North Andover High School

According to Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education statistics, the demographic distributions for race, gender and grade for the 2018-2019 academic year are listed below:

The school has a gymnasium, with a rock climbing wall, rope ladders, indoor track and weight room. The performing arts center includes band and choral chambers and an 800 seat auditorium. Other features include two language labs and six computer labs; utilizing both PC's and Apple computers. Most classrooms are outfitted with television sets and SMART boards. Additionally, the 4,000 seat football stadium hosts local and regional events.

North Andover High offers courses in the following subjects: Mathematics, Science, History, and English, as well as three foreign languages (Spanish, German, and French). Art, music and physical education programs are also offered, although budget shortfalls have resulted in substantial cuts[3] to some areas of learning. In addition, many electives have also been cut, beginning with Industrial Arts classes and slowly moving into the main academic areas. This has led to a limited number of course choices for students.

North Andover High School offers basic AP courses.[4] On the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, North Andover High School students are in the top half of the state, with over 95% pass rate on the English and Mathematics sections.[4][5]

North Andover competed in the Cape Ann League from 1971 to 2012, until it moved back into the Merrimack Valley Conference, which houses some of the state's athletic powerhouses (Central Catholic, Chelmsford, Andover, Lawrence, Lowell etc.). Because of total enrollment, North Andover High School is qualified in Division 2 by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association and plays many games against non-league opponents with similar school size.

North Andover High School also has a wrestling team.

The school football team was led by head coach John Rafferty until 2015.

North Andover High School also has soccer and lacrosse programs, among other athletics.

North Andover High School has many art programs, including the Drama Guild, which holds four major performances every year. In January 2007, the school hosted its first One-Act festival, in which three One-Act productions were performed, a tradition that has since been discontinued. The One Act performances were typically student directed plays. The guild is supported financially by a parent's organization. The Pep Band also plays at some school functions, including home basketball games and the Special Olympics. The school chorus has been invited to sing at Carnegie Hall in April 2011 due to their gold medal rating at their competition in Philadelphia, PA.

Other extracurricular activities include academic teams (Math, Science or Model United Nations), intramural sports (Ping Pong, Environmental Club and Ultimate Frisbee), multicultural clubs (Spanish, German, and a Gay-Straight Alliance), and a dance club. The Johnson Chapter of the National Honor Society coordinates volunteer work from among the school's top ranked juniors and seniors.

North Andover's five public elementary schools, a middle school and a high school often compete for parts of the school budget, and this has led to shortfalls in the budget as enrollment has risen.

While school officials attempted to create a balanced budget, it became apparent sometime in 2004/2005 that cuts would soon have to be made. The arts programs were among the first major changes made in the budget. While the programs were not completely cut, opponents of the cuts complained that there weren’t enough art and music faculty to serve the entire student body and that expensive user fees would have to be instituted to pay for band and drama performances. They contended that an effective education includes art and music. Proponents of the cuts argue that both band and drama are extra-curricular activities and thus the user fees are justified (athletes also pay user fees) and that core subjects such as English and Mathematics are required fields of study for aspiring college students and need to be given priority.

Another side-effect of the budget cuts was the reduction of the regular school day from a rotating seven-period schedule to a set six-period a day schedule, to a rotating five-period a day schedule. Because of the schedule change, study periods were no longer offered, causing students to be placed in classes that they had not signed up for.

A small debate occurred in 2006 over the athletic fees, which are set as a flat fee for all athletes regardless of how many sports a student plays or the cost of those sports to the school (for example, a student who does one season of track and field uses much less of the Athletic Departments resources than a student who plays football, hockey and lacrosse. Both students, however, pay the same amount of money). A new policy was instituted that adjusts fees based on the number of seasons a student chooses to participate in athletics.

• Chris Honeycutt, State champion wrestler; professional MMA fighter for Bellator MMA

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