additional technology for the boards. This phase also added or improved internet, phone, and cable television connections throughout the school. By the start of the 2008-09 school year, September 4, 2008, 70 fixed position smart boards and four portable ones were ready for use.
  • School Life
  • The school has several successful sports programs, the most notable being the recent success of the women's volleyball, woman's cross country and women's basketball teams. Also notable are its wide array of clubs, many of which are active within the community.
  • Trivia
  • Elizabeth Dole worked as a student teacher at MHS during the 1959-1960 school year.
  • Source: Wikipedia; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.
  • Add/edit information about this school (e.g., awards, news stories, notable alumni, fun facts)
 
School Zip Code:
About This Zip Code (02176)
School Zip (02176)
(MA) State Average
Population (Approximate) 27,134 people 6,259,314 people
% (age 25+) w/College Degree 48% 40%
Population Average Age 39 years old 36 years old
Average Household size 2.4 persons 2.5 persons
Median Household Income $62,811 $49,959
Avg. # of Rooms in Household 6 rooms 5.4 rooms
Median Age of Housing Structure 70 years old 55 years old
View Current Housing Listings View current housing listings in this area
Median Value of Housing Unit
Zipcode (02176)


Zillow Median Value of Housing Unit
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Zillow Median Value of Housing Unit
% Owning / % Renting 67% / 33% 58% / 42%
School Map:
1. Stoneham High School - 884 students - 1.4 mi. away - view location
2. Mystic Valley Regional Charter School - 1144 students - 2.3 mi. away - view location
3. Northeast Metro Regional Vocational High School - 1209 students - 2.3 mi. away - view location
4. Malden High School - 1680 students - 2.4 mi. away - view location
5. Wakefield Memorial High School - 1004 students - 2.4 mi. away - view location
View all schools in: Melrose, Middlesex County, Zip 02176 
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Note: Data has been gathered from several government and commercial data sources. School data reflects 2006 statistics (most recent year available).

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