Taunton High School

Taunton High School (often abbreviated THS) located within a large, three-floor, interconnected, multi-block complex in the eastern section of Taunton, Massachusetts, United States. It is an urban public high school with an estimated average student enrollment of 3,000 students. It offers many student-oriented services, specialty academic programs, extra-curricular clubs, various after-school programs and a wide array of scholastic sports. Taunton High School is one of the largest high schools in New England, and is the 4th largest in Massachusetts, behind Brockton, Lowell, and New Bedford.

The main section of the building is divided into four different "houses" in which different classes are held, along with an associate headmaster’s office in each, and the main headmaster’s office in the middle.  One of the houses in the main building complex once contained a public middle school, John F. Parker Middle School, until 2009 where, during a total renovation of the entire school, a fifth, exterior wing was added to the front of the school to house the displaced middle school students.  Adjacent to school is the fine arts house, Robert H. Park Auditorium, which currently holds seating capacities up to 1,500 people, and beneath that the music rooms, dressing rooms, and storage. The school also shares a two-leveled gymnasium with Parker Middle School, where most of the indoor sports teams perform and a "pep rally" is held in the fall. The school's field house is one of the largest gymnasiums in New England, capable of holding both indoor track meets and basketball tournaments.

Campus 
Taunton High School is set on a large urban campus containing many buildings including four student academic houses.  Each of the four academic houses help to separate the academic departments and are home to their own "house master". The campus also features a field house, 10,000 seat football stadium, eight athletics fields, eight tennis courts, cross country trails, 1500-seat capacity multi-level auditorium, two LGI mini-auditoriums, student operated restaurant, TV and radio stations, school store, and a branch of Bristol County Savings Bank.

The current Taunton High School campus was state of the art for its time when it first opened in 1975, for it featured a modern greenhouse, pool, ice rink, planetarium, a modern public address system with a tone used for class-change signaling (in contrast to standard class-change bells) and telephones, and a high-tech (for 1975) TV studio. The academic houses and class rooms were carpeted from its opening in 1975 through the 2000 school year.

History 

The requirement for High School level classes in Taunton was established in 1838.  The City of Taunton, at that time, did not have a central building in which to hold high school level classes. The local school officials decided to hold high school classes in a neighborhood schoolhouse and rotate each semester to a different location. The first organization of a high school class was held in the District #11 Schoolhouse that later became known as the Woodward School at 52 Worcester Street. The rotation system continued for two years and the state of Massachusetts decided to discontinue the requirement for cities and towns to offer high school classes. From 1840 to 1848, there were no high school classes offered in Taunton. In 1849, Massachusetts, once again, required cities and towns to establish high school classes. The leaders of Taunton decided to hold high school classes in the basement of a church on Spring Street known as the Winslow Church. The classes continued at that location until local officials expanded the interior of the City Hall. The high School classes were moved to the second floor of Taunton City Hall in the mid-1850s and remained there until 1885 when a new High School was built on Washington Street on the site of a popular picnic grounds called 'King's Grove'.
The Taunton High School on Washington Street received numerous additions as well as a face lift over the years. The building was in need of replacement and city officials purchased the Baylies estate on Williams Street to construct a new and current Taunton High School complex in 1975.

Renovation 
Taunton High School underwent a $112 million renovation. The John F. Parker Middle School was removed from the High School and a new wing was constructed that houses the operations of the John F. Parker Middle School. The renovation was handled by the firm of Bacon & Agostini.

From Bacon & Agostini
The project consists of renovations to the existing 496,503SF three-story high school and middle school building and a new 62,365SF three-story middle school addition, as well as site, utility and road work.

This is a phase project in which the existing building will continue to be occupied during construction. The schedule is aggressive, especially during the summers and coordination will be complicated. The final completion was finished in August 2011.

Athletics 
(EMass Division 1, Hockomock League, Kelley-Rex Division)
Sports:

Fall
Football
Boys/Girls Soccer
Field Hockey
Cheerleading
Girls Volleyball
Cross Country
Golf
Winter
Boys/Girls Basketball
Cheerleading
Ice Hockey
Boys/Girls Indoor Track & Field
Boys/Girls Swimming
Wrestling
Gymnastics
Spring
Baseball
Boys/Girls Outdoor Track & Field
Softball
Boys/Girls Tennis
Boys Volleyball
Boys/Girls Lacrosse

Notable alumni 
 Joseph R. N. Maxwell, Jesuit priest and president of Boston College and the College of the Holy Cross

See also
Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School
Greater Taunton Area

References

 k12.niche.com website

External links 
Taunton High School's official web page
Taunton Public Schools' website

Category:Buildings and structures in Taunton, Massachusetts
Category:Schools in Bristol County, Massachusetts
Category:Public high schools in Massachusetts
Category:Hockomock League