Wellesley High School

50 Rice Street • Wellesley Hills • Massachusetts • 02481-6099 • 781-446-6290 • FAX 781-446-6308

Wellesley High School Profile (PDF)


Wellesley High School
Class of 2024
Comprehensive Four-Year
Public High School

Enrollment: 1366
2024 Graduating Class: 358
College Board Code Number: 222285

Accreditation: New England Association of Schools and Colleges
School Year: Two Semesters

wellesleyps.org/whs


Superintendent
David F. Lussier

Principal
Jamie B. Chisum

Assistant Principals
Andrew E. Kelton
Sarah S. Matloff
Collin A. Shattuck


Interim Director of Guidance
Margaret W. Walendin
Anne E. North, Secretary

Counselors
Jane M. Barrell
Annis G. Chwalek
Diego E. Contreras
Marissa A. Coughlin
Janet M. Sozio
John S. Steere
Kristi R. Stone
Julie H. Trask

Receptionist/College Visit Coordinator
Lucretia D. Burns


Community

Wellesley is a suburban town of approximately 28,000 located 13 miles west of Boston. A large proportion of the population is comprised of academic, business, and professional families. The home of three colleges, Wellesley is a community where academic excellence and cultural traditions are highly valued. Wellesley’s reputation for having a superior educational system attracts many families to the town and its schools. The METCO Program and the ABC Program, in addition to students we welcome from more than 20 countries, all add to the diversity of the school population.


Faculty

Wellesley High School has a professional staff of 170. 94% hold a Master’s degree; of that group 24% hold a Master’s degree +30 credits and 34% hold a Master’s degree +60 credits. 7% of our faculty hold a doctoral degree.


Special Features

Students are encouraged to excel academically and to pursue individual interests through a number of special cultural travel experiences, school-sponsored foreign exchanges, independent study programs, internships, senior projects, community service and courses at local colleges.


Curriculum & Scheduling

In addition to the standard curricular offerings in English, Math, Science with labs, Social Studies, and World Languages, a vast array of elective courses is available in Art, Family and Consumer Science, Technology, Performing Arts and Fitness and Health. In addition, students may take courses through Virtual High School. Our Program of Studies is available on our website: https://sites.google.com/wellesleyps.org/whsprogramofstudies2023-24/  Master Schedule constraints may preclude WHS from meeting all requests for AP courses as well as students being able to enroll in all requested courses.


Course Levels

H*—Honors/Advanced Placement/Intensive curriculum
ACP—Advanced College Preparatory curriculum
CP—College Preparatory curriculum
*Courses taken at the Honors level, Advanced Placement, or Intensive level receive equal weight in the GPA.


Seal Of Biliteracy

State legislated award that demonstrates high level skills in 2 or more languages.


Fine Arts

  • 60% of the student body participates in an art class each semester
  • 12% of those students receive state and national recognition from the Scholastics Art & Writing Awards Competition
  • 20% of Art Intensive students pursue art as a major or minor in college

Performing Arts

More than 40% of students participate in the Performing Arts program. The Rice Street Singers has received a Gold Medal at the MAJE (Massachusetts Association of Jazz Educators) State Festival for 13 consecutive years. Wind Ensemble received a Gold Medal at the MICCA (Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Conductors Association) State Concert Band Festival. Chamber and Sinfonia Orchestras received a Gold Medal at the MICCA State Orchestra Festival. The Jazz Ensemble received a Gold Medal at MAJE.


Senior Projects

Students are offered a unique opportunity for independent study in an area of personal or career interest during the fourth term of their senior year. Projects are individually designed and must meet the approval of the Senior Project Committee which is comprised of administrators, faculty and students. In most cases, the project takes place outside of school.


Extracurricular Activities

The majority of students at Wellesley High School further develop their individual interests through participation in extracurricular activities. Students may choose from over 60 different opportunities in service, academic, student government, and performing arts programs. More than 80% of the student body participates in one or more of the 77 varsity and sub-varsity athletic teams in 38 different sports.


Interdisciplinary Studies

Evolutions is an interdisciplinary academic program that provides an educational environment for students to embrace their curiosity and take ownership of their learning. Through experiential and project-based learning, Evolutions students embrace the rigorous task of building connections across the disciplines of Art, English, Science, and Social Studies. The goal for students is to: synthesize a variety of learning experiences; think critically about the content and themselves; apply objective knowledge to formulate solutions to real-world problems; connect to community; and, communicate their experiences through authentic projects, personal and academic writing and public presentation of their learning.


