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US News & World Report 2021 high school rankings: where Natick fits in

April 27, 2021 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

According to the new US News & World Report Best High Schools rankings, Natick High School this year is ranked #66 out of over 300 public high schools in Massachusetts, up from #79 in 2020.

Natick High School

The 1,600+ grades 9 – 12 school has a graduation rate of 99%.

The top-ranked high school in the state this year was once again Boston Latin School, which came in #36 in the national rankings.

How some nearby high schools fared:

  • Dover-Sherborn, #8
  • Weston, #9
  • Hopkinton, #10
  • Medfield, #14
  • Needham, #16
  • Wayland, #18
  • Wellesley, #26
  • Newton South, #34
  • Newton North, #37
  • Ashland, #46
  • Holliston, #89
  • Framingham, #122
  • Keefe Tech (in Framingham), #302

National ranking

Natick was ranked #1,557 nationally this year, up from #1,923 in 2020. US News & World Report sorts schools based on their performance on state-required tests, graduation rates, and how well schools prepare students for college.

Three Massachusetts schools this year cracked the national top-100 list—Boston Latin School (#36); Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School (#40); and Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School in Marlborough (#93).

As for the #1 school in the country in 2021? Same as last year—Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Va.

Read about US News & World Report’s methodologies.

Among factors taken into consideration when ranking schools:

  • student-to-teacher ratio: (14:1)
  • math proficiency: 80%
  • reading proficiency: 79%
  • percentage that participate in AP exams: 62%
  • graduation rate: 98%

Click here to see Natick’s High School’s profile and for the full list of 365 Massachusetts secondary schools.

Filed Under: Business, Education



Spring scene in Natick

March 24, 2021 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Battered tin buckets collect sap from ancient maple trees that border the Walnut Hill School campus.

Natick, maple tree tapping

Filed Under: Education, Food, Schools

Natick School Committee meeting: Pool testing to start on March 1

February 24, 2021 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Natick School Committee meetings are typically all-business affairs, but a little bit of glee crept in when Superintendent Anna Nolin reported the latest on pool testing during the committee’s Feb. 23rd meeting. Not only is it game on with the state program, which Natick will participate in six weeks for free, but Nolin happily let the SC know, “The Department of Education permitted 15 staffers to come to work for us” at no cost to Natick.

Natick High School

That means more highly qualified hands on deck, in addition to the 30 medical professionals in the community who have volunteered their time and skills for the program. Natick applied last month to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (DESE) to be considered as a pool testing community. Pooled testing from a public health perspective means combining approximately 10 – 25 respiratory swab samples into a batch (or “pool”) and then conducting a single laboratory test on the combined pool of samples to detect COVID cases. Pool testing allows labs to test more samples with fewer testing materials. If a pooled test result comes back negative, then all the samples can be presumed negative with the single test, and the individuals tested as part of that pool may stay in school. If the pooled test result comes back positive, then each of the individuals in the pool who provided a sample will need to be tested individually to determine which samples are positive.

Nolin said a concern for families that came up during community forums was that students who were in a positive pool would be removed from school and told to quarantine, even if they were not infected with COVID.

“If your child is in a positive pool, we then execute reflex testing in that group within a 15-minute time period to know who in the pool is infected. There’s no need for anybody to be out of school unless they are confirmed on that reflex test to be positive,” she said.

State staffers came to town and started on-boarding on Feb. 24, and it’s expected that the first session of pool testing will take place on Mar. 1. Those staffers will get the program rolling, while community volunteers will learn by shadowing them. When the six-week part of the program ends, Natick will go forward with volunteers and the district’s own staff.

What about returning to school full-time?

There’s no question that everyone is anxious for students to resume full-time in-person learning. That’s the Holy Grail of public school education right now.

However, Nolin noted that health conditions today are exactly as they were in the fall. “The rates of infection are now mimicking where they were when we went back to school,” she said. In addition, the CDC still recommends 6-feet distancing, so space constraints in the schools haven’t gone away. “Plus, no one is vaccinated,” she said.

Full-time, in-person learning could happen, but not immediately. By April? If teachers get vaccinated? Maybe? Well, let’s just say nobody’s willing to make any promises. Pool testing is expected to help in that kind of decision-making process by providing data-driven baseline information about the current school landscape. From there, that data will be used as a tool to make decisions about what the rest of the school year should look like.


