Consider Norton High School ...
By Rachel-Leigh Phillips
Rachel is a
2007 graduate of NHS. She was the editor of the school newspaper, the writing editor of
Local Colour, the school’s literary arts magazine, and an honor student
In the town of Norton, students
generally attend public schools until they reach eighth grade, at which
point the students and their parents are faced with a tricky and often
confusing decision: Norton High School versus a private (or specialized)
high school. This decision is often a question of where the students
will be offered classes of better variety and level, if the student’s
parents are willing and able to pay for tuition at a private school, the
location of the school in relation to where the student lives, a
nd,
for many of the students at least, where they feel the majority of their
friends are going. However, considering the expense of not only tuition
at other schools (for example, the tuition at Bishop Feehan for
2005-2006 is $6950, not including the registration fee or additional
expenses) but also of the cost to commute, perhaps the no-cost and
nearby Norton High School deserves a closer look.
As Mr. Dewar, the principle of
Norton High School, believes, “a close examination of the facts” is all
that is needed to convince students (and their parents) that they should
attend NHS. Mr. Dewar states that Norton High School offers “a wider
array of classes than
these other schools, more highly qualified teachers than the private
schools (using DOE criteria for what highly qualified means), better
test results (AP Scores and SATs) than these other schools, and a pretty
good record of getting graduates into good and appropriate schools.”
Although the condition and age of the school has been known to worry
parents seeking a high school for their children, in actuality, it may
not be quite as bad as they have heard. “A lot of money has been put
into this building over the past few years,” reasons Mr. Dewar, “and the
school facility is as good as a thirty year old building can be.
Additionally, our technology is on a par with the better schools in the
area.”
Upon being asked if they think
Norton High School offers anything which private or other public schools
do not, Mrs. Ito, a guidance counselor at NHS, and Mr. Dewar had several
compelling points. Mrs. Ito states that Norton High School offers “a
wide spectrum of learning abilities, behaviors, and socio-economics.”
Also, “there is an openness to our environment that is lacking in
private schools. At the same time we are striving to strengthen our
partnership with the community to foster cooperation to increase
resources that may be available to strengthen and enrich what the high
school offers.”
Additionally, Mr. Dewar presents
a list of positive aspects which NHS possesses: “We offer one of the
best combinations of academic and non-academic courses in the area. We
have a strong sele
ction
of AP and honors classes. We have college prep classes which truly are
college prep. We offer a huge variety of academic electives like
meteorology, film, computers, accounting, multi-media. We also offer a
huge selection of non-academic electives from band to many levels and
experience of art to wood to problem solving. We also offer
scholarships and book stipends to seniors that are only available here.
We are one of the few schools in Massachusetts which has increased the
number of athletic teams and extra-curricular activities over the past
four years.”
There are also many students at
NHS that are aware of these positive aspects and who, along with their
parents, have come to the decision that NHS is the right school for
them. Meaghan Pigeon, a junior at NHS, stated that “My parents and I
decided I should attend NHS because they do have an excellent school
program, despite what some people may think. There are great teachers
here and many opportunities available to me through the school. We also
have a great music program.” Numerous other students and their parents
decided on NHS because there is no expense at a public high school.
“My mom decided I should attend
NHS because it was free and offered challenging academic courses such as
Advanced Placement classes,” noted Brent Schuko, also a junior at Norton
High School. Brent fee
ls
that “these courses were just as good as those offered at many private
schools.” Another student, Ariana Rostron, was happy not to have to pay
for tuition. Her “main reason for attending NHS is probably because
most of my friends were going here.” Ariana is certainly not alone in
feeling this way. Many students decide to attend a high school based on
the previous decision of one or more of their elder siblings or other
family members to go to that same school.
Mrs. Ito thinks that there are
several other reasons for students to attend schools other than NHS.
“In some cases private/parochial schools are part of a family’s legacy.
Siblings, parents, grandparents, etc. may have attended
private/parochial schools, and it is an expected transition within the
family,” and, “other students apply to Bristol Aggie or Southeastern
because they wish to pursue vocational/technical careers.” Finally,
“parents may be unfamiliar with the high school and what is has to
offer, so they may be more susceptible to what their friends and/or
neighbors are doing about their children’s education.”
On a similar note, Mr. Dewar
thinks that “the main reason that some students and their parents decide
they should attend other schools than NHS is that there are circles of
parents who perpetuate rumors about Norton High School, its a
cademic
quality and its safety that are untrue. Instead of checking the facts,
these people go with what they hear from these rumors and decide on what
they perceive to be the reputations of other schools. I think also that
confusion over accreditation played a role this past year, and I suspect
that there are people who played on that confusion to convince people to
go elsewhere.”
However, if a student is
interested in a program that is offered at a school other than NHS, and
their family is able to pay for tuition if it is a private school such
as Bishop Feehan, then this school may be the best decision for their
personal needs. A junior at Bishop Feehan, Danny Kelleher is very happy
with his decision to attend Bishop Feehan High School. Danny’s
impression of his school is that “my parents liked the school spirit and
supportive environment that was apparent at Feehan. At the time I
didn’t really see a difference between Norton and Feehan. Once I started
being a student there I could see that Feehan had a lot of school spirit
as well as…other students that cared about school and supported the
teams and activities that were offered.” Overall, Danny feels that
“Feehan offers the same type of activities and opportunities that NHS
does; they just have a different way of presenting them.”
Finally, Mr. Dewar hopes “to get
as many eighth graders as possible each year from the [Norton] middle
school. I understand that Southeastern and Bristol Aggie both offer
programs we do not have, so some students need to go to those schools.
However, unless there is a longstanding family tradition of going to
Coyle or Feehan, students really need to think about whether or not they
really need what those schools have to offer considering the expense.”
Mrs. Ito expects “the number of students to increase as our partnership
with the community improves, our programs become stronger and more
students receive acceptances from the most competitive colleges and
universities.”
Generally, all of the area
schools have different positive aspects and qualities to meet the needs
of many diverse students, and depending on a particular student’s
interests,
one
of these schools may be the best choice for them. However, since NHS
offers a wide selection of courses, electives, and activities/sports
(and at a public school cost!), Norton High School is definitely worth
consideration. Overall, upon close examination as Mr. Dewar recommends,
it becomes apparent that many students and faculty members feel the
same, that “Norton is a very good high school, and it is getting
better.”
