Concord-Carlisle High School (CCHS) is a

public high school A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

located in

Concord, Massachusetts Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is n ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is northwest of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. The school serves grades 9–12, and as part of the Concord-Carlisle Regional School District has students from both Concord and

Carlisle, Massachusetts Carlisle is a town located northwest of Boston in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the town had a population of 5,237. History English colonists first settled the area now incorporated as the town of ...

. The school formally had a notable portion of minority students from Boston (particularly Dorchester,

Mattapan Mattapan () is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Mattapan is the original Native American name for the Dorchester area, Galvin, William Francis, (Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts)" Archaic Community, Distri ...

, and Roxbury) enrolled as part of the METCO program.

Academics

Class subjects include core subjects of English, mathematics, science and social studies, but a number of elective studies are offered as well, including programming, engineering, art, music, and

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

. For students' freshman and sophomore years, they are required to take world cultures and US history respectively, neither of which are levelled classes. The English department offers classes on topics such as rhetoric and debate,

American literature American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the British colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition is part of the broader tradition of English-language literature, but also ...

British literature British literature is from the United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands. This article covers British literature in the English language. Anglo-Saxon (Old English) literature ...

, contemporary literature, world literature and black literature. The social studies department curriculum includes classes on

ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

and 20th century

United States history The history of the present-day United States began in roughly 15,000 BC with the arrival of Peopling of the Americas, the first people in the Americas. In the late 15th century, European colonization of the Americas, European colonization beg ...

, as well as

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

world religions World religions is a socially-constructed category used in the study of religion to demarcate religions that are deemed to have been especially large, internationally widespread, or influential in the development of human societies. It typicall ...

and Russian history. Foreign languages offered are

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

. Educational experiences and trips to other countries include one to

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in 2008, two to

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

in 2001 and 2005, a trip which explored the entire length of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

from north to south in 2003, and a trip to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in 2004, staying in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

and

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

. In 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2014 there were trips to

Quito Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

. In 2003, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2012 there were trips to

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, for the Concert Band and the Sci Fi club. There have been trips to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

and

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. A trip to Italy for Latin students is regularly offered, as is an exchange program with a private school in Ecuador and an exchange program with Concord's Japanese sister city of Nanae.

Extracurriculars

The school supports a moot court, Spectrum: Gay/Straight Alliance, Dance Crew, ''The Voice'' (newspaper), ''Reflections'' (a literature and art review), yearbook club, several foreign language clubs (Spanish, French, as well as an Asian culture club), and

high school radio High school radio are radio stations located at high schools and usually operated by its students with faculty supervision. The oldest extant high school AM radio station is AM 1450 KBPS in Portland, Oregon. Portland radio station KBPS, first li ...

station ( WIQH 88.3 FM), among others. Concord-Carlisle also hosts local chapters of Key Club International,

Model United Nations Model United Nations, also known as Model UN (MUN), is an educational simulation of the United Nations, which teaches students about diplomacy, international relations, global issues, and how the United Nations is run. During a model UN confe ...

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

Interact Club Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and pe ...

, JSA
The Innocence ProjectThe Sunrise Movement
Academic Bowl, Robotics Team, Science Olympiad, and a Math Team.

Athletics

CCHS supports all of the 34 available sports teams organized by the

Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) is an organization that sponsors activities in thirty-three sports, comprising 374 public high school, public and private high school, private high schools in the U.S. state of Mass ...

(MIAA). In most sports, Concord Carlisle competes in the

Dual County League The Dual County League (DCL) is a dual county high school athletic conference in District A of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) is an organization that spons ...

. CCHS also offers a squash club in the winter.

Ultimate Frisbee

As of 2025, Concord Carlisle has a varsity Ultimate Frisbee team.

Cross country

The school has both a girls and boys cross-country team. In 2017, the boys’ team came in fourth in the Massachusetts Division 1 state meet, while the girls’ team won. In 2018, the boys' team won the state meet and the girls' team came in second. In 2019, the girls' team won the state meet. The boys' team placed third.

Fencing

Concord-Carlisle's fencing team was the first in the state of Massachusetts 2018 and 2019. This winter sport has men's and women's teams, with JV and Varsity levels. CCHS's fencing team has produced two individual Olympic Champions, and numerous individual state champions.