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Filed Under: COVID-19, Education, Health, Schools

Natick MathWorks scholarship deadline approaching, along with others

February 11, 2021 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Natick students interested in pursuing a degree in mathematics, engineering, science or related program at an accredited four-year college or university are invited to apply for the MathWorks Scholarships. Two $10,000 scholarships will be awarded to high school seniors who live in Natick and have strong academic records in mathematics and science.

Natick High School

Each Scholarship is structured as a four-year award, with the first year being $1,000, the second year $2,000, the third year $3,000 and the fourth year $4,000. Ongoing eligibility requirements must be met to receive the award in the second through fourth years. Students attending public, private, non-profit and parochial schools are eligible to apply. This scholarship program is open to all high school seniors living in Natick.

Applications for the Natick MathWorks Scholarships are available now or may be obtained at the Office of the Select Board in Natick Town Hall, 13 East Central Street, Natick MA 01760, by appointment only.

All applications are due to the Select Board’s Office no later than 5pm on Monday March 22, 2021. Mailed applications will also be accepted and must be postmarked by the same due date. Questions should be directed to: Gregg Cohen, Scholarship Chair, at (508) 667-6470 or gregglcohen@gmail.com

More scholarships information

Natick High School seniors should check out the lengthy list of local scholarship opportunities to see if they might be eligible for one or more. 

Whether a graduating student’s future points toward drama, the military, sports, or they can write a great essay expressing gratitude for a teacher, they could be the right candidate for a local scholarship. Most scholarship due dates are Feb. 26 or March 1. But check each application carefully—apps will not be accepted after the deadline.


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Filed Under: Charity/Fundraising, Education, Seniors

Natick School Committee meeting: deciding on whether to jump into the pool

January 26, 2021 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

With the Natick High School boys basketball team on a two-week pause due to its recent close contact with infected team members of the Needham High hoops team, and a high number of individuals in town passing through multiple pod groups (the cousin group! The team group!), community spread in Natick keeps on spreading.

“Life outside of school impacts life inside of school,” Superintendent Anna Nolin noted during the Jan. 26th School Committee meeting, held via Zoom.

Nolin during the meeting asked the SC to research and consider the idea of entering into a free 6-week pool-testing program offered by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (DESE). What’s pool testing? Hint: it’s got nothing to do with the chlorine levels at Longfellow.

Pooled testing from a public health perspective means combining approximately 10 – 25 respiratory swab samples into a batch (or “pool”) and then conducting a single laboratory test on the combined pool of samples to detect COVID cases.

Pooling resources

According to the CDC,  pooling is useful in scenarios such as returning teachers and students to school because it allows labs to test more samples with fewer testing materials. If a pooled test result comes back negative, then all the samples can be presumed negative with the single test, and the individuals tested as part of that pool may stay in school. If the pooled test result comes back positive, then each of the individuals in the pool who provided a sample will need to be tested individually to determine which samples are positive.

If Natick goes with the DESE program, swab testing would be performed once per week. Test results would come back in 24 – 48 hours.

Although the 6-week swab-testing program is free, ancillary costs are not.

One issue is staffing. As things stand right now, Natick’s nursing staff is flat-out with contact tracing and its accompanying paperwork, and has no time to do the hands-on nursing work of administering the swab tests. SC member Julie McDonough said, “I think we have to make some changes in what our nurses are doing and where they’re spending their time.”

In addition, families must be convinced that pool testing is a good idea. Significant buy-in is essential or the program won’t work. That means families must be educated about the advantages of this kind of testing; waivers must be signed; and students must be made available to take the tests. In addition, it is likely that many community volunteers would be needed, adding another logistical layer of training.

Part of the argument for joining in with the pool-testing program is that it may accelerate a return to full-time in-person school.

Although a step toward a return to school will likely to be achieved as soon as teachers are vaccinated, Nolin emphasized that vaccinated teachers does not mean that students or families are vaccinated. Therefore, safety measures such as a continuation of mask-wearing and maintaining social distancing of 6-feet would need to continue, along with a hybrid model of learning, for the foreseeable future. If a 6-feet distance needs to be maintained, then the schools cannot put full-time, in-person learning back into place due to space constraints.

Once the general population is vaccinated it is possible that herd immunity would allow a return to regular school in fall. Pool testing, and the data it would generate, could help accelerate this process.


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Filed Under: COVID-19, Education, Government, Health

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Events calendar

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    June 25 @ 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm
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    June 26 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
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    June 28 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
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