Overview of Wachusett

Wachusett Regional School District

"seeks to ensure meaningful student growth and promote social emotional well- being in a safe and nurturing environment."

Wachusett Regional School District (WRDS) is located in Holden, MA and serves students from five towns - Paxton, Sterling, Holden, Princeton, and Rutland. WRSD is made up of 13 schools (1 high school, 3 middle schools, 6 elementary schools, 2 K-8 schools, and 1 early childhood center).

Below are graphs of the enrollment data for the entire school district for the 2021-22 school year. There are 6,727 students enrolled in pre-kindergarten to grade 12. The district is primarily made up of white students (84.5%). The next largest population of students in the district is Hispanic (7%), followed by Asian (2.9%), African American (2.7%), multi-race non-Hispanic (2.7%) and Native American (0.1%).

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Wachusett Regional High School

Wachusett Regional High School (WRHS) is located in Holden, MA. Founded in 1955 as the first regional high school in Massachusetts, WRHS serves students from five towns - Paxton, Sterling, Holden, Princeton, and Rutland.

ENROLLMENT

The following graphs show WRHS's enrollment data for the 2021-22 school year (Mass DOE). WRHS is a predominantly white school, with white students making up 86.1% of its 1,964 student enrollment. The next largest population of students is Hispanic (5.9%), followed by Asian (3.7%), African American (2%), multi-race non-Hispanic (2.2%) and Native American (0.1%). The teacher-to-student ratio at WRHS is 14.6 to 1, higher than the state’s 12.9 to 1. Of the district’s staff, 98.8% are white, the remaining 1.2% are Hispanic, African American, and Asian.

ELL students make up less than 1% (0.5%) of the student population, with only 3.4% of students whose first language is not English. Low-income students make up 16.1% of the school population and high needs students make up 25%. Students with disabilities make up 12.8%.

TECHNOLOGY

WRHS also has a 1-to-1 program, meaning that each student is given a Chromebook to use for the duration of their time at Wachusett. Because of this, technology is not only encouraged but frequently utilized in the classroom. The program also provides students with access to technology that they might not otherwise have at home or outside of the classroom.

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

On average, WRHS consistently scores higher on both the ELA and Math MCAS compared to the Massachusetts average. Below is the breakdown of student achievement, as measured by the MCAS, for WRHS, WRSD, and Massachusetts in 2021.

GRADUATION RATE

In 2020, the graduation rate was 96% for WRHS. Below is a chart that breakdowns the graduation per student group.

AFTER HIGH SCHOOL PLANS

In 2020, the majority of students (75.6%) went on to a four-year college following graduation (34.1% private, 41.5% public). 10.7% of students went on to a 2-year public college. 4.7% went into the workforce, 0.6% into the military, and 2.3% went down another route.