COVID Statement

2020-2021—WHS transitioned from a 6×8 rotating schedule to a 4×4 block schedule to accommodate a fully remote start and switch to Hybrid on October 1st. Students were assigned alphabetized cohorts—in-person school 2 days/week and learning remotely 3 days/week. Due to this schedule and the need to balance cohorts, there were some limitations to the balance of academics and electives that were beyond student control. VHS courses augmented the WHS curriculum. Students electing to be full-time remote were scheduled in courses instructed by WHS teachers augmented by VHS and Middlebury Interactive Language courses. On April 20, WHS transitioned to full in-person learning, remaining on the 4×4 block schedule. Semester-based grading was implemented for all WHS courses for the year.


Profile of a Graduate

During the 2017-18 school year, the Wellesley Public Schools set out to consider the question: What is most important for our students to know and be able to do? In Spring 2018, the WPS community adopted its first Profile of a Graduate.  Competencies include: Create and Innovate, Think and Critically Solve Problems, Engage Locally and Globally, Communicate and Collaborate, Attend to Physical, Mental and Emotional Health.


Graduation Requirements

  1. Earn 136 credits* in grades 9-12.
  2. Required Courses:*
    English  (4 years)
    Math  (2 years)
    Science** (2 years)
    Social Studies  (2.5 years) (1 year must be U.S. History)
    Fitness and Health  (1 course each year) (Intro to Fitness Gr 9/ Health Gr 10)
  3. Pass all required MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) Tests.

 *A student must fulfill all their graduation requirements prior to the graduation ceremony in order to participate in the ceremony.

**All WHS Science courses include a lab component


Grade Point Average

The level of the course and grade attained in the course are the basis for computing the weighted 5.0 Grade Point Average (GPA). Computation includes academic and intensive courses completed in grades 9-12 at Wellesley High School. Rank in class is not reported.

Honors (H) Advanced College Prep (ACP) College Prep (CP)
A+/A = 5.0 A+/A = 4.5 A+/A = 4.0
A- = 4.7 A- = 4.2 A- = 3.7
B+ = 4.3 B+ = 3.8 B+ = 3.3
B = 4.0 B = 3.5 B = 3.0
B- = 3.7 B- = 3.2 B- = 2.7
C+ = 3.3 C+ = 2.8 C+ = 2.3
C = 3.0 C = 2.5 C = 2.0
C- = 2.7 C- = 2.2 C- = 1.7
D+ = 2.3 D+ = 1.8 D+ = 1.3
D = 2.0 D = 1.5 D = 1.0
D- = 1.7 D- = 1.2 D- = 0.7
F = 0 F = 0 F = 0

College Admissions Test Scores

SAT I (mean) Class of 2024 Class of 2023 Class of 2022
Number of Tests Taken 459 357 239
Math 670 679 685
Evidence Based Reading & Writing 656 658 669
ACT (mean) Class of 2024 Class of 2023 Class of 2022
Number of Tests Taken 69 172 118
English 28.6 28.5 30.5
Math 27.1 26.9 29.1
Reading 29.3 29.5 30.9
Science 27.6 26.9  29.3
Composite 28 28.1 29.9

Post Graduate Plans

Class of 2023
Four-year colleges    94%
Two-year colleges    .3%
Post Graduate School   1%
Gap/Alternative/Working  2%

Total Post-Secondary Education  97.3%


2023-24 AP Courses Offered at Wellesley HS

  • Biology
  • Calculus AB
  • Calculus BC
  • Chemistry
  • Computer Science A
  • Computer Science Principles
  • Economics
  • Environmental Science
  • French Language
  • German Language
  • Physics C: Mechanics
  • Psychology
  • Seminar*
  • Spanish Language
  • Statistics
  • U.S. History
  • *See Program of Studies for grades offered.
  • *Denotes a new course offered this year.

AP Course Counts

# of Courses Taken/Student # of Students
4 or more 75
3 77
2 101
1 150

Class of 2023 Advanced Placement Awards

AP Scholars                                  60

AP Scholars with Honor                 39

AP Scholars with Distinction           78

AP International Diploma                2


AP Summary Statistics

Year #Exam Taken # Students Tested % Earned 3 or > % Earned Score of 4 % Earned a Score of 5
2023 942 418 91 35 40
2022 836 389 91 30 35
2021 837 407 82 32 29

National Merit Scholarship Results

Class of # Students Commended # of Semi Finalists
2024 27 6
2023 45 14
2022 51 6
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