North Reading High School

In 2012, the secondary schools building committee and the citizens of North Reading, in overwhelming support, voted to begin the creation of a combined high school/middle school facility. With the help of state and local funding, construction began on the new school in the fall of the same year.

The structure began to take shape just above and behind the 1955 high school building. In fall 2014, the first phase of construction was complete: the new high school building went into use while the old high school building, down the hill, received one final year as a temporary home for middle school students. The 2014-2015 school year saw the overhaul renovation of the old middle school building next to the newly completed high school.

In fall 2015, the building project was considered to be complete. Students in grades 6-12 entered permanent classrooms in the middle school, the high school and the shared common area. By winter 2015, the 1955 high school was completely demolished and new athletic fields have taken its place.

The new facility consists of a completely new high school, a completely renovated middle school, and a shared common area linking those two institutions. This common area includes a two-court gymnasium, cafeteria, state-of-the-art performing arts center and television studio. New tennis courts, a softball fields and an all-purpose field complete the project.

As one, the North Reading Middle-High School campus serves 1,370 students. [4]

The school was designed by architectural company Dore & Whittier and constructed by Gilbane Building Company.[5]

North Reading High School has athletic, academic and artistic extracurricular activities in which students can participate.[6]

In May 2014, the North Reading Police Department began investigations into president of the Athletic Boosters Association John Norton after he mailed them a personal check to pay for a police detail hired to work a basketball tournament. In August, the North Reading School Board officially severed its ties with the Athletic Boosters organization, at the time giving no official reason. Norton was arraigned in October of the same year. He is charged with embezzlement of over $10,000 intended for students.

The School Committee has encouraged citizens not to continue donating to the Athletic Boosters, but the police have insisted that they believe the behavior to be isolated. In addition to the arraignment of Norton, NRPD issued a formal complaint to the Attorney General's Office about the Athletic Boosters' failure to register proper legal filings as a non-profit organization.

The Athletic Boosters, which was an independent club separate from other associations like the School Committee, Music Boosters or Parents Association, is no longer in existence.[8]

North Reading High School's predominant student ethnicity is Caucasian.[2] Its male-female ratio is nearly 1:1.[9]

• Jon Favreau: NRHS '99. Director of Speechwriting for President Barack Obama, 2009-2013.