Swim and dive team

One of the largest sports team at this school, there are members every year who make it to the Sectionals and State meets. The diving team has produced several individual state champions.

Ski team

Nationally recognized in 1998 as a top ski school. The team competes at a local ski area in both slalom and giant slalom races. Dr. Bob Furey, head ski coach since 1972, was awarded the National Coaches Association Ski Coach of the Year Award in the early 1990s. Johnstone retired in 2007. In 2007, he was awarded a ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' All-Scholastic Coach of the Year. The team practices at Nashoba Ski Valley. The 2016 Nordic State Team

The

Nordic Nordic most commonly refers to: * Nordic countries, the northern European countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and their North Atlantic territories * Scandinavia, a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern ...

ski team won the Mass Bay West Divisional title for both the girls' varsity and boys' varsity team. The team also did well in state competitions: the girls' team secured second place and the boys' team had a close third-place finish. In 2018, after an undefeated regular season for both the boys' and girls' teams, the boys' team won the state championship.

Soccer

The CCHS girls soccer team has many accomplishments including undefeated seasons and many division titles. In addition, they have progressed to the state finals multiple times and years in a row.

Lacrosse

CCHS has both boys and girls varsity and junior varsity lacrosse teams.

New school building project

Concord Carlisle High School moved to a new, eco-friendly building in mid-April 2015, after almost 18 years of planning. The old school, which featured a one-level "California Layout," was constructed in the 1960s and 1970s. However, the design was deemed unsuitable for the weather and conditions prevalent in Massachusetts. In 2011, the towns of Concord and Carlisle granted initial approval for the construction of a new school. The project took approximately four years to complete and is located behind the previous CCHS building, with a reversed orientation. The total cost of the project was $93 million. The new school has a 600-seat auditorium, 2 attached gyms, and a 'media wall' consisting of 9 flat-screen televisions in the cafeteria. The new building also includes many updated safety features that the old building lacked, including fewer exits and entrances, and automated doors with security cameras and alarms. On September 6, 2022, voters elected to raise taxes by an estimated $660,822 in order to redesign and rebuild the school's access road.

Notable alumni

* Chester G. Atkins, former Congressman from

Massachusetts's 5th congressional district Massachusetts's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in eastern Massachusetts. The district is represented by Katherine Clark of the Democratic Party. Massachusetts's congressional redistricting after the 2010 census changed ...

Liz Cho Liz Cho is a news anchor at WABC-TV in New York City. She has co-anchored the weekday 4 and 6 p.m. editions of ''Eyewitness News''. Early life and education Cho grew up in Concord, Massachusetts, and has a younger brother, Andrew. She was born to ...

, television journalist,

WABC-TV WABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, WABC-TV maintains studios in the Hudson Square neighborhood ...

New York * Bob Diamond, former chief executive officer of

Barclays Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...

Will Eno Will Eno (born 1965) is an American playwright based in Brooklyn, New York. His play, '' Thom Pain (based on nothing)'' was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 2005. His play '' The Realistic Joneses'' appeared on Broadway in 2014, whe ...

, American playwright and

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

finalist *

Kristin Hedstrom Kristin Hedstrom (born May 14, 1986 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American rower. Growing up in Concord, Massachusetts, she attended Concord-Carlisle High School until her graduation in 2004. She then attended the University of Wisc ...

, USA rowing national team member and London 2012 Olympian *

Sam Presti Samuel Presti (born November, 1976) is an American basketball executive who is currently the executive vice president and general manager for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has held the position since 20 ...

, general manager of the NBA's

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

John Tortorella John Tortorella (born June 24, 1958) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He most recently served as head coach for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Tortorella has also been the head coach of ...

, former head coach of the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern C ...

of the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

Clairo Claire Elizabeth Cottrill (born August 18, 1998), known professionally as Clairo, is an American singer-songwriter. She began posting music on the internet at age 13. Clairo rose to prominence following the viral success of the music video for ...

, indie-pop musician *Thomas Ratcliffe, professional distance runner for

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

's Bowerman Track Club

References

External links

Concord-Carlisle High School websiteDistrict websiteGraffiti Incident
{{authority control Buildings and structures in Concord, Massachusetts High schools in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Public high schools in Massachusetts 1852 establishments in Massachusetts