# Weston High School (Massachusetts)

Weston High School is a high school (grades 9–12) in Weston, Massachusetts, United States, a suburb 12 miles west of Boston. The school is located at 444 Wellesley Street in Weston. During the 2024-2025 school year, it had 658 students.
The current principal is Sue Baristow and the current assistant principal is Todd Whitten. Other administrators include Katherine Lemons (English Dept.), Kimberly Young (Social Studies Dept.), Stephen Ribisi (Science Dept.), James McLaughlin (Mathematics Dept.), Kathleen Baker (World Language Dept.), Christopher Fehl (Art Dept.), and Christopher Memoli (Music Dept.). Marla Shay is the Head of Guidance and Patrick Kelly is the Head of Special Education.
Weston High School’s Class of 2024 achieved a graduation rate of 99.3%, with 96% of graduates continuing on to college. Over the past decade, the five universities most frequently attended by the school’s graduates have been the University of Massachusetts—Amherst, Northeastern University, Boston College, Harvard University, and the University of Michigan—Ann Arbor. The school's 2024-2025 profile highlights Weston High School's unique programs and notable student achievements.

## History

Between the end of WWII in 1945 and 1970, the "Boomer" generation, the number of school-age children in Weston increased 363%, from 635 students to 2,937. The town embarked on 25-year school building program resulting in five new school complexes. After a devastating fire in 1948 destroyed the roofing and interior of the new Weston High School, the building was rebuilt as an elementary school and a new replacement high school was commissioned.
This new high school, which was located near Weston Town Center by the current Weston Public Library, Country and Woodland Elementary Schools, was renowned as the "architectural achievement of the century" by the Boston Herald when it opened in January 1950. The nation's first million-dollar public building, Weston High School offered resources and technologies never before seen in a public school. Revolutionary architecture and layout of the school allowed for new teaching and class organization methods. The building has since been torn down due to the building of the new Field School, but it served as the Field School until the 2014–2015 school year.
In 1961, the current Weston High School was built as one of the most expensive schools in the nation at $8,930,001 (1961 dollars). This building is the fifth public high school in Weston and is designed to be in active service far longer than many contemporary schools, thanks to constant renovation and a high-quality initial design and build.

## Campus

Weston High School is a large brick and glass building sitting on a 103-acre campus that is shared with Weston Middle School. The campus includes 14 athletic fields, 10 tennis courts, an indoor pool, sugar house, and fishing pond.
Weston High School, designed and built in 1961 at a cost of $64.3 million (2012 dollars), has been renovated periodically since its construction. The facilities have maintained a modern appearance, marked especially by the extensive use of glass.
The building itself consists of a large gymnasium, weight room, library, theater and tech center, dance studio, music rooms, auditorium, computer labs, and many classrooms. The building is split into different wings for each subject, including English and History, Math and Science, and Language.
A seventh wing (G Wing) has been constructed for the 2012–2013 school year. The 23,000 square foot addition serves as the science wing, housing eight science classrooms, a 58-seat lecture hall, an outdoor amphitheater-style classroom, and copious atrium space. The project is designed for and seeking LEED Silver certification.

## Rankings

The school is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. In 2024, Boston Magazine ranked Weston High School #2 in the Boston area, and U.S. News & World Report ranked the school #12 in Massachusetts (#7 excluding exam and charter schools), and #328 in the United States. In 2025, Niche ranked Weston High School #2 of 365 public high schools in Massachusetts (#1 excluding exam and charter schools) and #66 of 20,733 public high schools in the United States.

## Sports

Weston competes in the Dual County League, which includes Acton-Boxborough Regional High School, Bedford High School, Concord-Carlisle High School, Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, Newton South High School, Waltham High School, Wayland High School, and Westford Academy. The athletics department is headed by Athletic Director Mike McGrath.
During the 2023-2024 school year, Weston High School fielded athletic teams in 22 sports during three seasons. Winning eight state championships and 11 Dual County League championships, the athletic program was recognized as the second best in Massachusetts. More than 50 percent of the school’s student body participated in each of the three sports seasons.

## Notable alumni

* Grover Norquist, class of 1974, political activist and lobbyist, journalist for The American Spectator, president of Americans for Tax Reform
* John Garabedian, disc jockey, nationally syndicated host of the Open House Party radio show and a veteran in broadcasting for over 60 years
* Alec Sulkin, television writer, writer and producer of Family Guy
* David Frank, founding member of the 1980s R&B group The System.