Acton-Boxborough Regional High School

Acton-Boxborough Regional High School
"Home of the Colonials"
Location
Acton, MA, USA
Information
Type	Public
Religious affiliation(s)	none
Established	Unknown
Principal	Alixe Callen
Faculty	156
Enrollment	2,007
Campus	Charter Rd. Complex
Color(s)	Blue & Gold
Athletics	38 Interscholastic Teams
Mascot	The Colonial
Website	http://ab.mec.edu/abrhs/

Acton-Boxborough Regional High School (ABRHS) is an open enrollment high school in Acton, Massachusetts. It serves the Massachusetts towns of Acton and Boxborough, with roughly 500 students per grade level in grades 9 through 12. ABRHS has consistently ranked among the top secondary schools in Massachusetts. It was one of 39 American high schools named a Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education in 2009. Additionally, the town of Acton was named the sixteenth best small town in which to live in America by Money Magazine in both 2009 and 2011, and the second best town/city in the United States for education by Forbes Magazine in 2010 based on its NCLB report card.

The Acton-Boxborough Regional High School (ABRHS) is situated down-hill from the Raymond J. Grey Junior High School, at 36 Charter Road in Acton. Raymond J. Grey Junior High School occupies the facility that, until 1973, was the high school. ABRHS underwent an $80 million dollar renovation and expansion in 2005.

Academics

The school has been ranked high academically, including being ranked 1st in Math and 3rd in Writing SAT scores among Massachusetts high schools. In 2010, it was ranked 1 in composite SAT score. Some of the highest mean SAT Subject Test scores are in Chinese (778), Math II (750), and Biology (740). ABRHS offers a wide range of subjects, and students have the option of taking CP (college prep), AE (accelerated enriched), Honors, or advanced placement (AP) (college credit) classes, among others. There are prerequisites for honors and AP classes. In 2009, students received 5s in 61% of AP exams, 32% received 4s.

In the 2009 English language arts section of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) exam, 482 10th grade students participated in the section, 51 percent of whom scored "Advanced", and 44 percent scored "Proficient". Only 3 percent scored "Needs Improvement", and 1 percent did not pass. In the mathematics section for the same year, 482 10th grade students participated in the math section, and 83 percent scored "Advanced", and 12 percent scored "Proficient". Only 3 percent scored "Needs Improvement", and 1 percent did not pass.

In the class of 2010, over 99 percent of graduates will continue their education, and approximately 97.5 percent will attend four year colleges. The school has an average of 20 National Merit Finalists per class year.

Athletics

The athletic teams of ABRHS include:

Girls only

• Field Hockey
• Softball
• Gymnastics

Boys only

• Wrestling
• Baseball

Both boys and girls

• Football
• Tennis
• Volleyball
• Soccer
• Lacrosse
• Cross Country
• Track
• Ice hockey
• Basketball
• Alpine Skiing
• Nordic Skiing
• Swimming and Diving
• Golf
• Rowing

Rivals

• Football rival is Westford Academy
• Track and Cross Country rival Lincoln-Sudbury

Extracurriculars

Marching Band

The high school's most extensive extracurricular program is the marching band, which is led by Mark Hickey. It is a semester-long course that consists of music, marching, visuals, color guard, percussion, and drum majors. Each year a different field show is performed. It has been regularly awarded the best band marching in statewide parades. Most recently in October 2011, it was awarded a gold medal at MICCA, a regional marching band competition.

• In 2003 and 2009 the band traveled to Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
• In 2004, they participated in New York City's St. Patrick's Day Parade
• In 2006, it participated in the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin, and was awarded "The Best Band Overall in Dublin's St. Patrick's Day Parade," and received an award for "most entertaining" at the Limerick International Band Competition.
• In April 2008, the band traveled to Washington, D.C. to march in the annual Cherry Blossom Festival Parade. In April 2012, the band plans to return for the 100th anniversary of the parade to participate.

ABFOM is a parent-run group that financially supports the band throughout the year.

Chorus

ABRHS's Choral Program consists of four unique choirs that run year-long. Every year, the Chorus Department hosts a variety show called Cabaret Night. Other annual choral events are the Pan-Choral Concert and Spring Jam. The choirs sing repertoire from different time periods and composers.

• La Capella consists of new female members to the program.
• Concert Choir is a heterogenous group that consists of slightly advanced members of vocal performance.
• Chamber Choir includes the most advanced vocal performers of the program.
• Madrigal Singers include the some members of the Chamber Choir. It performs regularly in a medieval-style manner and performs in competitions, receiving a gold medal at MICCA competition in 2010 and 2011.

The choral program also supports student-run A Capella groups, including "Downbeat" (females only), "13 Fish Named Jennifer", "Testostertones" (men only), "Fresh Beat" (freshmen only), "Masti" (performs Indian music) and "Cascade."

Theater

ABRHS's theater group is named "Proscenium Circus." The club has over 100 members and produces several productions each year, producing plays since 1978. AB Friends of Drama, a nonprofit organization, helps to support PC through fundraising and volunteers.

Other Notable Extracurriculars

The Math, Science, Robotics and Debate Teams regularly finish first in Massachusetts competitions, usually competing in national assessments and competitions afterwards. ABRHS's Academic Decathlon has been very successful over the past several decades, often competing at the National Championship.

Other ABRHS clubs include Anime Crew, "Best Buddies" Club, Chess Club, Chinese culture club, Classics Club, Common Ground (a gay-straight alliance), Envirothon Team, Film Club, French Club, Future Business Leaders of America, Hip-Hop Club, Human Rights Club, Invisible Children, Italian Club, Mock Trial, Ocean Science Bowl, Outdoor Club, Photography Club, Recycling Group, Robotics, SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions), Spanish Club, Speech and Debate, Trivia Team, Videogame Design Club, and Youth in Philanthrophy.

WHAB is the school-run radio station operated by technical advisors and Student DJs.

ABRHS's newspaper The Spectrum is an entirely student-run and student-produced paper. In 2009 and 2010, the paper won awards for Editorial Writing from the Suffolk University Journalism Competition and First Place with Special Merit from the American Scholastic Press Association. The school operates student-run newspapers including Idiosyncrasy" and "Window Seat.

Notable alumni

• Seth Abramson, poet
• Tom Barrasso, NHL hockey player
• Bob Brooke, NHL hockey player
• Jamie Eldridge, Middlesex & Worcester State Senator
• Jeff Norton, NHL hockey player
• Caroll Spinney, Sesame Street puppeteer who performs Big Bird
• Bob Sweeney, NHL hockey player
• Drew Houston, co-founder of popular file hosting service, Dropbox
• Actor and Comedian Steve Carell is often thought to be an alumnus since he lived in Acton, but he attended the private Middlesex School in Concord, MA.
• Comedian Christian Finnegan is also thought of as an alumnus, but he also attended a private school, The Walnut Hill School, in Natick, Massachusetts.

External links

• ABRHS Homepage
• ABRHS Friends of Music (Band, Color Guard, and Chorus) Home Page
• Proscenium Circus (Drama Club and Friends of Drama) Home Page
• The Laramie Project @ AB
• A Boston Globe article about Acton and ABHRS

See also

• Raymond J. Grey Junior High School
• Acton, Massachusetts