# Charlestown High School

Charlestown High School is a public school located at 240 Medford Street in Charlestown, Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Charlestown High Charlestown School is the only high school in Charlestown. Charlestown is part of the Boston Public Schools. According to the article, "Focus On Children" , the Boston Public Schools' school Report Card, the students enrolled in 2003-2004, 70.6% in regular education 7.1% in bilingual education, and 22.2% in the special education. The racial/ethnic composition of the student population in the school was: 46.3% Black, 26.4% Hispanic, 19.5% Asian, and 7.6% White.

## Academic organization

The school consists of grades nine through twelve. The school’s academic program is structured around five small learning communities/pathways. These communities and pathways are within an upper school and lower school. They were created in 1998 and 1999. The five small learning communities have a college-based curriculum with a signature theme. These signature themes range from web design, law & justice, and pre-engineering, to business/technology and MCAS preparation/academics. There are ten teachers and one leader in each small learning communities. Each teacher has one specific theme to teach.

## Curriculum

The Charlestown High School curriculum is designed with a focus on equipping students with the necessary skills and knowledge for college. In addition to the basic curriculum, extensive attention is given to college and exploration. Most of the students participate in the Boston University COACH (College Orientation and Career Help) program. Each Friday two groups of Boston University students come to the school where they divide up by teams and go to the pathways classes, for both juniors and seniors. They work with the students on the entire college application process and portray what college life is like to the students. Since the Boston University (and Harvard at one point) COACH program has been at the Charlestown High School, college application and admission has risen 28%. Because of this rise in college applicants at Charlestown High, over 70 percent of the recent graduates have gone to college.
Charlestown High School is also known for its vibrant visual arts program. Recognized in a 2005 Fund for Teachers award, student artwork adorns many school and municipal facilities. Other electives include a popular forensics class and Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps.
In addition, the school provides extensive support services through college and business partnerships, such Harvard, Bunker Hill, Liberty Mutual and more. Student volunteers from the Harvard College chapter of Peer Health Exchange also visit the high school to teach sexual and health education classes.

## Busing and desegregation

Charlestown High School received considerable national attention in the 1975-1976 school year when court-mandated forced busing brought African-American children to what was at that time a predominantly white high school in an Irish neighborhood of Boston. Forced busing initially brought great discord and resulted in fights and arrests. There were also enduring images such as the famous photograph of a black and a white student holding hands out the window of their school bus (see the NPR article in the external links below).
Contributing to the discord was the infamous September 28, 1979 school shooting of Darryl K. Williams, an African-American football player for Jamaica Plain High School, at Charlestown High School during a football game. Three Irish Americans, at least one of whom had dropped out of Charlestown High School, shot Williams at halftime on the field from a building rooftop while his team was huddled for a pep talk. (See List of school shootings in the United States). Williams was permanently paralyzed below the neck. The shooting was initially considered racially motivated, and a race riot was barely averted. However, a large rally in support of the shooting victim was held at City Hall Plaza in Boston for Williams. Also, for security reasons Charlestown High School did not play home football games for nine years.

## Sports success

The Charlestown High School boys basketball team is in the Boston City League. The basketball team won the state championship four straight years ago, from 1999 to 2003. The team won the Division 2 State Championship again in 2005. For all these years, the head coach was Jack O'Brien and his assistant coaches were Zach Zegarowski, Steve Cassidy and Hugh Coleman. University of Connecticut and NBA Orlando Magic guard Shabazz Napier is a former player of the Charlestown basketball team, and his jersey was retired by the high school in January 2014.

## Notable alumni

* Florence Cushman (1860–1940), astronomer at the Harvard College Observatory who worked on the Henry Draper Catalogue
* Mary Edna Hill Gray Dow (1848–1914), educator, journalist, and financier
* Bob Giggie (1959–1962), major-league baseball pitcher during 1959–1962
* Tony Lee (born 1986), basketball player who played professionally in Poland and Austria
* Shabazz Napier (born 1991), basketball player who played in the NBA during 2014–2020